Get to know James Bemel

James writes: I was born in Alaska and raised in Spokane, Washington and Layton, Utah. I've been married for nine years and I have a two-year-old daughter who is the light of my life. I received my Bachelor's degree in Health Promotion from Weber State University, my Masters of Public Health & Health Services Administration from the University of Utah, and my PhD in Health Promotion & Education from the University of Utah. I've worked for the Huntsman Cancer Institute as the Outreach Coordinator, Weber State University as an Instructor, and I currently work for Utah Valley University where I'm an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community and Public Health. I also currently teach adjunct for both the University of Utah and Weber State University. I'm a member of the Health Education Association of Utah (HEAU); Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE); Utah Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (UAHPERD); and I'm the 2011-2012 Executive Chair of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Utah.

I joined SMART because I have an interest in helping to decrease and prevent substance abuse. My primary professional focus is substance abuse, with a special emphasis on tobacco. I'm also very interested in working to prevent alcohol abuse as well as prescription drug abuse since it is the fastest growing area of substance abuse.

So far, I've been very impressed with the SMART meetings I've attended. I like to see people from all different areas coming together to accomplish common goals.

In my free time I enjoy camping, hiking, swimming, and fishing with my wife and daughter. The nice thing about the position I'm in is that I get eight weeks off in the summer to pursue these interests. This year, we've already visited several sites in Utah and plan to visit Bear Lake and Jackson Hole before school begins again.

I think my sense of humor makes me unique. I'm the type of person who will say something I think is funny and then laugh at it, even if no one else is laughing!

Meet Andy Bayless!

Andy grew up in Lindon being the 6th of 7 children. He graduated from BYU with a BS in Microbiology. He is now at the University of Utah in Pharmacy School. Andy became involved with SMART during April’s Take Back Events where he used his pharmaceutical knowledge to help sort pills. He stayed on to increase his understanding of the community perception of medication use. Andy has already been a great asset to our coalition by recruiting other pharmacy students to help out with October’s Take Back Events and by helping create SMART Pharmacy Guidelines.

When Andy isn’t busy with school or work, he spends time with his new bride, or they head to shooting range.

Thank you Andy for your work with SMART!

Thank You Darrell!

SMART would like to recognize and thank Darrell Bingham for his dedicated service to SMART. He has been volunteering with SMART since July 2008, and has consistently served since then. He dedicates time each and every month, outside of coalition meetings, to furthering the mission of SMART. This year he has served as the Alcohol Task Force Chair and has volunteered over 80 hours of his time, totaling $1500 worth of in-kind donation.

Darrell has been key in organizing three Prescription Take Back Events in the city of Lindon where 69.4 pounds of leftover pills have been collected and 405 families have been educated. He’s helped SMART better understand upcoming drug problems like Spice, and he personally helped educate local and state elected officials about the need to prevent abuse of these substances. One of his crowning achievements is proposing the idea, personally testifying before legislators on Capitol Hill, and helping Rep Brad Baw pass legislation requiring ER rooms and the court system to send information to prescribers about the consequences of their patient abusing Rx pain pills.

Darrell has worked as a police office for Lindon City and has always been willing to use his connections to help out SMART. He joined SMART because he wanted to be able to help prevent people from getting trapped in substance abuse addictions.

When Darrell isn’t out saving the world, he enjoys motorcycles, shooting, spending time with his family, attending rock concerts, watching movies and making a fool of himself.

Darrell has enjoyed the past 3 years of serving with SMART, and he cherished the relationships he has developed. He says it has been amazing to see all of the successes that SMART has had and being able to make an impact on people’s lives.

Darrell is a great friend to SMART, we will miss his passion, dedication, and willingness to express his opinion and wish him the very best of his future endeavors!

Thank You!

Thank You Dr. Gary Wiest!

SMART would like to recognize and thank Dr. Gary Wiest this month. He joined SMART in August 2010 as a representative from the Utah Dental Association (UDA). As the secretary of the UDA, Gary has been instrumental in helping SMART develop relationships with the UDA and the Dental Association in Utah County. Since joining SMART, Gary has helped tailor SMART’s interventions to target dentists in the area. He helped review and critique SMART’s physician presentation and made suggestions as to how the presentation could be more applicable to dentists. He has also agreed to be the trainer for our current provider training, and he will be training the Provo Dental Society members in the coming months.

In the past couple of months he has helped the Utah Dental Association organize the printing of 800 posters dentists will receive over the next year outlining principles dentists can follow to prevent prescription drug abuse among their patients. Along with this, he has also written articles and has set the goal to continue to write articles in the UDA’s monthly newsletter about how dentists can prevent Rx abuse.

Gary grew up in Provo, served an LDS mission in Scotland, graduated from BYU, and attended dental school at Washington University in St. Louis. He came back to Provo and has been practicing here for 26 years. He’s married and has 4 children (2 boys and 2 girls), they are all married and he has 4 grandbabies and one on the way in just a few weeks.

Gary enjoys being a dentist and attending dental education seminars. When he isn’t working, he enjoys photography, snow skiing, and biking.

Thank you Gary for being a part of SMART!

Meet our Newest Members

Meet Andrea Jensen--

Andrea Jensen grew up in Pleasant Grove. She is married to her fabulous husband and she has 3 amazing kids. She just graduated with another bachelor's degree (in Public and Community Health) so she can save the world and make it a better place.

She joined SMART because she is trying to fill the shoes of the famous Toni Carpenter from the Division of Environmental Health. She was just hired to take Toni’s position.

Her hobbies and interests include sleeping, traveling, and Interior Design (she received her first bachelor’s degree in Interior Design).
Andrea is unique because she has a twin sister (and no, they don't look anything alike and they didn't date each other's boyfriends or attend each other's classes in high school).

Andrea is passionate about asthma as her and her three children all have asthma. She was happy being an Interior Designer and Mom, but decided to go back to school (again) to get a degree in Public Health so she can help other families. She created and maintain a blog as part of her job, entitled "My Life as An Asthma Mom." Her business card reads "Written by a mom with asthma. Caring for her 3 kids who have asthma and offering advice on how to avoid the pitfalls" http://www.asthmamomlife.blogspot.com/

In addition to asthma, she has been on the board of Safe Kids Utah County for 2 1/2 years, is a member of the Tobacco Speakers Bureau and seems to volunteer for anything else that comes along, including planning this year's Utah Public Health Association (UPHA) annual conference. She is learning to say "no."




Meet Ruthann Jarvis--

Ruthann Jarvis grew up in Spanish Fork. Utah and has 3 living siblings (2 brothers and 1 sister). Two siblings live in Spanish Fork and one in California. She has a Masters of Nursing with an emphasis in Education. She has worked as a Registered Nurse in Surgery, ER, Med/Surg; and for the last 13 years she has been the Education Director at Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, Utah.

When asked why she joined SMART, Ruthann responded, “I think as a healthcare Provider we need to be aware and educated on the use and abuse of the medication we are giving our patients. Patients should be involved in their care and know what is being given to them and for what reason, both the expected effect and the side effects. Medication and especially narcotics in healthcare are both used wisely and abused. We as a hospital need to be able to educate ourselves and then our patients and the community about both the wise use of medication and the abuses.”

Ruthann’s hobbies and interests are her grandchildren. She also loves to read, travel and see different things. One thing that makes Ruthann unique is her continual quest for knowledge. She still loves learning new things.