Friday, January 8, 2021
Christopher Breedlove, LUCOM Marketing
Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) congratulates Carl R. Hoegerl, DO, MSc, MSIT, FACP, for his recent graduation of the Osteopathic Health Policy Fellowship (OHPF) last month. Per a provided press release from the OHPF, Dr. Hoegerl joins more than 260 osteopathic physicians and other health care professionals that have completed the national program. He currently serves at LUCOM as the assistant dean for clinical education, chair of the department of internal medicine, and an associate professor of neurology.
“The Osteopathic Health Policy Fellowship is a great experience with multiple training sessions covering health policy from the international, national and local level, to the urban populations and to the rural. There is a big emphasis on the social determinants of health and population-based health,” said Dr. Hoegerl. “It was a great experience and one that has given me knowledge and experience that I will take with me for the rest of my life.”
Dr. Hoegerl started the fellowship last academic year, 2019-20, with mostly in person sessions through March. Then the pandemic hit, and everything was moved online. Originally, the program was supposed to end in August but was extended until December. He credits LUCOM’s former dean, Peter A. Bell, DO, for his encouragement to apply and complete the fellowship.
“The fellowship has given me an opportunity to learn new skills and gain new knowledge that I can bring to Liberty, to LUCOM student-doctors, and to the osteopathic profession,” he added. “As much as health policy can sometimes be frustrating, it’s very important that physicians are part of the discussion—we must advocate for our own profession.”
Established in 1994, alumni of the Osteopathic Health Policy Fellowship have served as distinguished policy advisers in public and private forums to the osteopathic profession, legislators at the local, state, and national levels, diverse health-centered institutions, and other health leadership groups to improve population health. Supported by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), along with specialty colleges, state and regional associations, OHPF graduates are health policy experts from which the osteopathic profession can recruit for staff committees and task forces at the federal and state levels and to testify on issues relevant to osteopathic medicine and education, and develop policy positions. It is primarily funded through the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, along with support from the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and the CONSULTUS Health Research Group.
“It’s great to make a difference one patient at a time, but it’s even more fun to help a population make a difference,” said Dr. Hoegerl.