Chamber chooses three Salute to Health Care honorees

An orthodontist, a neurosurgeon and an internal medicine specialist-turned-teacher will share the spotlight later this month as they are honored by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Drs. Jerry F. Cash, John F. Ferguson and John A. Mihalevich Jr. will be recognized Oct. 29 during the chamber's 24th annual Salute to Health Care banquet.

"The event began as an effort to recognize the impact of health care on the area economy," said chamber Executive Vice President Brad Bodenhausen. "Then in the process of doing that, it's certainly recognizing individuals and organizations that have done outstanding work in the health care field."

A selection committee of past Salute to Health Care honorees, and community and chamber members was responsible for choosing this year's honorees.

Cash, Ferguson and Mihalevich were chosen based on their demonstration of leadership to improve the health of Springfield-area residents and their contributions to make Springfield a healthier place.

Improving dental health

After graduation from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Dental School and Orthodontic Residency Program, Cash practiced general dentistry in Kansas City, Kan., for three years and taught at the dental school. He launched his Springfield practice, Jerry F. Cash DDS, MS PC, in 1975.

"I decided to be an orthodontist when I was a sophomore in high school, because I knew this little fifth-grade girl who wouldn't smile and kept her head down the whole time," Cash said.

"Her dad thought she had psychological problems; he was going to send her to a counselor. Instead, the local dentist said that she needed her teeth fixed because she thought she was ugly. So she went to the local orthodontist. She got orthodontics done, and after they took her braces off it just changed her life. She just became a tremendous extrovert. She did better in school, socially, became a teacher, physical therapist - and she happens to be my younger sister, Nancy," he added.

A lifelong student, Cash said numerous technological changes in his field require continual study, something he enjoys.

Cash participated in the Foundation for Orthodontic Research and International Study Club with doctors from around the world. He also takes courses and gives lectures.

Cash has served with organizations and causes, including the Greater Springfield Dental Society, Missouri Crippled-Children's Cleft Palate Team and Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast.

He currently serves on boards at Ozark Technical Community, Vatterott and Everest colleges.

He was named the Outstanding Orthodontist of the Year 2008 by the UMKC Dental School and Orthodontic Alumni Association.

"I love doing orthodontics. I love working with kids and adults. I've just never had to go to work hardly a day in my life because of what I do," he said.

He's also enjoying working with one of his two daughters, Dr. Tara Cash, who joined his practice after graduating from his alma mater in August.

Neurological care

Ferguson, a neurosurgeon at Springfield Neurological and Spine Institute LLC, graduated from Yale University and St. Louis University School of Medicine.

He completed a surgery internship and residency 1969-71 at the Yale-New Haven Hospital, and that's when he began focusing on neurosurgery. Ferguson became a neurosurgery resident at the University of Colorado Medical Center in Denver, in 1971 and completed a neurosurgery research fellowship in 1974, before becoming chief resident of neurosurgery.

In 1975, he began private practice in Colorado and moved to Springfield in 1978.

"The challenge of neurosurgery is to accomplish the surgery without losing any neurological functions," Ferguson said. "We have a lot more technical aids that help us with our surgery than compared to when I started in 1975, but the challenge still remains the same - to get the patient through the operating procedure without any neurological damage - and that is the thing that is most exciting about it."

Ferguson said the diagnostic aspect of neurosurgery is the most interesting, because the problem can be put together like a puzzle.

He said there are three key places to gather information: the patient, the physical exam and diagnostic studies. "All three things fit together to give you the answer in terms of what the patient's problem is and then consequently, what you need to do about it," he added.

Ferguson's Springfield experience includes time at CoxHealth and St. John's. He's also been active in the community, currently serving on the board of directors of the Child Advocacy Center.

Teaching younger doctors

Mihalevich, a 1970 graduate of the University of Missouri Medical School, has served as the internal medicine clinical faculty at the Springfield-based Cox Family Practice Residency Program since 2006.

Mihalevich was not available for comment, but according to his Salute to Health Care application, following medical school, he began an internal medicine internship at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville.

In 1972, he was drafted into the military, and he fulfilled a two-year obligation as a general medical officer at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Virginia, after which time he returned to Vanderbilt and completed his residency. He spent an extra year at Vanderbilt as chief resident of medicine, and entered private practice in Springfield in 1976.

Mihalevich spent 30 years in private practice in Springfield with Internal Medicine Associates, now known as St. John's Whiteside Internal Medicine.

During private practice, he filled several administrative positions at St. John's, including chief of medical staff and chairman of primary care.

In 1995, he earned a master's degree in health administration from the University of Colorado in Denver.

In the community, Mihalevich was co-founder of Hospice of Southwest Missouri, serving as chairman of its board in 1982. More recently, he co-chaired the health subcommittee of the Red Wagon initiative of the Mayor's Commission for Children, and he served as president of the Greene County Medical Society in 2006.

Even though Mihalevich has left his private practice days behind, he has taken to his role as a teacher for new doctors.

"This has been an extremely enjoyable experience for me in that I am associated with young physicians who constantly stimulate and challenge me," Mihalevich wrote in his application.

"This experience helps me to offset the loss of direct patient care, which has been the most profound and rewarding experience in my career."