ACOS Award Winners to be Honored at 2021 ACA

Constance P. Cashen, D.O., FACOS, FACS - Orel F. Martin Medal

The American College of Osteopathic Surgeons and its officers, governors, and members honor Constance P. Cashen with the College’s highest award—the Orel F. Martin Medal—as a symbol of her outstanding career as an osteopathic surgeon, educator, and leader.  

Dr. Cashen has been dedicated to osteopathic surgical patient care and surgical education throughout her career. Without a doubt, her initial inspiration came from her fine parents, Ray and Carol Cashen, and growing up in a family with six younger siblings. This strong family network has been the foundation of support throughout her life.

Since her family doctor and family friends were all osteopaths, entering Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine was a natural choice for Dr. Cashen. Graduating in 1979, she began her internship and residency at Art Center Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and completed surgical training under Randolph G. Roulier, DO, FACOS, and William G. Anderson, DO, FACOS, in 1984. Dr. Cashen is board certified by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) in General Surgery. She became a member of the ACOS during residency and was inducted as a fellow in 1992.

Dr. Cashen started her surgical practice with Dr. Roulier in Toledo, Ohio, at Parkview Osteopathic Hospital. When small osteopathic hospitals began to close in the 1990s, Drs. Cashen and Roulier moved their practice to Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center (MSVMC), a Level I Trauma Center, in downtown Toledo. There, they developed a surgery residency program that opened in 2006.

During this time, Dr. Cashen held numerous local and state positions in osteopathic medicine and was actively involved in Ohio University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine-sponsored educational consortium. She received the Trustee Award from the Ohio Osteopathic Association in 2009. Dr. Cashen also worked with the AOA Bureau of Education to co-author the Surgery chapter for the first “Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine” textbook, now in its fourth edition.

Through the years, Dr. Cashen has held many leadership roles at MSVMC, including Chair of Surgical Services, Medical Executive Committee, Physician Performance and Improvement Committee, Surgical Governance Committee, Graduate Medical Education Committee, Performance Improvement Council, and Clinical Integration Oversight Council for the northwest Bon Secours Mercy Health system. More recently, she has assumed leadership of MSVMC’s nationally-accredited Breast Comprehensive Care Center and leads the multidisciplinary breast cancer conference.

Dr. Cashen’s commitment to medical education has been dominant throughout her career. She served as the Director of Osteopathic Medical Education at MSVMC until accreditation for osteopathic residencies migrated to the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Dr. Cashen has been the Program Director for the General Surgery residency since its inception in 2006 and her program received ACGME accreditation in 2016 on the first attempt (with no citations). Leading the residency has been one of the most fulfilling roles of Dr. Cashen’s career. In addition to her duties as Program Director, she currently serves as Faculty Development Coordinator for all Graduate Medical Education programs at St. Vincent Medical Center.

Dr. Cashen has also remained active in surgical education on a national level. She has formally represented osteopathic surgical residencies as a member of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery’s (APDS) focus group on the future of surgical education. She is currently a member of the ACGME’s Osteopathic Recognition Appeals Board. Most recently, she was invited to participate in the Educational Professional Activities (EPA) Council of the American Board of Surgery to develop EPAs that will become program requirements for surgical residency training. At the upcoming American College of Surgeons Annual Clinical Congress, she will participate on a panel to discuss resident recruitment strategies and will present on the osteopathic perspective.

Participating in the ACOS has always been a pleasure for Dr. Cashen. She has served on the Residency Evaluation and Standards Committee and has also been an advocate for women surgeons, actively participating in the College since she became a Fellow. She is a past examiner for the oral board examination and a former recipient of the Guy D. Beaumont Jr. ACOS Award of Academic Excellence.

Dr. Cashen has spent her professional life working in the central city urban environment. She has devoted her career to providing surgical care to a vulnerable and underserved population. These values remain a focal theme in her residency program. Dr. Cashen sees her greatest contribution to medicine in the careers of her graduates. For her, it has been a privilege to be an osteopathic surgeon and she hopes to remain active for years into the future.

Albert H. Olivencia-Yurvati, DFACOS, FICS, FAHA - Distinguished Osteopathic Surgeon Award

Dr. Albert H. Olivencia-Yurvati, DO, PhD, DFACOS, FICS, FAHA, has been named the 2021 recipient of the ACOS Charles L. Ballinger Distinguished Osteopathic Surgeon Award for his outstanding accomplishments and leadership in the field of cardiothoracic and vascular surgery and for furthering the osteopathic profession.

Albert H. Olivencia-Yurvati, DO, PhD, DFACOS, FICS, FAHA, is a 1986 graduate of the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his Internship and General Surgery residency at Tulsa Regional Medical Center at Tulsa, Oklahoma, and served as Chief Resident his final year. He then completed a residency in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at the Deborah Heart and Lung Center, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Browns Mills, New Jersey, where he also served as chief resident. He is AOA board certified in Cardiothoracic-Vascular and General Surgery, and he is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons as well as the International College of Surgeons. He was one of the inaugural Distinguished Fellows of he American College of Osteopathic Surgeons.

He completed a PhD in Education with a concentration of Organizational Leadership from Northcentral University. Other educational activities include a Graduate Certificate from the University of North Texas Toulouse School of Education in Teaching and Adult Learning. Currently Dr. Olivencia-Yurvati is a tenured DSWOP Professor of Surgery and Chair of the Department of Medical Education at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, and he is a Professor of Integrative Physiology in the Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow, Scotland, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

He has received numerous awards from the UNTHSC, including the 2012 Clyde Gallehugh DO Memorial Award, the 2011 President’s Award for Clinical Excellence. He also received Doctor of Philanthropy in 2011, and in 2010, he was the recipient of both the Benjamin L. Cohen Award for Outstanding Research Achievement and the TCOM’s Dean’s Award for Philanthropy. In addition, he received the Academic Commendation of Excellence (ACE) Award for superior post-tenure review.

On a national level, Dr. Olivencia-Yurvati was the Executive Director of the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery. He is actively involved in numerous committees of the ACOS, and he has served as a discipline chair and representative to the Board of Governors, as well as cardiothoracic educational program director. In 2013, he received the highest award from the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons the Orel F Martin Medal. In 2016, he received the ACOS Guy D. Beaumont Award of Academic Excellence.

He is on the editorial board of multiple journals to include the JAOA and Filtration. He is a reviewer for many peered journals to include Cardiovascular Research and Experimental Biology and Medicine, Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and the JAOA.

Dr. Olivencia-Yurvati has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, three book chapters, and numerous abstracts. He is the recipient of over 2.5 million in grants, to include NIH, NASA, DOD, and Osteopathic Heritage Foundation funding. He has lectured nationally and international. Dr Yurvati the Associate Designated Institutional Official for the Medical City Healthcare Consortium ACGME accredited programs. He also served on the Surgery ACGME working group for Milestones 2.0.

Bradley D. Carman, D.O., FACOS - Humanitarian Award

Brad is a second generation D.O. who followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1988. His father set a strong example of community service as a school board member and president, community projects, as well as providing low-income healthcare for many years.

Brad completed his internship and general surgical residency at Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio in 1993 and moved back home to start a solo practice. He is certified by the American Board of Osteopathic Surgery and is a Fellow of the ACOS He has been employed by Marietta Health Care Physicians, Inc. since 2006 and has been blessed to work in a very collegial and stimulating environment. Brad has also enjoyed participating as an oral examiner with the AOBS over several years.

Dr. Carman has held multiple leadership positions at Marietta Memorial Hospital including Chief of Staff and Chair of Surgery.

Brad is active in local, state, and national politics with his involvement in fundraising events for candidates and as a past member of the Ohio State Medical Association PAC Board. He is an active member of the board of his alma mater, the University of Mount Union and recently completed a term as a trustee of the local community college.

Dr. Carman and his wife Stephanie are the proud parents of two children; daughter Hailey a C.R.N.A. student and son Hayden who recently completed a B.S. degree in biology. Brad and Stephanie are active in their church, as well as in their local Kiwanis chapter raising funds for children’s needs. Both also volunteer with the local high school rowing club in supporting regattas. Brad is a licensed referee with U.S. Rowing and is active in officiating regattas around Ohio and Indiana.

Approximately fifteen years ago, Brad was blessed to join an ecumenical faith-based medical mission group with an emphasis on serving the impoverished children of Nicaragua, making multiple trips. The missions provided surgical as well as medical, dental, and optometric care. He traveled several times with his dear friends, Dr. Lane and Judy Lee. The mission group was able to help in establishing a farm school that teaches the boys and girls of Rancho Grande life-sustaining trades.

Brad is in his twenty-ninth year of practice and has little interest in retiring at this time.

Robert R. Brightwell, DO, FACOS, FSVM, RPVI - Guy D. Beaumont Jr., FACOS Award of Academic Excellence

Dr. Robert “Bob” Brightwell graduated from Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Des Moines, Iowa in 1979. He subsequently completed his internship, general surgery residency, and general vascular fellowship at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital in Columbus, Ohio under longtime American College of Osteopathic Surgeons’ stalwarts J.R. Costin D.O., FACOS, Richard H. Bracken D.O., FACOS, Jack Perez D.O., FACOS, William Bradway, D.O., FACOS, and John Urse, D.O., FACOS. He was also inspired by Norman Rose D.O., FACOS, DFACOS when he was a student in Des Moines and Dr. Rose delivered the surgical module lectures.

Brightwell practiced in Allentown, PA and San Diego, CA in the years immediately following his surgical training, but was invited to return to OhioHealth Doctors Hospital and has practiced in Columbus, OH since 1988.

During his time at Doctors Hospital, he has served in various roles, including program director of the general surgery residency program, chief, division of general surgery, and chairman of the combined department of surgery. In addition to Ohio, he is also licensed to practice medicine in Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has performed multiple hemodialysis access surgeries for the underserved in St. Croix, USVI.

Dr. Brightwell also serves as clinical faculty for Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and has received numerous teaching awards, including Outstanding Specialty Medicine Physician Award from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. And he is a four-time recipient of the J.R. Costin Award for surgery residency education from Doctors Hospital.

Since its inception in 2013 Dr. Brightwell has served on the OhioHealth Vascular Institute (OHVI) Executive Committee. The OHVI was established to foster cooperation, education, and research by vascular practitioners representing a consortium of vascular specialists in surgery, cardiology, vascular medicine, and interventional radiology across the 12 hospitals of the OhioHealth system. Dr. Brightwell is particularly proud that under the auspices of the 8 member OHVI executive committee, OhioHealth was the first hospital system in the country to develop universal credentialing for vascular procedures across specialty lines at multiple hospitals.

Dr. Brightwell is a Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, a Fellow of the Society for Vascular Medicine, and holds the Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation (RPVI) certification. He has been a proud member of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, American Osteopathic Association, Ohio Osteopathic Association, Society for Vascular Medicine, Vascular Access Society of the Americas, the International College of Angiology, and the American College of Phlebology.

He would like to extend his profound gratitude to his mentors as well as the residents and students who continue to inspire him daily. He also feels a deep appreciation for the ACOS and its leadership, advocacy, and continued robust fostering of education among its membership.