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Community Corner

MGH Institute Will Be Boston Strong at Marathon

Several alumni and students from MGH Institute of Health Professions in the Charlestown Navy Yard, who assisted survivors or were personally affected by last year’s bombing tragedy, will be Boston Strong at the 2014 Boston Marathon on Monday.

Many once again will work in the medical tents that are dotted along the race course. Dave Nolan, a 2006 Doctor of Physical Therapy graduate, will continue to lead more than 80 physical therapists professionals and students at the finish line in Copley Square. “I am excited to return this year to be part of one of the most successful and memorable Boston Marathons in history,” he said.


Nurse practitioner Roz Puleo ’11, who volunteered last year at the finish line but will be stationed in a tent at the 25.5-mile mark, is approaching Monday’s race with mixed emotions.

"I’ve been to one in-person meeting and three conference calls in preparation for this year’s event, and that has made me feel more secure,” said Puleo, who attended the April 15 one-year tribute. “I think this new level of preparedness for the volunteers has been instrumental in helping us feel more positive, more prepared, and less anxious, which many people are experiencing."

Puleo became part of an impromptu support group with a dozen fellow Marathon caregivers, helping to raise more than $10,000 for the One Fund – even walking a charity 5K road race last summer just 12 days after giving birth to her first child. “We’ve really helped each other process what we all experienced last year,” she noted.

Nursing student Lisa Conti, who was 50 feet away from the location of the second blast, has raised more than $10,000 for her charity, Make Room For Love, which she formed days after the bombing.

“When I really think about, the numbers stopped being important to me a long time ago,” Conti, who will be graduating from the MGH Institute in May, said. “I’ve been able to meet or connect with so many amazingly strong survivors and their families and it’s really made this whole endeavor worth it.”

"Inspiring"

“It is inspiring to see many of the survivors and hear their stories on the news,” noted DPT graduate Kristin Schram Boyd of Charlestown, who helped survivors at Tufts Medical Center in the weeks and months following the bombing. “I smile when I see just how far they have come.”

Several people are running the race. The three members of Team IHP - Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty members Joanna Christodoulou and Margaret Kjelgaard ’97, and Physical Therapy alumna Kate Breen Grevelding ’00, ’02 – never made it to the finish line but are intent on running the full 26.2 miles this year. They will be joined by CSD alumna Kara Beckwith Coffin ’11 and Master of Science in Nursing student Matthew Ellam ’15.

Other members of the greater MGH Institute community running the race include first-year Master of Science in Nursing student Megan Hall (for Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, where she is a member of the Pediatric Oncology team). MGH Institute Board of Trustees member Oswald "Oz" Mondejar and Physical Therapy alumna Jessica Guilbert '11, both of whom work for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, will run as part of its Race for Rehab team.

“After attending the Tribute on Tuesday, I really felt ready to run,” said Guilbert, who has helped many survivors at Spaulding. “Training has definitely been a challenge this winter with all of the snow and ice, but it will all be worth it on Monday.”

Many who assisted survivors in hospitals last year are planning on being among what is expected to be a record crowd of spectators. Vanessa Marie Arone, a 2011 DPT graduate who was working in the Surgical Intensive Care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, is one of them. 

“Growing up in Boston, Patriot’s Day was always a big deal,” said Arone, citing the race and the annual 11 a.m. Red Sox game at Fenway Park. “I’m looking forward to Bostonians showing off their resilience and spirit.”

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