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San Diego, United States of America
606 Washington Street, San Diego, CA 92103 – Show map
Excellent location – rated 9.1/10! (score from 83 reviews)
Rated by guests after their stay at Sommerset Suites Hotel.
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83 verified reviews
We verify all reviews from guests who have stayed at Sommerset Suites Hotel. Find out more.
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Sommerset Suites Hotel's staff speak: English
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BBQ Facilities, Outdoor Pool (all year), Terrace
Hot Tub
Free! WiFi is available in the hotel rooms and is free of charge.
Public parking is available on site (reservation is not needed) and costs USD 9 per day.
Vending Machine (drinks), Vending Machine (snacks), 24-Hour Front Desk, Baggage Storage, ATM on site, Laundry, Dry Cleaning, Business Center, Fax/Photocopying
Newspapers, Safe, Non-smoking Rooms, Facilities for Disabled Guests, Family Rooms, Elevator, Heating, Air Conditioning
From 3:00 PM
Until 12:00 PM
Cancellation and prepayment policies vary according to room type. Please enter the dates of your stay and check what conditions apply to your preferred room.
Children and Extra Beds
All children are welcome.
Free! One child under 18 years stays free of charge when using existing beds.
One additional older child or adult is charged USD 10 per person per night in an extra bed.
One older child or adult is charged USD 15 per night in an extra bed.
Free! One child under 2 years stays free of charge in a crib.
The maximum number of extra beds/cribs in a room is 1.
Any type of extra bed or crib is upon request and needs to be confirmed by management.
Additional fees are not calculated automatically in the total cost and will have to be paid for separately during your stay.
Pets are allowed. Charges may apply.
Cards accepted at this property
Sommerset Suites Hotel accepts these cards and reserves the right to pre-authorize your card prior to arrival.
Ideal Alternatives for You
Guests are required to show a photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.
Based on 83 reviews
Value for money
Show reviews from:
Manchester Grand Hyatt San DiegoLatest booking: 35 minutes ago There are 4 people looking at this hotel.
La Quinta Inn San Diego Old Town / AirportThis hotel is features a free airport shuttle to the San Diego International Airport, which is 4 miles from the property. The rooms feature refrigerators and microwaves.
Score from 45 reviews Good
This 100% non-smoking property is 6.5 miles from downtown San Diego and within a 5-minute drive of SeaWorld San Diego. The hotel offers an outdoor pool and suites with free Wi-Fi.
Score from 495 reviews Good
Situated directly on the beach and only minutes from attractions such as SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo, this hotel offers comfortable guestrooms and an on-site restaurant.
Score from 142 reviews Good
This pet friendly hotel is 10 minutes from Mission Bay Park and Sea World San Diego and features an outdoor pool and a hot tub. The rooms have a microwave, a refrigerator, and free Wi-Fi.
Score from 179 reviews Very good
big room, very nice personal, getting everywhere pretty fast (by car), breakfast was okay too!
paying extra for the parking, safe is not to big and you need to get the lock at the reception
The staff from check-in to check-out were great.
Good location
Needs updating, louder during night as it is next to busy street. Loud air con
Great house keeping service, very friendly
Having to pay $10 per night for parking
1) Customer service (excellent) - great staff! Accommodating, quick responses (door was not working), caring responses 2) Quick responses 3) Perfect location 4) Inexpensive parking 5) Rooms overlooking the pool better than previous assigned room
1) Soft bed (sign of needing a new mattress 2) Towels look dirty/dingy/sign of needing new towels/wash clothes 3) Cabinet won't close - broken 4) First room we were assigned to smelled like urine/terrible view
We can't think of anything to complain about during our 5 day stay at the Somerset Suites. The staff was super-friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable. The room, and amenities were great. Excess noise was non-existent, or minimal at best. The air-conditioning worked good. The kitchenette was handy; TV was excellent; parking for our car was easy and convienient. The morning coffee and breakfasts served downstairs were superb and delicious - a real plus for a vacationer. Everything was clean and tidy. The Inn's location was also very handy to the main traffic arteries, for easy access and egress to all the tourist hot-spots, eateries, and convienience stores. All in all, we felt very comfortable at the Somerset, and will definitely stay there again. 5-stars out of 5-stars!!!!!
The room was really big and very clean.
The air conditioning in the room didn't work. It wasn't hot during my stay, but it would've been a concern otherwise.
the noise from the street
The staff was SUPER NICE and always helpful. We lost our plane and had to come back. The hotel was fully booked, but the front desk lady assisted us in finding a nearby hotel that met our requirements.
Nothing. All great!
great neighborhood-very nice staff
What a pleasant surprise in the heart of Hillcrest. Despite the hospital being across the street with street noise and ambulances, we slept well. The staff was exceptionally pleasant and professional. The facilities were clean and very comfortable. I loved that there were many fun and interesting places to experience within easy walking distance. I never had to use my car. If you want a San Diego city experience with the ease of visiting the zoo, Balboa Park, and many beaches - this is a great, economical place to stay.
Can't think of anything.
We liked the fact that it was close to almost every attraction that we were going to see while staying in San Diego. The Staff were always helpful and said "Hi" every time they saw us. Every where in the hotel was very clean, pool area, hallways, laundry room and our room. The Continental Breakfast Room was great and the ladies there were always smiling. Thanks for a great experience!
The pool was a little chilly sometimes (April) but it was still fun for the kids!
Friendly staff, free WiFi, fine breakfast, no objections against storing a bicycle inside, comfortable bed and air conditioning.
The sound isolation was poor (closing/opening doors to other rooms and ambulances to nearby hospital) could easily be heard during the night.
Big room
Noise from the road
Great place ... Will be there again
The parking fee
We liked that the place was so close to everything. - The rooms are big and comfortable to fit a four adults and a toddler.The staff are really nice and always smiling. -They attended to our complain and even gave us a complimentary movie. - the price was awesome cant beat it especially because they served breakfast as well.
We got to our rooms and it looked good until we got ready for bed. The pull out bed was full of crumbs and the sheets from the bedroom had hair on it. The microwave smelled so much like pinesol( or whatever cleaning material they use) ..too strong that we had to air it before use.
This hotel is located near all the nice restaurants, Whole Foods can also be reached by foot in minutes. We were very nice received and got helpful hints about the newest vegan places nearby. A lot of them are in a walking distance. Our room was located at the backside, totally quiete at night even though we slept by open windows. The room was spacy, sleeping room and the rest separated by a door. Kitchen was well equipped. All the main highways can be reached easily. Try it and hopefully you will have the same pleasant experience as we had.
I"ve stayed here several times and like the hotel very much.
I don't quite understand why they charge for unsecured parking.
Great location!
Clean nice big room ,accessible to all restaurant ,bars walking distance .
The privacy, ease of getting into and out of the room down to my car. I could easily come and go without a lot of hassle. The room cleaning staff were several steps abovehat I normally experience. They were very friendly, engaged, and often initiated conversation. There is a PC connected to a printer in the office that can be used by guests. Each room has a balcony with two chairs and a table and great views.
Because of its central location in Hillsdale and being near a major hospital it was a bit loud at times with sirens bringing patients into the hospital. I suspect that had I had a different room location this might not have been as bad. I preferred a room right on the main street (Washington).
Nice and very clean hotel. The room was very large with a little but well equipped kitchen. The breakfast was above the average of USA 3 stars hotel: quality of food and space to stay were good.
The air conditioner: too noisy in my opinion an European guest.
the location.
the breakfast.
We loved the size of the room and the kitchen. The deluxe breakfast was very nice and so was the social evenings. Ian at the desk was very friendly. So was all of housekeeping. We will probably stay here again when we visit San Diego next year.
I would have like to have had some kind of cleaning products provided especially in the kitchen. Also - we were there over the Christmas holiday and completely understand that the housekeeping staff would be taking Christmas day off...on Christmas Eve there was a note taped to our door (dated Dec 21) stating there would be no service on Christmas Day. It would have been nice if we were provided extra towels and some cleaning products.
This is my favorite place to stay when I'm in San Diego. It's centrally located for everything I need to do, plus it's always clean and friendly staffed.
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The job market in Williston has never slowed down --- and according to Williston Job Service spokesperson Cindy Sanford, companies are picking up the pace and adding positions for the summer.
There are more than 26-hundred job openings in Williams County according to Job Service-North Dakota numbers released today.
With that many jobs available, a career fair in Williston focused on specific needs of the oil and gas industry.
All applicants were required to have at least two years of industry experience so that employers could work on filling advanced positions.
(Tonya Zipperian, Expo Experts LLC) "This is a hard market. People are already out there in the field working and it's hard for these companies to get the experienced candidates that they need."
The Job Service-North Dakota numbers show 27,128 available jobs in the state.
Minot Police say Zofia Kristal Pepple of New Town was struck by a pickup and killed about 6:25pm Sunday
A two-year-old child was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Minot Sunday evening.
They ask if you have any information about the incident that you contact them at 852-0111.
In addition, both had recently been released from state prison.

subset: commoncrawl


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You can use .5" poly tubing to bring water to where you want to start your irrigation runs. The poly tubing serves as the main water supply and is used with the .5" fittings below. To connect Aquapore to poly, use barbed Aquapore fittings. To connect T-Tape to poly, use Loc Sleeve fittings. Not all .5"poly tubing is the same! Ours is 0.60 I.D./0.70 O.D.
The tubing is easy to use and held up well. I'm curious to see how many seasons we'll get out of it!Review by Katie (on 12/19/12)
Easy to use, great price.Review by Linnie (on 12/15/12)


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I will admit some criticize Popper for being so dead set in favor of deductive methods and against inductive scientific methods, but his point is deductive science that tests and verifies with reliable evidence is the essential test of reliable and credible science. Falsifiability (testability) is a big and important word in the world of Popper Science. Seems Einstein agreed about experiments and evidence as controlling and dispositive.
The writings and teachings and ruminations of Popper have had a big effect on scientific endeavors and the philosophy of science and scientific epistimology.
The Popper template was a key to the Supreme Court Opinion by Blackmun in Daubert v Merrill Dow (1993) that established new and better guidance for judges on how to evaluate the admissibility of scientific testimony and evidence.
Here is a short essay on how the tautology becomes the "consensus" that shows the unreliability of the catastrophic warming/climate change/modeling crowd.
If every bit of evidence, even refutation is made into part of the proof of the thesis, it is circular tautological argumentation and not science at all.
if the theory can't be refuted by evidence that is contrary to the premise then we are in a mythical world, aren't we, the world of cargo cult science, where evidence is irrelevant.


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Monument (2013) to the Victims of Com...
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Panoramic photo by Uldis Bardins Taken 10:04, 18/05/2013 - Views
Monument (2013) to the Victims of Communist Terror,front view
The World > Europe > Latvia > Riga
Located in a grassy island area leading to the Torņakalns Railway Station is a monument made of five granite stones named "In the Snowstorm" ("Putenī") symbolizing three generations of those who were so brutally arrested and deported during Stalin's Terror.
June deportation was the first in the series of mass Soviet deportations of tens of thousands of people from the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova starting June 14, 1941 that followed the occupation and annexation of the Baltic states.
Men were generally imprisoned and most of them died in Siberian prison camps (Gulag); women and children were resettled in Kirov, Tomsk, Omsk and Novosibirsk Oblast as well as Krasnoyarsk and Altai Krai of Russia. About a half of them eventually survived.
After the war, further deportations were staged in a much larger scale.
Located in a grassy island area leading to the Torņakalns Railway Station is a monument made of five...
In such railroad cars, more than 15,000 residents of Latvia-among them 2400 children younger than ten...


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Constitutional Lawyers and Law Firms in Searingtown, NY
Constitutional Law Lawyers
Daniel Szalkiewicz & Associates, P.C.
Internet Defamation & Personal Injury Law Firm in New York City(212) 706-1007
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Julien & Schlesinger, P.C.
NYC Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury and Motor Vehicle Accident Attorneys(212) 962-8020
Julien & Schlesinger, P.C. is a personal injury law firm based in New York, New York providing legal services to clients throughout greater metropolitan New York and its surrounding counties. The firm's attorneys have nearly 150 years of legal experience combined between them,...
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Pazer, Epstein & Jaffe, P.C.
New York City Personal Injury Attorney(212) 227-1212 or (800) 483-0181
At Pazer, Epstein & Jaffe, P.C., we carry on a tradition of excellence in representing injured people that goes back over fifty years. With a combined experience of over 100 years and thousands of satisfied clients, our attorneys offer clients experience they can rely on. Through...
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The Law Offices of Ira S. Newman
Full-Service Law Firm in Great Neck, New York(516) 487-7375 or (800) 206-7375
The Law Offices of Ira S. Newman is a full service law firm based in Great Neck, New York providing a multitude of legal services to clients throughout greater metropolitan New York and Long Island. The firm's attorneys combine over 170 years of legal experience between them and...
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A&L Goodbody
Corporate Law Firm(212) 582-4499
Insight, experience and commercial acumen are just some of the qualities that make A&L Goodbody successful. Channeling those qualities into powerful partnerships with their clients is what makes them different.
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Akerman Senterfitt
Corporate, Litigation, Real Estate, Government, Bankruptcy, L&E, IP, Healthcare, and Taxation Firm(212) 880-3800
Akerman is a leading transactions and trial law firm known for its core strengths in middle-market M&A, within the financial services and real estate industries, and for a diverse Latin America practice. With more than 550 lawyers and government affairs professionals and a network...
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Cuatrecasas, Goncalves Pereira
Full Service Law Firm in Spain(212) 784-8800
Cuatrecasas, Goncalves Pereira is home to the general management and directorship of Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira in Spain. Located centrally at the intersection of Paseo de Gracia and Avenida Diagonal, the firm works in two of Barcelona's emblematic structures: the Edificio Europa...
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Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Securities, Corporate Finance & Business Law Office(212) 588-5500
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP is an integrated firm of more than 250 lawyers with offices in Toronto, Montréal, New York and an affiliate in Paris. The firm is focused on business law and is consistently at the heart of the largest and most complex commercial and financial...
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Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP
Global Law Firm(212) 351-4000
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Haynes and Boone, LLP
Preeminent Law Firm Serving Clients Globally on Sophisticated Legal Matters212.659.7300
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Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
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Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Chicago. We have offices in 12 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
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Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm
New York City, New York Personal Injury, Wrongful Death & Civil Rights Attorneys(212) 869-3500
Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm, a personal injury law firm in New York City, represents clients from New York, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, White Plains and Long Island, New York, and the counties of New York County, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester...
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Koles, Burke & Bustillo, LLP
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Law Office of Elliot S. Schlissel
Divorce, Personal Injury, Real Estate, Bankruptcy and Elder Lawyer in Nassau County(516) 561-6645 or (800) 344-6431
The Law Offices of Elliot S. Schlissel, founded in 1978, is a multi-service firm committed to client-focused, cost-effective legal services in the areas of family, criminal, real estate, personal injury and elder law, as well as wills, trusts and estate planning.
Our New York...
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Reisman Peirez & Reisman, LLP
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Reisman Peirez & Reisman, LLP is a dedicated law firm based in New York. The essence of the Firm's policy is centered on the notion of preventative counseling and ongoing evaluation, geared to the clients' critical interests. The strategy employed is to provide the client with...
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Stikeman Elliott LLP
Full-Service Law Firm(212) 371-8855
Stikeman Elliott LLP is one of Canadas leading business law firms, with offices in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver as well as in London, New York and Sydney. The firm is recognized as a Canadian leader in each of its core practice areas - corporate finance, M&A,...
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Subin Associates, LLP
New York Personal Injury Attorneys(646) 666-3030 or (877) 265-4065
Subin Associates, LLP has helped people throughout the New York metro area for more than 50 years, offering aggressive, results-oriented representation in all types of serious personal injury cases, including motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, construction accidents and...
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Torys LLP
Wide Range of Legal Services(212) 880-6000
Torys is a highly respected international business law firm with offices in Toronto and New York. We are recognized internationally as a frequently recommended law firm in a large number of practice areas. Our Toronto and New York lawyers work together to offer seamless cross-border...
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Uría Menéndez
Legal Advice in all Areas of Business Law(212) 593-1300
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Andrew J. Spinnell, LLCNew York, NY - Law Firm near Searingtown
New York City Divorce Lawyer(646) 495-9484
The Law Offices of Andrew J. Spinnell, LLC is a family law firm that has been serving New Yorkers in all five boroughs since 1983. From the heated debates that can stem from a contested divorce to the amicable settlements agreed upon in cases of uncontested divorce or no-fault divorce, our lawyers...
Attorney David A BythewoodMineola, NY - Law Firm near Searingtown
Attorney in New York - Call for a Free Consultation(516) 741-0066
David A. Bythewood holds a Juris Doctor degree from the Hofstra University School of Law and is a trial and transactional lawyer with more than twenty-five (25) years of experience. That experience is in criminal defense, civil litigation and trials, and negotiating all forms of transactions in...
Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.New York, NY - Law Firm near Searingtown
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Cooley Godward LLPNew York, NY - Law Firm near Searingtown
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Daniel H. Erskine, Esq.New York, NY - Law Firm near Searingtown
Business Transactions, Civil Litigation, Appeals, International Law(866) 951-4443
Daniel H. Erskine, Esq. engages in the private practice of law in New York, New York and Stamford, Connecticut. He focuses on international law, civil litigation, appeals, and business transactions. Attorney Erskine provides legal services to clients in New York, Connecticut, and in various foreign...
Dillon EustaceNew York, NY - Law Firm near Searingtown
Financial Services, Corporate and Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Property/Real Estate and Taxation(212) 792-4166
Dillon Eustace is one of Ireland's leading law firms focusing on financial services, banking and capital markets, corporate and M&A, litigation and dispute resolution, real estate and taxation.


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Talks with Tolkien artists: SceithAilm:iconsceithailm: - SceithAilm is a talented russian artist and creator of the (still unfinished) Tolkien tarot. It is my pleasure to bring you this interview with her today. 1. Hello! For the beginning, could you tell us something about yourself?Hey there! My real name is Olga, I live and work in St. Petersburg, Russia (it's a wonderful city but recently I dream to run away from here). Now I'm an artist in a small company owned by the Austrian corporation Novomatic that produces graphics and animations for casino gaming machines. What else can I say... I just love Shakespeare's plays, Jane Austen's novels, Tolkien's tales and Norse mythology. All of this help
Talks with Tolkien artists: The-Black-Panther:iconthe-black-panther: - The-Black-Panther is the creator of another humorous Tolkien themed comic series titles "Meet the Nazgûl". So, what are we waitiing for? Let's meet them... and her, as well! 1. Hello! For the beginning, could you tell us something about yourself?Hello, my nickname on dA is the-black-panther but elsewhere I use simply Pantera. I'm from Poland and I've been drawing since I remember.2. When did you read Tolkien's books for the first time, and what impression did they leave in you?I read The Lord of the Rings relatively late, shortly before the film The Fellowship of the Ring was released. What's more I already know t
Talks with Tolkien artists: spiegelscherben:iconspiegelcherben: - spiegelscherben is the author of the "Silmarillion - The Good Parts Version" comics, but more than that, she is also a Tolkien artist and roleplayer. We talked about her art, humour and inspiration. (Sorry for the small thumbs, I was having some trouble with resizing them in stash)1. Hello! For the beginning, could you tell us something about yourself?Hello! I'm a geek girl who lives behind a computer keyboard in Sweden. Computer programmer by day, artist and writer by night (well when not stuck in RP anyway!).2. When did you read Tolkien's books for the first time, and what impression did they leave in you?I read The Hobbit for the first time when I was about 11, I suppose. I read LOTR at 14, but I preferred the Hobbit for a long time - I preferred the flawed, pithy Elves over the overly perfect ones from LotR I suppose. But it's a
Note of absence "I'm going on an adventure!"I am posting this note in my personal profile as well as in the groups where I'm the only admin who votes on entries. I'll be away from August 7th to 18th. (I promised my sister I'll take her to a trip when she graduates high school, so we're going to Corsica ) I might have some limited internet access through the phone, but I will not reply to any notes and messages, and will not approve the submissions in the groups. I will get back to everything after I return.I still have a load of photos from Scotland to submit, and I don't want them to get forgotten when I return with new ones (as it often happens to me...), so I'm considering setting a scheduled sumbit for them. Help me decide on the frequency of it here, please! http://mirachravaia.deviantart.com/journal/poll/4622872/***I will be away from July 19th until July 27th, without any internet access. In that time I will not reply to any notes and messages, and will not approve
Talks with Tolkien artists: hitogata/kittykatkanieFor those who like a bit of anime/manga style mixed with their Tolkien, I have the pleasure to present you one of the popular atrists of this style who alse draws Tolkien illustrarions. :iconhitogata: - hitogata, or :iconkittykatkanie: - kittykatkanie under an alternate account, is also a creator of the Noldorin Icon Family - :iconnoldorinfamilystore:. A few examples of her icons:And a taste of her art: 1. Hello! For the beginning, could you tell us something about yourself?Hi! My name is Kat - some ca
Talks with tolkien artists: faQyToday I had the pleasure to talk with a great Czech Tolkien artist with unique style, and a great person, :iconfaqy: - faQy 1. Hello! For the beginning, could you tell us something about yourself?Hi!...i am student of animation, i like fairy tales and i live in small village somewhere under mountains :32. When did you read Tolkien's books for the first time, and what impression did they leave in you?I think my first Tolkien book was The Hobbit. I was ten years old and I have read every fantasy book that i found in our small library.I think I started drawing because of that Hobbit book - in czech version there are illustrations by Jiri Salamoun and i didn´t like them when I was young (now i thin
Traditional Trees contest winnersThis is a feature of the winners of the "Traditional Trees" contest, held by :icontrees-with-character:Congratulations to all winners!:icontree3plz::iconcheerplz::iconclubinvite::iconspotlightplz:First Place:iconspotlightplz::iconclubinvite::iconcheerplz::icontree3plz::iconmolecularart:molecularartWith:A Walk in Late OctoberMore from His Gallery: :icontree3plz::iconcheerplz::iconclubinvite::iconspotlightplz:Second Place:iconspotlightplz::iconclubinvite::iconcheerplz::icontree3plz::iconKasiarzynka:KasiarzynkaWith:Fairytale treeMore from Her Gallery: :icontree3plz::iconcheerplz::iconclubinvite:
Wedding announcementMaybe you've already noticed it in the description of the picture I used for my wedding invitationand maybe not, so I'm making it official to my dA friends as well: I'm getting married on May 31st to my best friend and soul-mate.This is also an apology for my inactivity here lately, because besides the wedding preparations, I also have to finish my disseratation, and so I don't have time to reply to comments and post journals here. But I you, and you are all virtually invited to my wedding, if you remember me on that day and give me and my future husband a toast .:iconbigheartplz:
Talks with Tolkien artists: marisolyShe can see the unseen, and her Tolkien illustrations are truly unique, with their own beauty standards and symbolics. Today I bring you an interview with a spanish artist Maria Lombide Ezpeleta, or :iconmarisoly: - marisoly 1. For the beginning, could you tell us something about yourself? Im nobody, coming from nowhere and going towards nothing…I have always felt that, it´s my weakness and strength.2. When did you read Tolkien's books for the first time, and what impression did they leave in you? They were read to me in loud, before I could read myself. I was impressed by Meeting Gildor Inglorion, Glorfindel at the Bridg
WHILE WE WATCH 2014 - 14 Animated Gif by azieser Wherever by anaPhenixsilent dialogues by Greyguardian Meeting with the Stars by djailledie deviantID by LissomerLove Heart by ABSTRACTSbySabina Zephyr by FalseMaria blue Kiss by Pierre-Lagarde Flaming Purple by Photominimalist No Habra Nadie En El Mundo by LUCILALEYLA
PE: Anime/Manga - Digital ArtGallery MonthHello everyone! Welcome to the Anime & Manga half of this week! Today Gwendolyn12 and me are going to explain the different categories of the Anime & Manga Gallery.Since this Gallery has 2 different main categories the Gallery Overview is split in 2 articles.In my article I will explain you our Digital Media category including the sub-categories. The Traditional Media category will be explained later by Gwendolyn12!However,What is Anime & Manga?Lets see...Anime is based of the word Animation. These are Japanese animated productions usually featuring hand-drawn or computer animations. When you talk about an Animation in Manga style. That's Anime.But what is Manga? With Manga you mainly mean a comic book created in Japan. But this word is used for regula
JULY + AUGUST: ART FEATURESThese are the featured submissions from the groups UnlimitedAnime-Manga, DrawAnimeArt and Manga-Anime-4ALL for the months of July and August! Check them out & give them love! And please this journal so that it can reach larger audience, thus giving more exposure to the artists. 20140822 by mist-dancerSweet Tooth by Deiyanoko Another Kingdom by Joyfool Kill la Kill : Maid Miko by Me-Ticha
FREE OC PONY REQUESTS!!! UPDATED!FREE OC PONY REQUESTS!!!Since im sorta board right now I will be doing free OC ponies!RULES: -optional -not aloud -mandatory -if you can, tip me? in my donation? -if u give any number of points even 1 ur request will be one of the first posted! -llama? - gore, nudity mature subject -stealing someone else' OC -MUST BE UR OWN OC! -FAVE THIS JOURNAL! -MAKE A JOURNAL
FeaturesHello beasties, A selection of works that deserve your attention. Dream watcher by tamaraR Pandora's box by Manink Greenpy by wiksa Sick Media by MademoiselleKati Odile by IrKos GOLDEN LADY by Bojan1558 Ici et Ailleurs by Marjie79 Energy by Lhianne Stille Kom Doden by LadyxBoleyn Wanderer by FictionChick Awaken the soul by dangerous-glow
Softness-art: Weekly feature XXVII:iconsoftness-art:A simple detail by mirazuMarie by AngiriasThe Wine Box by xBassxHarmingxIsabella by Dapicturefrozen days - invisible world* by AlicjaRodzikBed Time Stories by ThePiggieWheekHonorata by fineussMasha5 by piesongsunshine hd wallpaper by ezorenier...imotski I... by roblfc1892Yet still inside I felt alone by deadlychrisA Mirror of Infinity by bordaKeeper Of The Sun by mrxthanh
Light Hunters Feature #85Enjoy some of the recent additions to our gallery:iconvenatoreslucis:
Manga/Anime DD Roundup - August 2014:icongwendolyn12:Features by Gwendolyn12 2015 PREVIEW by KARNxJiro Lamp by Reikyourin Chibi Dragon by Skunkyfly Warsong by Toosan MY SONG by hecoheio Miku by Cymphonia Summer Time by Fhyen Thunderbird by Kyokimaru
Streetside Stories: Human DispositionParanoia by - wchild ouchby - OliverJulesStation Reflection by - EarthHart5 by - HenzonleeShark Attackby - myraincheckVery old meets very smallby - sandas04Stripesby - niklin1Chinatownby - pavboqHorizonby - djailledie
Talks with Tolkien artists: kaijukidThe wedding is over, dissertation is written, and Talks with Tolkien artists are back! Today I would like to introduce you an artist who illustarted the WHOLE Tale of Beren and Lúthien - not in 10, not in 20 pictures, but full 61 of them! At first he wanted to decline the interview because there are many more talented Tolkien artists, but I think you'll agree with me that a dedication and effort like this should be recognized regardless of the talent level. And so I present you :iconkaijukid: - kaijukid and his Lay of Luthien: 1. When did you read Tolkien's books for the first time, and what impression did they leave in you?---What amazed the young mind I had when I first read them wa
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- Newton Theatre
Newton, NJ
- AMC Rockaway 16
Rockaway, NJ
- AmericanPlace Sparta Theatres
Sparta, NJ
- Bow Tie Succasunna Cinema 10
Succasunna, NJ
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- "The Maze Runner" Gets Wider with Extra Screens in "Escape" Theaters [8/29]
- Waynesville, MO: B & B Waynesville Patriot 12 & GS Opens August 29, 2014, Waynesville Cinema 8 Closed [8/28]
- Indianapolis, IN: Cinemark Washington Market 8 Closed [8/28]
- Streator, IL: Majestic Theatre Closed, Up For Sale [8/26]
- Frostburg, MD: R/C Theatres Closes R/C Cinemas 1-2-3, Employees Launch Effort to Reopen [8/25]
- Teicher Theatres Closes All Locations [8/25]
- Santa Monica, CA: Watch the Extended Versions of All Three LOTR Movies at the Aero Theatre on August 30, 2014 [8/21]
- Lodi, CA: Lodi Stadium 12 Cinemas Temporarily Closed for Bedbugs [8/20]
- Hollywood, CA: World Premiere of "If I Stay" on August 20, 2014 at Chinese Theatre [8/20]
- Carmike Completes Acquisition of Digital Cinema Destinations Corp. [8/19]
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The historic Newton Theatre in Newton, New Jersey closed at the end of September 2010, according to an article in the New Jersey Herald:
Pure economics, including consumers' desire for movie options and 3D capability and the cost of showing first-run films at their release date, led to the closure of the historic Newton Theater last week, its operator said.
Built in the 1920s, the two-screen theater consistently advertised movies on its classic marquee, at $7 per ticket, until big black letters announced "Theatre Closed" on Friday.
"It's a real shame," operator Nelson Page, of Teaneck. "People from the town have always supported the theater."
But a lack of popularity from outside the town's borders took its toll.
"After 14 years, I could see the handwriting on the wall," he said. "We have a very large theater to the north in Middletown (N.Y.) and one to the south at the (Rockaway) mall. That siphoned away the regional aspect of the theater."
Click the Read link below to read the full article.
Moviegoers in Newton now will need to travel a little bit to watch a movie in a theater. The nearest theater is AmericanPlace Sparta Theatres in Sparta, followed by the Clearview's Succasunna Cinema 10 in Succasunna and AMC Rockaway 16 in Rockaway (about 14-15 miles away).
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August 27, 2014
As the summer winds down and as now we are firmly in the 2014-15 academic year, I think it's a good opportunity to review what's been going on at CMSRU over the last few months.
Needless to say, we've been busy! Between wrapping up last year and preparing for the exciting things ahead, the team has been hard at work. What follows is a very brief summary of a few of the things we've been up to.
Provisional Accreditation from the LCME. In this blog, we've previously talked about the journey to full accreditation for a new school. In 2011, we received Preliminary Accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, thereby allowing us to enroll the Charter Class in August, 2012.
In June we received the good news that we had been granted Provisional Accreditation – the second of three steps. In addition to receiving kudos from the site visitors, we were found to have no deficiencies, similar to our first visit! Notably, we received comments that we were "creating the medical school of the future", something that makes us quite proud.
Next step? The LCME visit for Full Accreditation will occur in the spring of 2016, during the Charter Class' final year. Just this week, our team began the process to prepare for this important event.
Phase 1 Retreat. The summer heralded the completion of Phase 1 – the first two years of the four-year curriculum – and what better time to review what had occurred? In a daylong retreat involving the faculty and staff who had shepherded this Phase, a thorough review of the accomplishments and challenges were discussed, with implementation plans created for some changes in this academic year. As a medical school committed to continuous assessment and quality improvement, we look forward to seeing the impact of these changes – and while our fundamental curricular structure is largely unchanged, we believe that these edits will further enhance the CMSRU experience.
Cooper Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (CLIC). Last month, the Charter Class began Phase 2 of the curriculum in the CLIC. Typically, this year is largely hospital-based with sequential 4-8 week rotations (e.g. Surgery, Psychiatry, Neurology, etc.). But medicine is really not practiced this way anymore – it's following patients across the continuum of venues (inpatient and outpatient) and managing illness over time. And don't forget prevention – so critical to the nation's health.
More closely mimicking the way medicine is and will be practiced, the Charter Class embarked in early July on the CLIC. Focusing initially on hospital immersion in the six core medical disciplines, in this novel clinical curriculum, the class continues to build their "own" portfolio of patients (expanding that which began in the first month of their first year!) under the tutelage of faculty physician preceptors. As they follow their cohort of patients over the year, the students will come to understand the critical elements of the continuum and transitions of care; and the necessary development of relationships with patients, faculty and all members of the health care team; and each other. We truly believe that this approach will embed knowledge and experiences that will serve our graduates throughout their careers.
Our Neighborhood. There is a LOT of activity in the Lanning Square neighborhood that is our home. Immediately south of the CMSRU building, construction is well underway on the KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, New Jersey's first renaissance public school. This month, 100 kindergarten students from Camden will start their education. Growing to K-12 with over a thousand students, we are excited to welcome our new neighbors and we look forward to building on the interactions that have already started with CMSRU.
To our east, directly across South Broadway additional construction has started – a block long array of buildings that will house over 100 beds of apartment housing for CMSRU students as well as ground floor retail. With occupancy planned for the summer of 2015, this important project is well underway.
While there are other items on the "list of summer time activities", this space will permit no more and I look forward to sharing more in the weeks ahead. So while the livin' hasn't exactly been easy, it has been exciting!!
Paul Katz, MD
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
May 5, 2014
Recently, CMSRU's chapter of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), the oldest and largest student-run organization focused on the needs and concerns of medical students of color, helped our school celebrate National Stress Awareness Day (NSAD). NSAD was started by the Health Resource Network (more info here) in 1992 to raise awareness of stress. While stress is a national issue, among medical students it is even more troublesome.
A recent pilot study (here) from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) revealed a high prevalence of psychological distress among U.S. medical students, and noted that the effects of stress may be more deleterious to the well-being of the groups that are traditionally underrepresented in medicine. The negative consequences of distress during medical training, such as reduced empathy, lower ethical conduct, and substance abuse are problematic, particularly if they undermine the goal of graduating knowledgeable, effective, and professional physicians.
In light of these troublesome data, several medical schools are working to develop wellness initiatives to mitigate student stress and its long-term consequences. Take for example, Vanderbilt Medical School in Nashville; it is among the most innovative and forward thinking schools as pertains to wellness. Just two weeks ago, CMSRU's Chief Student Affairs Officer and I visited the school to learn more about how their students are incorporating wellness into their curriculum. Vanderbilt's program is a student-run initiative comprised of five committees, each supporting a different area of student well-being—physical, emotional/spiritual, interpersonal, academic/professional, and environmental/community. Throughout the year, the committees organize various program events and offer resources for medical students including an annual, daylong wellness retreat where students are excused from their classes and clerkship obligations to focus on their own well-being.
At CMSRU, we've established our own Wellness Committee comprised of faculty, staff and students that have both passion for and expertise in a variety of wellness applications including yoga, meditation, fitness, psychiatry, nutrition, and research. This Committee is focused on understanding the needs of our student community in order to build programs that will best serve them. Thus far, our committee has established a mission and vision and has secured dedicated space in our educational facility to support wellness activities. The Wellness Committee is also working to incorporate wellness awareness and activities into CMSRU's curriculum.
As mentioned earlier, members of the Wellness Committee recently worked in conjunction with the SNMA group on CMSRU's National Stress Awareness Day activities. With the goal of reducing stress for their peers, members the SNMA group planned a day that included fresh fruit, a quiet 'meditation' room, lunchtime chair massages, and the biggest crowd pleaser – therapy dogs. Two dogs and their trainers were available during the day to help promote a stress-free environment for our students. All agreed that it was a resounding success!
It will be important, going forward, to examine whether these interventions reduce the perceived stress of medical students and, specifically, if they are helpful for the student subgroups that were recently identified as those most negatively affected by the medical school experience. With the advent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is a new focus on preventive medicine and on keeping people well. If we intend to prepare physicians to think differently, it's time that medical schools begin taking a different approach – one that not only teaches students how to make patients well, but how to be well and stay well themselves.
Patricia Vanston, MS
Associate Dean for Program and Business Development
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
February 21, 2014
When I was a medicine resident at the University of Florida, the cheapest place to buy cigarettes in Gainesville was the Veterans Administration Hospital. The great irony of this was not lost on my colleagues and me.
We covered inpatient units filled with servicemen (there were few women at that time), many with chronic lung disease, head and neck malignancies, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and permanent tracheostomies. Our efforts to make them well were seemingly counterbalanced by the large "Smoking Lounges" on each floor – complete with large screen (at the time – 26 inches!) TV's, comfortable seating and ashtrays where the cigarettes purchased on the lower level of the hospital could be savored.
Eventually, the VA discontinued this practice as more and more data appeared about the risks of smoking. And while the first Surgeon General's report (www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/50th-anniversary/index.htm) on the adverse consequences of tobacco usage appeared five decades ago, we only just now see a major tobacco retailer, CVS Caremark, halting sales in its stores. Change takes time.
CVS, the current leader in sales nationally among all drugstore chains, has gotten into the business of providing health care. With CVS's almost 8,000 U.S. stores and nearly a thousand MinuteClinics® – providing medical care delivered by primary care nurse practitioners and physician assistants, pharmacist-administered vaccinations, medication counseling, blood pressure monitoring and routine laboratory testing (no appointments needed and most insurance accepted – thank you very much!)- combined with millions of people now able to access care through the Affordable Care Act, the company is clearly positioned for expansion of care delivery services. So, CVS has come to the same conclusion as the Department of Veterans Affairs – albeit decades later – providing health care and selling tobacco are incompatible.
The financial losses resulting from ceasing their tobacco sales will be substantial, but as number 13 on the Fortune 500 list, CVS likely understands economics. So kudos to them for aligning social responsibility and business.
For those who have historically purchased tobacco from CVS, there are too many alternative options to count. But what about when the next drugstore chain or big box franchise or convenience store network does the same thing? And the next one after that? Incremental, but very public, changes in the availability of tobacco products such as this one will continue – "peer" pressure is very powerful.
While tobacco usage in our country has significantly declined since the first Surgeon General's report, this improvement is far from uniform across age group, gender, race, personal income and educational level. There is still much to do. Let us hope that the other businesses see the wisdom in CVS's decision.
P.S. While we are on the topic of health promotion, perhaps we can discuss the snack food, sugar-containing soda and beer sold at CVS. Associations with adverse health outcomes exist for these too, right? Shouldn't that stop as well? A thought for a future blog…
Paul Katz, MD
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
February 4, 2014
"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Last month, our students arranged a "Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service" just as the Charter Class had done the previous year. Entirely student-organized and -led, nearly 80 young people ages 3-18 from the City of Camden were welcomed to CMSRU. The sessions planned were intended to be both educational and fun: reading food labels, the "new" food plate, exercise, the sugar content of soft drinks, anatomy of the brain, microscopy and more.
Not surprisingly the youngsters were captivated by what they witnessed as they were exposed for the first time to practical demonstrations of science and health. I am very proud of our students – they are truly committed to the City of Camden and to helping it regain its past glory – a commitment that we all share. Imagine what outstanding physicians they will become!
The children of our city, like all children, have the right to high quality education, and while Camden has struggled in this and many other areas, the signs of hope are there. New charter schools (K-12) are imminent and the "meds and eds" are helping to drive much-needed change which brings hope and opportunity to Camden's residents.
I recently finished reading a remarkable book, "First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America's First Black Public High School" by Alison Stewart (Chicago Review Press, 2013). Stewart, whose parents are Dunbar graduates, relates the history of the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Washington, DC – the country's first public high school for black students. From humble beginnings during post-Civil War Reconstruction, Dunbar became an "elite" school in the nation's capitol after the turn of the century. Ironically, it lost this distinction when desegregation occurred. The list of those who attended Dunbar is remarkable – political leaders, high-ranking military officials, educators, lawyers, business heads - and the academic rigor of the high school propelled the school's graduates into top colleges and universities.
It is hard to imagine now, but Washington was a sleepy southern town until the Kennedy family arrived and it was plagued with the same prejudices seen throughout the U.S. Prior to the creation of what would eventually become Dunbar High School, education for black children was almost non-existent in the District of Columbia, so the creation of a school that attained this stature is truly remarkable.
Unfortunately, desegregation led to the redistribution of Dunbar students and this, plus the politics of the city's school system, resulted in hard times – poor academics, dilapidation of the building and the myriad of problems that continue to plague our cities' public schools. And while hope remains that Dunbar will eventually return to its glory days, its future, and the future of its students, remains uncertain.
Such is the same in Camden, and it will take time, perseverance, money and commitment to get the schools to a place where students thrive and opportunities for success become the rule, rather than the exception. In the last blog, I wrote about the disturbing paucity of African-American men in our country's medical schools – but the problem does not primarily reside with the medical schools, but with our system of public education that is lacking in so many ways.
So I hope that the MLK Day of Service at CMSRU will help depict to the children of Camden what is possible. It is incumbent upon all of us to help provide them with the education that will allow their dreams to become reality.
Paul Katz, MD
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
January 7, 2014
It's barely 2014 and there has already been considerable talk about the year ahead. This is a time where speculation and resolutions are rampant. Predictions about the economy, the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and mid-term elections accompany our own individual "promises" for the next twelve months. I heard last week that the typical New Year's resolution lasts until January 17 – whether valid or not, we all know from personal experience the transience of our annual commitment to self-improvement.
So rather than speculate or resolve, I'm going to make five wishes for medical education in 2014. While nothing new, the medical education "industry", both undergraduate and graduate, faces significant challenges that seem unlikely to be easily resolved. There are no answers in this blog, trust me. Here goes:
Wish 1 – Reduce medical student debt. Far from solved, the problem of the massive debt that graduates face needs to be addressed. Whether through loan forgiveness programs, increased Federal and state funding or other initiatives, we need to make medical education more affordable. Medical schools are under pressure to address this problem, but we cannot do it alone – there is just not enough money. Let's keep medical school from being accessible to only those with means.
Wish 2 – Increase the number of African American males enrolled in medical school. Despite the focus on and resultant successes in improving diversity among matriculants, there is still much to be done. Disturbing and equally perplexing are the disarmingly low number of African American males applying and being accepted to our schools, lower in 2011 than 2002. That this is solely reflective of the lower percentage of African American males receiving college degrees seems unlikely. One can venture that the focus needs to be on getting elementary and middle school students interested in both college and careers in science. Perhaps now is the time for a national task force to address this issue.
Wish 3 – Reduce the time from high school to practice. Also not a new dilemma, the time required to become a practicing physician in the U.S. is considerably longer than most countries. Reduction in the time from college to medical school and from medical school to post-graduate training has been undertaken – but it may not be for every student. Factors such as individual maturity, the benefit of life experiences and the importance of non-science courses as components of an undergraduate curriculum are among the arguments against a compressed time frame. But basing these transitions on "time served" rather than content mastery may be a flawed approach to shortening training. While considerably more complex, asynchronous learning in college, medical school and residency – where learners progress by achieving milestones, both educational and developmental – may be a solution. As we know, for many medical students, four years is adequate; but for some, it is too short and, for perhaps a smaller group, it may be too long. The same could apply to graduate medical education (GME) as well. A huge undertaking, no doubt, but perhaps worth consideration.
Wish 4 – Increase the number of GME positions. On second thought, allow me to qualify this: Increase the number of GME positions to meet national workforce needs. In 2013, we saw a brief glimpse of the collision that awaits us – too many graduates and not enough residency positions. But this is not true for all specialties, especially the primary care disciplines, where funded slots go unfilled. Many have requested that the federal government increase the number of GME slots, but not everyone is buying that approach. Plus, where will the dollars come from? Medicare? Perhaps what is needed is a new methodology for governmental funding of GME positions based on market need. With the number of Medicare-supported residency slots frozen at 1996 levels and likely not to increase, maybe the slots should be reallocated based on the regional need for certain disciplines – for example, more primary care program positions and fewer in oversubscribed specialties. No option is ideal, but those newly insured by ACA must have access to care.
Wish 5 – Push innovation in medical education. Yes, we are doing better in both undergraduate and graduate medical education, but we need to do more. Some would posit that innovation is limited by the accrediting agencies – I think this is an excuse. Change is up to us, to those who deliver medical education. No question, this is hard work and the obstacles are many, but we have to do this. We must. This is true not only in how we deliver content (e.g., massively open online courses [MOOCs], "flipped" curricula) but also in terms of what we are teaching. Let us continue to expand our teaching and experiences in interprofessional education and care, quality and safety, technology, leadership, systems thinking, medical economics and those other areas that will allow future physicians to provide better and more efficient care.
We're nearly two weeks into 2014 – let's get started!!
Paul Katz, MD
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
December 17, 2013
Time has flown. It's hard to believe that it has been a year since I wrote about 2012 in this blog. The past twelve months have been remarkable, indeed, and, as we celebrate the year behind us and plan for 2014, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all those (and there are many!) who play such an important part in CMSRU's success.
In 2013, the Charter Class completed its first year, a year that introduced our innovative curriculum; and we welcomed the 64 members of Class of 2017 last summer. We were very pleased with the educational program; as a fairly "nimble" organization, we made some enhancements along the way. Included among these was the introduction of "flipped" course work, where students review materials outside of class and then utilize classroom time for interactive exercises and team-based learning— all of which enhance retention. Our Ambulatory Clerkship, based in the student-run clinic, was a highlight for all of us. Now, functioning with teams of first and second year students supervised by our clinical faculty, the clinic is providing to care to Camden's underserved populations and exposing our students to other health professionals as they train side-by-side with peers from other disciplines.
Service learning experiences also exceeded our expectations. Every student is required to complete 40-hours of non-health care-related service in Camden. Tutoring, coaching, serving meals and working in community gardens were among the contributions to the city. All told, the students far exceeded 2,000 hours of community service, equivalent to 40 hours of "paying it forward" every week.
CMSRU added faculty and staff to meet the needs of our growing number of students. We now number over 85 faculty and staff, not including our over 400 clinical faculty members based at the Cooper Health System. Add to this our faculty colleagues from the Coriell Institute and the University of the Sciences— our strong partners in education and research.
Considerable time was spent in 2013 in "planning" – planning for 2014 and planning for the continued growth of our school. We successfully concluded our initial philanthropic campaign – The 2012 Legacy Society – which raised almost $6 million for CMSRU. And we began planning for the early launch of our new development initiative – The Promise Campaign – which will conclude with the graduation of the Charter Class in May, 2016. (You can learn more about this campaign here.)
Significant preparation and effort went in to preparing for the Liaison Committee for Medical Education Provisional Accreditation visit in March 2014; this week, over 3,000 pages of material were submitted, culminating 18 months of preparation by dozens of CMSRU, Cooper Hospital, and Rowan colleagues and all of our second year students.
At the same time, our team has been hard at work creating the third year student experience – the Cooper Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (CLIC). We are very excited by this longitudinal approach to clinical medicine; our students will participate in the care experiences of their individual cohort of patients as they traverse the continuum of care inside and out of the hospital. We'll be writing more about this as the summer approaches.
Our novel admissions program continued to have great success, both in the recruitment of our current first year students and in the still ongoing process to enroll the 72 members of the Class of 2018 who will join us in August. While our interviews continue now, we have closed our application process as of December 15; for our incoming class, we had almost 5,300 applications, roughly 75 for every position.
There is so much more I could write, and in the weeks ahead we'll talk about the many great things that are going on in Camden, the city invincible. We are equally proud of these and we are privileged to be a part of the rejuvenation of our hometown.
To you and yours, best wishes for the holidays and for a happy and healthy 2014. And special "thanks" to those who play a part in CMSRU – let us all celebrate our success.
Paul Katz, MD
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
November 5, 2013
Welcome to Philadelphia! It's another great day at the AAMC Annual Session – and Election Day! If you are local, don't forget to vote, and if you are not, we hope you remembered to send in your absentee ballot! We're still learning a lot still here…
Leadership Plenary: Embracing Changes in Culture – Driving Organizational Success by Building a Culture of Contributors
A strong session to start Tuesday morning (and the last of the plenary sessions) brought Adam Grant, PhD to the group to discuss givers, matchers, and takers – and which type is best for organizations. Happily, it Dr. Grant's work appears to have shown that "givers" are, in the long run, the best type for both individual and organizational success (although perhaps NOT in the short term, surprisingly). The most important points not only were to encourage givers (who can influence matchers and even takers to give more), but to prevent takers from "getting on the bus." Tips for recruitment were discussed, and opportunities to bring out the "giver" in all were suggested. Uplifting, energetic, and informative start to the day!
MedEdPORTAL and MedAPS Update
Great resources for staff, faculty and students. Check out the websites!!
RIME Invited Address
This was an excellent invited dress by Clarence Braddock, vice Dean at UCLA, about patient centeredness as an organizing framework for medical education research. He made a strong case that patient outcomes should be a principal measure of the success of our medical education program. He said a good medical education program graduates excellent doctors, but a great one improves health outcomes for patients and populations.
Digitized poster session: Curriculum
This session offered seven posters related to curriculum innovations or daily practice in UME. Topics for this session covered LCME as a vehicle for continuous quality improvement through an innovative obesity curriculum for M2 students that incorporated an SP encounter to discuss weight loss options for patients. Great ideas for all of us to consider!
Light Years beyond Flexner: Academic Medicine in 2033
Discussed team based models of care for patient needs, training structure and continuum of med education, technology in medicine and impact on patient physician relationship. Beyond….Information science, decision science, social science and art back into medicine??
In the future, most of what physicians do today will be done by others. Physicians will deal with complexity and ambiguity, become the designer, innovator and navigator as well as the leader or coordinator. Other possibilities- "ultrasound on steroids", holographic and lifelike robotic mannequins and situational simulation with telepresence. Leaders will need both critical and creative thinking, competency based evaluation will take on another look and individualized medical education will be what occurs including self phased curriculum and blurring of UME and GME
November 4, 2013
AAMC Town Hall
Dr. Kirch again took us through a variety of audience generated topics, including global health (GHLO - https://www.aamc.org/services/ghlo/), GME, MOOCs, and one that generated lots of buzz online and off… this conference, and what it should look like. Should the AAMC annual session split out educational focus from other topics (lots of concern about this one) – or research, etc.? No one wants to give up the opportunities to network, learn about areas a bit peripheral to one's own expertise – all available in a large, multi-focus conference. However… conference is super-sized and getting unwieldy for some (and venue can be challenging – as we have all seen these past few days). Chicago AAMC meeting next year is shorter, different formats (more broad, user driven) and there will be more targeted conferences separately. More info and more feedback is certainly needed!
GME: What next?
A hot topic at this year's conference. Attendees heard a variety of viewpoints – health sciences VP, medical student (arguably the best speaker!), and DIO. If we focus on just the student views – paints a challenging picture. Students come to medical school NOT as pluripotent stem cells, but as individuals with already molded expectations of careers in medicine. Can we expect them to create "parallel paths" to residency in less-competitive specialties if that is not what they are cut out to do? As it was so perfectly put by the Dartmouth student, "If you take 100 competitive people and put them in a room together, you should expect that they are going to compete." Flip side is that some of those "competitive" students are not going to be able to compete, and options will be lots of debt and no ability to become a physician… No easy answers generated today…
Innovative Organizational Models in a Time of Rapid Change
Heerad Sabeti took the audience through his perspective on an emerging new, fourth sector (after business/for profit, government, and not-for-profit) – the "for-benefit" organization. This type of organization melds the income-generating/revenue-earning focus of the business sector with the societal benefit focus of the not-for-profit and governmental sectors. Unlike govt and not-for-profits, these organizations are not funded primarily by grants, taxes, or donations, but by earning their income. However, unlike the business sector, their goal is not income/wealth for their owners, but societal benefit. Current legal and other structures are challenged by this model; we need new regulatory and legal approaches to this type of organization to make it work. AMCs already have some of the characteristics of the for-benefit corporations, but need to push further along the spectrum.
Enhancing the Sustainability of Postbaccalaureate Programs in Medical Education: outcomes and collaboration
This fairly recent national collaborative described the development of the group with the AAMC. The types of postbacc programs that exist, as well as the student groups most likely to benefit from their curricula were outlined. The goals of the collaborative include the development of shared resources, support for the development of new programs, collaboration in research efforts, and sharing best procedures.
Student Surveys
This session went over the updates of the various student surveys including the MSQ. Student wellness is now a focus of these surveys including time management and use of stimulants. The survey is anonymous but the response rate was only 18 percent. There are sexual identity questions for the first time. Females noted generally higher social support and the answers were more positive than other groups. 13 to 20 percent report using stimulants and alcohol use is even higher – obviously a very concerning statistic for us.
Innovative Uses of Clinical, Research, Education, and Multipurpose Space: A Virtual Tour
Six terrific virtual tours of new and reconstructed spaces were reviewed, including:
The Change Imperative Plenary Session: Embracing Changes in Culture
Daphne Koller, co-founder of Coursera, discussed the work in MOOCs. Presented a variety of fascinating strategies and actual data on outcomes and benefits of the pedagogy. Of interest –
Also discussed the potential to use technology to replace and/or supplement individual tutoring (which has best outcomes to learning).
Questions – what about massive offering of medical content for medical schools!
November 3, 2013
Welcome to Philadelphia! Day 3 of the 2013 AAMC brought a fascinating array of topics – and lots of great ideas for the present and future!
Plenary Session: Envisioning Changes in Health Care
Fascinating, frustrating, and somewhat frightening session on the future of the health care system in the age of ACA and HIX. Futurist Ian Morrison took us on a tour of the potential futures, with his prediction that the US will end up with massive healthcare provider consolidation, ultimately ending up with 100-200 large regional centers. The question is will all AMCs be in that group, just some, or none? Private exchanges are likely to take off, and healthcare is likely to go the route of pensions: defined contribution instead of defined benefit.
Four potential scenarios were proposed:
Khan Academy for PreHealth Preparation, the MCAT 2015 and Beyond
This session provided some history of the joint effort between the Khan Academy, AAMC groups, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to produce high-quality, open access educational materials specific to concepts tested on the new MCAT. The work to create a freely accessible content library for premedical students is part of the larger effort to remove barriers to medical school, and has been strongly supported by The AAMC and the general academic medicine community. The balance between fact retention and problem solving within a conceptual framework on the new MCAT was a point of question, but no clear answer emerged during the session.
Many admissions officers spoke of their concerns regarding the removal of the recruitment activities from future AAMC national meetings. Future recruitment events and related logistics will require all involved groups to work together.
Social media experts from med ed discussed approaches to online media and the new AAMC "Toolkit" (available at https://www.aamc.org/members/gir/gir_resources/359492/digitalliteracytoolkit.html) for digital literacy. The group reviewed several of the case studies and had a lively discussion on the "right" answers… and discussed the ongoing and dynamic nature of how physicians and their patients communicate – both online and in person. Educators have an obligation to prepare our students for the world of communication with patients – beyond the one-on-one.
This session discussed research leading to the potential use of a new medical schools admissions test that is comprised of situational judgment tests that address interpersonal and interpersonal competences. There is also potential to use this as a measure of ability to move from one level of medical education to another – i.e., from preclinical to clinical training.
All around a wonderful (and jam-packed) session. Journalist Anna Quindlen compared the gap between providers and consumers to that between newspapers and consumers. Neither have met the changing needs, but unchanged wants, of readers/patients.
She challenged the notion of "MDieties" and asked the profession to focus on "just being kind." Patients ask their doctors, "Do you know who I AM?" We need to be able to answer yes.
We must teach quality improvement across the curriculum. Schools can combine didactic and experiential learning, link with health system improvement efforts, assess education outcomes in this area, and have role models for quality improvement in educational processes.
A task force has identified 13 core Entrustable Professional Activities for entering residency. The project was initiated to address the international focus on transitions (UME to GME to CME) and the gaps that were identified between expectations of program directors and entering resident skills, and what residents were asked to do without supervision and what was documented that they were competent to do.
Entrustable is defined as "without direct supervision" which is different from a practicing physician. Activities should be viewed as a floor (minimum competency ), not a ceiling, and should not replace mission-critical activities.
EPAs were selected as they represent day to day activities of residents, and are observable. Competencies are abstract and granular. However, there is a connection between EPAs and competencies. All selected EPAs spanned more than one competency.
The task force document identifies the EPA, aligns the EPA with competencies, and provides vignettes of "entrustable " and "nonentrustable" students.
The longitudinal integrated clerkship was viewed as a better organizational structure for documenting EPAs.
The site team went through a demo of the site. It can now be offered to accepted students prior to arrival using their AMCAS number with school assignment at the time the SRS is complete. We can also now offer the site with tools to our faculty mentors and greater tools to Advisory College Directors. The new site is easier to access and integrates the newsletters and sites for further information on specialties. There are plans for further expansion as well.
Transformative student initiated innovations and developments in medical education.
This session focused on five innovative student led projects in medical education that immersed students in the healthcare of their communities. CMSRU's own CCCP Ambulatory Clerkship is already at the forefront of best practice. One idea presented was the concept of students as health coaches – with students empowering patients with chronic health conditions to navigate the health care system. This is very similar to what CMSRU does in Ambulatory Clerkship and what we plan for our CLIC. Add in our commitment to service learning and our students are learning and serving our community as part of our innovative curriculum!
The Future of Healthcare and the Learning Environment
This session saw four presentations from panelists discussing new programs for quality improvement and GME expansion. Wayne State and Duke both instituted QI programs that involved UME and GME that also aligned with the hospital's needs. Duke's program financially incentivized housestaff to achieve specific metrics. Both programs found success through aligning educational program targets with goals that the health systems desired. FIU and the University of Georgia discussed programs to increase GME in their own states through partnerships/funding from managed care (in FIU's case) and the state (in UG's case). Both were in the early stages – more to come!
Medicare Maze
State healthcare exchanges launched fairly well, but there were very few. Estimates are that 10,000 people will be added to Medicare rolls per day for the next 19 years. Emphasis will need to be on quality, efficiency, and cost reduction. Expected M&A activity will raise anti-trust concerns. With GME, teaching hospitals will no longer be able to count the time residents spend at critical access hospitals for IME or DME purposes.
Personal Competencies: the SJT
The AAMC has a project underway to create a test to measure skills and attributes not seen in the MCAT and in grades. The test will be a balance between cognitive and behavioral issues. This is a aimed at the selection step and is at least five years from implementation. The concerns surround the effects of coaching and faking on outcomes over time and the difficulty in creating enough scenarios.
Keynote Address: Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski
An entertaining hour of political discourse ranging from the adversarial but still collegial relationship between Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill to the full-on war between the parties in Washington today. Mika and Joe talked about their own upbringings – including Mika's dinners with the Pope and Deng Xiaoping, and Joe's father's refusal to vote for him when he ran for Congress. Finally, a few predictions for the 2016 elections (with a lot of hedging)… an entertaining evening presentation!
October 31, 2013
Welcome to Philadelphia! We are looking forward to this year's AAMC Annual Session – a little closer to our home across the Ben Franklin Bridge this year. Follow us as we live blog and learn together!
Saturday, November 2
Leadership Plenary: Our Moment of Truth
AAMC President & CEO Dr. Darrell Kirch discussed his own "moments of truth" through his career, and asked us to consider our own – and how we made decisions in tough situations. And how sometimes we avoided making decisions – and how this was a decision itself.
We will have shared moments of truth together over the coming years – when we must make the difficult decisions that will impact the health of the nation.
Leadership Plenary: Leading the Dance of Change
Dr. Valerie Williams took the crowd through the options of the pace of change by way of a tour of dancing: The Waltz (traditional, stable, organized – as long as everyone moves in the same direction); The Twist (all about personal style – no matter if everyone dances on their own – but inefficient and non-cooperative); the Line Dance (structured and orderly, but one misstep by an individual impacts everyone else – structure and order are necessary, but not adequate); The Tango (powerful, fearless – a combination of order and risk-taking).
We must adapt our leadership skills to the challenges – we must be prepared for "sustained disequilibrium", ongoing experimentation, and a changing environment.
Annual Address on the State of the Physician Workforce
The past ten years have seen a decrease in the number of rural and African Americans entering medical schools. If the current increase in residency slots of 1% per year continues we will have 2000 less positions than graduates by 2021. 35% of the IMGs applying for residency slots are now from Carribbean schools. There has been an increase in nurse practitioners by 60%. Studies show that 50% of patients do not mind seeing an extender and that number increases if it means being seen sooner. The prediction is that 50% of the physician shortage will be in primary care areas. Schools should give students good role models in primary care. The decline in interest in primary care may be ending. The ACA will amplify the physician shortage numbers.
Education meets Analytics
What we need from analytics: Competency verification (of students AND faculty); Counseling for individual learning needs – help students self-assess; Behavior Modification – help students/faculty see how and why different areas are important in the curriculum; Accreditation – of course; Curriculum evaluation
Hazards: Overwhelming people with data; Unhealthy competition among students; Heisenberg effect
Colleges are great at collecting data, but not very good at dispensing that information back to the students. What data should be shared with students, and who makes that decision? In a perfect world, students should be able to have access to their data (it is their data after all) whenever possible.
Preparing Your Institution for a Post Fee-For-Service World
Provided an interesting set of principles to lead health care organizations from fee-for-service to a value-based system. An emphasis was placed on communications, preparing systems, empowering people, customized strategic planning, and rewards and recognition. The value of visiting places that are innovators in this area was emphasized. The importance of getting an idea of true costs vs charges was presented. Accurate knowledge of costs unlocks opportunities in process improvement. Some articles from Harvard Business Review were cited and discussed.
Evidence-based approaches to promoting diversity in the academic medicine workforce
Great session presenting three different studies examining factors that impact career trajectories for clinical and research faculty. Controlled studies/analyses of existing mentoring approaches, academic milestones, and implementation of new "coaching" models all addressed current successes and failures in building diverse faculty at academic medical centers. One study highlighted that actual conversations are central to promoting change, and virtual or distance efforts to address practices/attitudes do not effectively pave the way for true discussions regarding culture change.
Medical-Legal Partnerships
A healthcare delivery model that integrates legal care directly into patient healthcare, and uses three levels of legal intervention: 1) at the patient, 2) at the clinic, and 3) at policy levels — to address and prevent health-harming legal needs. Concepts for interprofessional education of medical and law students were discussed. An outline for a 4 year curriculum was presented. Great ideas for our schools
Political Climate
Six year elections are typically difficult for the party in power in the white house – so, expect loss of democratic seats in both houses of Congress. Very few house seats will be likely to change due to redistricting/gerrymandering and the resulting "safe" seats for both parties – only around 15% of seats are up for grabs. Polling shows that 47% of respondents thought ACA was a bad idea, but only 24% thought it should be completely repealed.
As Ohio goes, so goes the Nation: Shift in statewide elected officials from Democrat -> Republican in 2010 – Democrats lost ability to control redistricting… Gerrymandering created the model of "safe districts" for parties – heavily weighted towards R.
Efficiency, Accountability, and Sustainability: Alternative Models of Medical Education
Buzzwords in this session title were expanded upon – presenting three models of med ed that addressed combining M4 with residency in primary care, an accelerated back to MD, and an accelerated PhD in basic science to MD. Each presented possibilities that are creative and sustainable, but are complicated by the current structure of GME. Key to success in med ed innovation begins with the ACGME. "Competence, not time, should be the benchmark of med ed" — a Sal Khan-esque approach to medical education! We must continue to be innovative in our approach – particularly to the M4 year.
The Jaws are closing on Unmatched Students: Engaging National and Local Perspectives
Lively and busy session today!
Unfilled positions are decreasing as more students are applying. Students don't match for a short list of reasons: 1) competitiveness (didn't rank enough programs, too competitive specialty), 2) USMLE scores too low, 3) poor interview/interpersonal issues, 4) overly aggressive rank order list. Schools must counsel students – especially those "at risk" (competitive specialty, below average performance, couples match, etc.) to have a "parallel" plan for less competitive specialty or other option (MPH, etc.). VCU uses match survey, identifies students by red/yellow/green with regard to risk of not matching – identify EARLY and counsel on options, etc.
Council of Faculty and Academic Societies (CFAS)
The inaugural session of this group was held today. CFAS was created to provide a voice for medical school faculty (128,000 strong nationwide!) within AAMC. A few key issues affecting faculty that were identified in today's session:
1) Increased emphasis on faculty clinical productivity over research and teaching
2) Effects of health system aggregation on the role/value of academic faculty
3) Federal fiscal crisis impact on sustainable research agenda
Implementing the Health Care and Diversity Imperatives in the Post-Fisher World
Successful policy development includes the following: sound educational basis, support by key stakeholders, clear mission/goals, and is lawful. The goal should be preparing effective, culturally competent physicians. Institutions need to develop metrics and track the benefit of a diverse, inclusive student body, in order to demonstrate efficacy of holistic admissions measures. Evidence can include student surveys, alumni surveys, patient outcomes, etc. Metrics matter!
Bridging the industry-academia divide to advance discovery
84% of drug discovery over last decade is from academia. There is a revenue stream from this – and institutions must manage the conflict of interest. Implicit in the push for translational research is commercialization (per the NIH). The curriculum must include instruction in conflict of interest. (and CMSRU has this embedded in our Scholar's Workshop course!)
Health Care Improvement: effecting and Studying Change Thru Continuing Education, Professional Development, and Lifelong Learning
Important link all three of these approaches. The new equation is Value = Quality/Cost + Pt Centeredness. Consider changing "CME Office" to "Office of Integrated Professional Development". It's critically important to focus on the continuum of medical education – undergraduate, graduate, and continuing.
Friday, November 1
Working Within a Team: Navigating Difficult Conversations
This session dealt with preparing students for difficult conversations in the health care setting. How should they respond as members of the health care team when they observe something that isn't standard of care or something occurs that is a patient safety issue? How do we empower students to speak up without fear of reprisal? Simulation would be a good venue to learn and practice having crucial conversations. OSCEs would a good way to assess student skill in this area.
Future of Medical Education: Opportunity, Innovation, and You—Sponsored by the GRMC.
Regional campuses may be ideally suited for innovation. A variety of innovations were discussed: LIC implementation at regional campuses, interprofessional education, early learners as patient navigators, restructuring the fourth year, faculty development in 10-15 minute sessions posted on U tube, and partnering with other schools to develop a digital library of lectures by premier faculty.
MCAT/AMCAS update
The four sections of the new MCAT for 2015 were reviewed. A validity study is in progress. In 2013 there were 48,014 applicants to allopathic schools in the US and for the first time enrollment was > 20,000. Applicants apply to 15.4 schools on average. Applications from Hispanic/Latino students have increased to 1826 and women comprise ~47% of the pool. 26% of enrollees are socio-economically/ educationally disadvantaged based on parental education and occupation. 19% are first generation college graduates.
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May We Suggest
This blog provides customized book recommendations to our patrons. To get your own, just fill out the May We Suggest form and you can expect results within 10 days. You can also like May We Suggest on facebook.
Art for Young Readers
The art book for children by text by Amanda Renshaw and Gilda Williams Ruggi
How to read a work of art by Laura J. Hensley
Art that moves: animation around the world by John Bliss
Exploring the life, myth, and art of India by Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad
Reading a Teenage Dream Tonight
Dream girl by Lauren Mechling
Dream factory by Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler
Dream journal by Karen Halvorsen Schreck
Dream spinner by Bonnie Dobkin
Dreams Books for Kids
Alex Fitzgerald's cure for nightmares by Kathleen Krull; illustrated by Wendy Edelson
Another day in the Milky Way by David Milgrim
Ben's dream: story and pictures by Chris Van Allsburg
The Berenstain bears and the bad dream by Stan & Jan Berenstain
Life is an Adventure!
Agent Zigzag: a true story of Nazi espionage, love, and betrayal by Ben MacIntyre — A charming British thief and con man becomes a spy during World War II – and turns double agent
Beneath the sands of Egypt: adventures of an unconventional archaeologist by Donald P.
Organic Gardening
Organic gardening by Geoff Hamilton — Gardening using organic principles has really gained in popularity over the past few years. Making the choice to limit the use of chemicals gives the gardener some control over what ends up in their produce. Gardening organically doesn't mean giving up on all fertilizers, though! There are a host of natural soil amendments that can help your plants flourish. This book goes over all this and much more, focusing primarily on vegetables but also covering fruits, herbs, and ornamentals.
- Anne Heidemann
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If You Like Inspirational Historical Fiction
…and like strong characters, light romance, and prefer audio format, try these:
The mountain between us by Charles Martin
Shoot the moon by Billie Letts
Miss Julia speaks her mind: a novel by Ann B. Ross
Two more options that are available in print:
Big Stone Gap: a novel by Adriana Trigiani
Bone-chilling Listens in the Summer Heat!
Nothing beats having a good bone-chilling, spine-tingling audiobook to listen to while you bask in the sun! If the warm temperature lulls you to sleep, the suspense of the book will keep you on edge!
The snowman by Jo Nesbø; translated by Don Bartlett
Last snow by Eric Van Lustbader
Before the frost by Henning Mankell; translated by Ebba Segerberg
Terminal freeze by Lincoln Child
Gardening Step by Step
Gardening step by step by Phil Clayton, Jenny Hendy, Colin Crosbie, Jo Whittingham — This book runs the gamut of things you might want to know how to do in your garden. From designing to planting to maintenance, it's all included here. The section on pruning is extensive and includes color photographs showing just how to go about it for various type of plants. Both beginning gardeners and those with more experience will certainly find something of interest here.
- Anne Heidemann
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Time was… Time is…
Bootleggers, lobstermen & lumberjacks: fifty of the grittiest moments in the history of hardscrabble New England by Matthew P.
- madame librarian
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Road Trip Music
Taking a road trip with the family this summer? Need some tunes to entertain the little ones? Here are some great CDs for the car ride this summer:
Car songs: songs to sing anywhere by Dennis Buck
Here comes science by They Might Be Giants
City kid! by Joanie Leeds
Kidz bop 19 by Kidz Bop Kids


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Holiday Inn Express Reviving Historic St. Louis Hotel
Wednesday June 25th, 2014 - 11:51AM G
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ST. LOUIS—Holiday Inn Express is upgrading and rebranding the original Bel Air Motel, St. Louis first motel, which is currently operating as a Comfort Inn. It will be called the Holiday Inn Express Central West End.
The hotel closed on June 19 to begin the $3-million upgrade. The multimillion renovation includes 123 new guestrooms, four suites and a redesigned lobby, fitness center and courtyard. Amenities include free wireless high-speed Internet access, the Holiday Inn Express Start Breakfast, a business center and complimentary newspaper on weekdays.
The Holiday Inn Express Central West End will open in early September. Additional amenities include a jogging station with cold towels and water; pet-friendly accommodations; a private courtyard with an oversized garden chess game, a reference to its location near the World Chess Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Chess Scholastic Center; a vintage snack shop with items that offer "a taste of the 50s," according to the company; and bicycle rentals.
The property is owned by an affiliate of Garrison Investment Group and operated by Associated Hotels, LLC.
Tags: Holiday Inn Express Central West End • St Louis • Hospitality • Construction/Renovation •
As you would expect, our annual franchising issue features several in-depth stories on prominent brand companies such as Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corp., and Vantage Hospitality. In addition, we also provide in this issue an updated version of our annual franchise fees listing (see p. 20).
Marcus Hotels Completes $11M Revitalization of The Cornhusker »
IHG Expands the Holiday Inn Brand Family in Mexico
Hilton Garden Inn Debuts in Times Square
Vision Hospitality Group Breaks Ground on TownePlace Suites in Nashville
First citizenM Hotel in Asia-Pacific to Open in Taipei
Homewood Suites by Hilton Opens First Hotel in Billings Area
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The St. Louis Rams have an open starting running back spot, and Isaiah Pead may be next in line. Jeff Fisher spoke highly of the former Cincinnati Bearcat at the NFC coaches' breakfast on Wednesday, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Longtime Rams running back Steven Jackson signed with the Falcons on Mar. 14, opening up an opportunity.
Pead carried the ball just 10 times in 2012 for a total of 54 yards. His most productive outing came in Week 17 against the Seahawks when the running back rushed five times for 21 yards. He also caught three passes on the year for 16 yards. He has yet to reach the end zone in his young NFL career.
Fisher sees potential in Pead, and said that his depth chart position was more about the guys in front of him than his own abilities:
"He just didn't get a chance because of the other two," Fisher said, referring to Jackson and Richardson. "But he'll get his opportunity this year. ... He's got a chance to make a lot of big plays for us."
Jackson leaves some big shoes to fill after being the feature back in St. Louis for the past eight seasons, all of which topped 1,000 yards. He rushed the ball 257 times last season, meaning Pead would be set up for a breakout season if he is able to emerge as the starter.
More from SB Nation:
• NFL Mock Draft: SB Nation bloggers are on the clock
• What Jaguars owner Shad Khan learned in Year 1
• Modeling success: Analyzing the top 5 NFL defenses
• Printable bracket for March Madness
• NFL Mock Draft: Geno Smith's rapid rise


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Roomy, comfortable and well-built, the 2007 Toyota Sienna minivan is an easy choice! Safety ProsPowerful and refined V6, smooth ride, packed with convenience features, all-wheel drive, tight build quality.This Mini Van has been convert with Braun Rampvan incd. 11" lowered ...
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