By Harry Minium
Deborah B. Bauman, assistant dean of Old Dominion University's College of Health Sciences, was recently elected chairperson of the board for the Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital.
The hospital offers transitional care, rehabilitation and recovery services for those released from a hospital but not quite ready to go home. The facility, owned by the City of Norfolk, has a state-of-the art physical therapy department.
It also offers long-term care for patients with acute medical issues that require complex treatment and also serves as a nursing home facility for patients with severe health issues that might require daily medical care.
Bauman has been a member of the board since 2009 and says she is passionate about Lake Taylor's mission.
"Lake Taylor Hospital serves a special niche in health-care community of Norfolk and greater Hampton Roads," she said. "It's widely known for its ventilator weaning program, it's a Center of Excellence for respiratory care using the Passy-Muir breathing device and also a Center of Excellence for wound care by the Vohra Wound Physicians.
"It's five-star-rated nursing facility by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and in fact was recently ranked by Newsweek magazine as one the top residential elder-care facilities in the country.
"The people at Lake Taylor Hospital, they are so warm and welcoming. The hospital facility itself and gardens are just beautiful, too."
Bauman has three degrees from ODU and a history of service.
She graduated with undergraduate degrees from the dental assisting program in 1978 and from the dental hygiene program in 1980. She received her master's degree in dental hygiene in 1982.
She teaches dental assistants and dental hygienists and is the former chair of the School of Dental Hygiene. She has also had numerous articles published in journals and co-authored a book, "Case Studies in Dental Hygiene."
Bauman went on two dental mission trips to Leon, Nicaragua, with the Norfolk-based Physicians for Peace. She helped found a dental assistant education program at the University of Leon.
More recently she served as visiting professor of dental hygiene at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
