Indiana University commencements
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Focus Dance Company visits Indiana University
Zeng Shao Tung, a dancer from the Focus Dance Company, rehearses with fellow company dancers and IU students at Indiana University Bloomington on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. More than two dozen dance majors from Taipei National University of the Arts are spending a week of cultural exchange at IU Bloomington. The group’s visit culminates in a joint performance with the IU Contemporary Dance Program on Feb. 24 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
IU senior Sydney Sizemore, right, shares a laugh with a partner from the Focus Dance Company during a class at Indiana University Bloomington on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Syrian refugees in Indiana adjust to Trump’s America
I recently photographed the first family of Syrian refugees to resettle in Indianapolis for a story in The Washington Post. The story focused on refugees in Indiana and how they are coping since President Donald Trump’s election. Trump’s Vice President, Mike Pence, tried unsuccessfully to ban Syrian refugees when he was Indiana’s governor.
Waed Al-Hamoud, 35, kisses Selena, her 1-month-old daughter, at the Exodus Refugee Immigration offices in Indianapolis, Indiana on Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. In 2014, Al-Hamoud and her family fled Damascus and resettled in Indianapolis. They were the first family to relocate in Indianapolis from war-torn Syria. (James Brosher for The Washington Post)
Indiana University Dance Marathon
Indiana University Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally
Indiana University Cheerleaders perform at the pep rally following the IU Bloomington Homecoming Parade on Friday, Oct. 14, 2016. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Indiana University Marching Hundred Drum Major August Merback applauds a passing high school band as he waits to lead the band in the IU Bloomington Homecoming Parade along Woodlawn Avenue on Friday, Oct. 14, 2016. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Syrian refugees in Indiana
Back in August, I photographed Syrian refugees who have resettled in Indiana for a story in The Washington Post. Their resettlement comes in spite of efforts by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence who directed state agencies to halt Syrian resettlement. This week a federal appeals court affirmed a preliminary injunction blocking Pence’s order, dismissing it as “nightmare speculation.”
Malak Assaf, 25, poses for a photo in her apartment in Indianapolis, Ind. on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Assaf is a refugee from the war in Syria. (James Brosher for The Washington Post)
Patient surveys and the opioid epidemic
I spent a few hours back in June shadowing Dr. S. Michael Keller, the emergency room director at Marion General Hospital in Marion, Ind. The photos were for a story in The New York Times about patient satisfaction surveys and their effect on the opioid epidemic. Under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals’ Medicare reimbursements were tied to patient satisfaction surveys. The idea of this was to encourage quality care, but many health care professionals argue the surveys incentivized doctors to prescribe powerful and potentially addictive painkillers such as opioids to patients in order to score well on the surveys. Marion General bucked the trend by cutting opioid prescriptions, leading to a drastic drop in the patient satisfaction surveys.
Dr. S. Michael Keller, director of Marion General Hospital’s emergency department and ambulance services, examines William Joseph, a patient from Van Buren, Ind., in the Emergency Room on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, in Marion, Ind. Marion General Hospital urged its doctors to limit opioid prescriptions resulting in lowered patient satisfaction scores, particularly in pain management. As part of the Affordable Care Act, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) incentivizes quality care by rewarding hospitals that score well on patient satisfaction surveys. (James Brosher for The New York Times)
Dr. S. Michael Keller, director of Marion General Hospital’s emergency department and ambulance services, speaks with Deseric Inman, a patient from Marion, Ind. experiencing eye discomfort, in the Emergency Room on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, in Marion, Ind. (James Brosher for The New York Times)
Indiana Daily Student bids farewell to Ernie Pyle Hall
On a drizzly day last month, the Indiana Daily Student bid farewell to its beloved newsroom in Ernie Pyle Hall. As a former IDSer, I felt obligated to capture the move. I spent a majority of my college years in that building – specifically in that newsroom – as a student in Indiana University’s School of Journalism Media School. I wouldn’t be where I’m at today had it not been for the experiences I had within those walls. It’s crazy to consider I grew up in a one stoplight town of 2,300 people in rural Indiana and in the past couple months I’ve made pictures for The New York Times and The Washington Post. Before I moved back to Bloomington in 2014, Ernie Pyle Hall was always one of my first stops on visits to Bloomington. It was home. I knew I could walk in there and see old friends and familiar spaces. IU is a large university, but Ernie Pyle Hall made it feel like a small, intimate school. Change is hard sometimes, but I’m optimistic the move to Franklin Hall will work out eventually. I hope the intimate and inclusive feeling of Ernie Pyle Hall endures at Franklin Hall. Maybe someday a former student will wax nostalgic about that building too.
Mayflower moves wheel Ernie Pyle’s desk onto a truck as the Indiana Daily Student moves from Ernie Pyle Hall to new offices in Franklin Hall on Monday, July 18, 2016. Pyle, the famed World War II correspondent, served as editor of the Indiana Daily Student in the summer of 1922. Although he did not graduate from IU, he received the first doctor of humane letters degree IU ever bestowed in 1944. Pyle was killed by a Japanese sniper in the Pacific Theater on April 19, 1945. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Indiana Daily Student Director Ron Johnson, right, laughs with Director of Creative of Marketing and Operations Greg Menkedick as they look through a desk drawer on Monday, July 18, 2016, at the IDS offices in Ernie Pyle Hall. The IDS is relocating to Franklin Hall. (James Brosher/IU Communications)
Indiana University commencements
Last month, I photographed six Indiana University commencement ceremonies on five different campuses in a span of seven days. It was a whirlwind of a week, but the ceremonies feature some of the best moments we capture all year for the university. Here is a selection of my favorite moments from the ceremonies I photographed:
Shortage of primary-care physicians in the United States
A few weeks back, I spent a morning doing rounds with a group of pediatric residents in the postpartum unit at Franciscan St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis. The photos were for a story in the Desert News looking at the shortage of primary-care physicians – which include family doctors, general internists and pediatricians – in the United States. The supply of primary-care physicians is so low the average wait time for an appointment is nearly two months.
Ninah Clegg, a third-year medical student from Marian University, consults Dr. Gerold Butler, a pediatric hospitalist, as she examines Evan Catterton, a 16-day-old newborn from Brown County, Ind., on Thursday, April 28, 2016, at Franciscan St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis. (James Brosher / For the Deseret News)
Dr. Ryan Taylor, a first-year resident from Chicago, listens to Dr. Gerold Butler, not pictured, a pediatric hospitalist, as they speak with a patient during rounds on Thursday, April 28, 2016, at Franciscan St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis. (James Brosher / For the Deseret News)