Brenau University

Chair and Founding Program Director, Professor

Julie B. Keena, DHSc, PA-C

jkeena@brenau.edu
tel: 678-971-1848

• Graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1985
• Earned PA certificate and MMSc in critical care medicine from Emory University in 1987
• Completed post-graduate residency in neurosurgery at University of Miami/JMH in 1989
• Clinical PA in neurosurgery and neurology at UM/JMH 1988-1997
• Joined academia at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in February 1997
  • Held many positions over 18 year period; led successful NSU PA program start up for NSU PA Program Fort Myers in 2004
  • Over 11 years of experience as department chair and/or program director
• Earned DHSc degree from AT Still University in 2013
• Assistant director at the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) from 2015-2019
  • ARC-PA site visitor since 2002
• Teaching philosophy based on Chinese Proverb: “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I may understand.”

Assistant Program Director/Associate Professor

Kyrus Patch, DHSc, PA-C

• Graduated from Alderson-Broaddus College with BS in medical science (PA degree), 1977
• Earned MSc degree from Alderson-Broaddus College in 2007
• Earned DHSc from AT Still University in 2015
• Extensive clinical PA career:
  • Rural Ohio outpatient facility and even made house calls
  • Snowshoe Ski Resort in WV as senior medical officer
  • Cardiology Department in WV during “off-season”
  • Walt Disney World house call medical officer
  • Urgent care/family practice setting in Naples and Ft. Myers Beach
• Began academic career in 2007, holding many positions over 12 year period; last 4 years were as program director at Nova Southeastern University
• Dr. Patch aspires to teach a new generation of Physician Assistants to be knowledgeable, compassionate, professional and accomplished individuals she likes to call “Renaissance PAs.”

Medical Director/Associate Professor

J. Allen Butts, Jr, MD, FACS

• Graduated from Emory University with BA in chemistry/philosophy, 1984
• Earned MD from Emory University in 1988
• Completed surgical residency at University of Tennessee School of Medicine, Memphis TN 1988-1993
• Board certified in general surgery by the American Board of Surgery
• Served as a preceptor for PA students in general surgery from 1994-2016
• Past-president of Longstreet Clinic, Gainesville, GA
• Past chief of surgery at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Gainesville, GA
• Currently participates in GME training of surgical residents at Northeast Georgia Health System in the simulation lab
• Extensive career as board certified general surgeon in Gainesville, GA from 1993-2016
• Served as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Naval Reserves
• Teaching philosophy based on Albert Einstein quote: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

Admissions Coordinator/Assistant Professor

Drew Roush, MPAS, PA-C

• Graduated from University of Dayton with BS in Business Management in 1988
• Graduated from Wake Forest University School of Medicine Graduate Certificate PA Program in 2000
• Graduated from University of Texas with a Master of PA Studies in 2015
• Taught pre-med, pre-PA and nursing at Brenau University since 2008
  • Pre-Professional Coordinator / Mentor
• Assisted with development of Brenau University Physician Assistant Program proposal
  • Admissions Coordinator/Assistant Professor, March 2019
• Clinical Experience: 20 years Interventional Radiology Physician Assistant at Northeast Georgia Medical Center
  • Specialized in Image-Guided Procedures
  • Founder of Society of Physician Assistants in Radiology
• Teaching Philosophy based on quote from Ronald Reagan: “I learned that hard work is an essential part of life—that by and large, you don’t get something for nothing—and that America was a place that offered unlimited opportunity to those who did work
  hard”

Director of Didactic Education/Assistant Professor

Neena Xavier, MD

• Graduated from Vanderbilt Medical School in 2009
• Double board certified in internal medicine and endocrinology, lipids and metabolism
• After three years in private practice, joined the PA program at University of Alabama at Birmingham where she served as the clinical medicine and clinical simulation course director
• Teaching philosophy centers on experiential learning
  • Developed active learning opportunities including service learning, case-based learning and interprofessional simulation
• Implemented service learning opportunity providing free wellness screening for the male homeless population in Birmingham
  • Awarded national 2018 American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Outstanding Service Award for the Promotion of Endocrine Health in an Underserved Population for this work
• Chosen as a 2019 Harvard Macy Medical Educator Fellow to study outcomes in service learning in PA education
• Received a nationally competitive research grant from the Engaged Scholarship Consortium

Director of Clinical Education/Associate Professor

Heather Brown, DMSc, PA-C

• Graduated from Western Maryland College in 1995 with a BS in Clinical Psychology
• Earned PA certificate and MS in Health Sciences from The George Washington University in 2000
• Earned DMSc from University of Lynchburg in 2019
• Clinically practicing PA in Emergency Medicine/Urgent Care for over 20 years
  • 2000-2011 with the University of Maryland Medical System
  • 2011-2014 with Tenet Healthcare
  • since 2014 with Northside Hospital System
• Assistant Professor/Adjunct Assistant Professor with Mercer University Department of Physician Assistant Studies from 2011-2020
• Teaching philosophy based on inspiring students to embody the principle of lifelong learning and is best summed up in a quote from the Irish poet W.B. Yeats: “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.”

Office Manager

Hollie Eldridge

• Joined Brenau University’s Department of Physician Assistant Studies in September 2019
• Currently pursuing a business degree with Brenau University
• Contributes over 12 years of administrative experience in office management; led her previous company to success
• Self-starter, ready to take the lead on projects and see them through to completion
• Always relishes the challenge of learning new software or applications and as technology changes, she is one of the first to adopt and embrace new skills
• Committed to making sure our students’ experience in our program is the best it can be

Clinical Support Coordinator

Pete Keys

• 2008 business graduate of Brenau
• Returned to serve as staff in Brenau’s Department of Physician Assistant Studies in October 2019
• Retired from the military after 21 years
• Brings over 18 years of health care experience with Northeast Georgia Health System and Southeast Health
• Active volunteer in Georgia Society of Healthcare Materials Management and the Association for Healthcare Resource Materials Management
• Active community volunteer serving at North Georgia Works
• Certified Materials Resource Professional
• Currently completing his Fellowship in AHRMM
• Served as purchasing manager for Southeast Health