Medical Director, Seasons Hospice Michigan
Attending Physician Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital

Clinical Professor of Medicine
Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine Clinton Township, MI

Dr. Melinda Ford, FACOFP dist. is an assistant professor at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and also works for OhioHealth Physician Group Heritage College as a family medicine and addiction physician. Dr. Ford is board certified in family practice and osteopathic manipulative medicine with a certificate of qualification in addiction medicine. She has made numerous presentations and contributions in the area of addiction treatment, and currently serves as Chair of the board for the Ohio Professional's Health Program- Ohio's confidential monitoring program for impaired health professionals.  

Dr. Jeff Cashman DO, MS, FACOFP earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University (2001), a master’s degree in Epidemiology from the Medical University of South Carolina (2006) and his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine-Georgia Campus (2010). He completed his family medicine residency at AnMed Health Family medicine residency in Anderson, SC in 2013. 

Dr. Cashman currently serves as the Associate Dean for Pre-Clinical Medical Education at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – Carolinas Campus; previously serving as the Associate Dean of OMS-IV and Graduate Medical Education and Discipline Chair of Family Medicine. As well, he serves as a preceptor at the Spartanburg Regional Family Medicine Residency and is the team physician for Spartanburg High School. Prior to starting at VCOM-Carolinas, Dr. Cashman practiced inpatient and outpatient medicine at Mary Black Hospital in Spartanburg, SC. 

Dr. Cashman serves as the Speaker of the House of Delegates for the South Carolina Medical Association and was the first Osteopathic President of the Spartanburg County Medical Society. He is involved with the South Carolina Osteopathic Medical Society and previously chaired the SCMA Bioethics Committee and SC Ethics Pandemic Task Force. He is the Leadership Director for VCOM-Carolinas’ HRSA funded Primary Care Champions Fellowship and was named to the SC Rural Physician Board.

Kathleen M. Farrell, DO, is a graduate of the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is certified in family medicine with the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians and in addiction medicine with American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine. Before obtaining her osteopathic medical degree, she earned her bachelor's degree in social welfare at the University of Washington. She is currently working for the VA in the opioid safety clinic in the pain department at American Lakes in Tacoma, Washington.  

She got her "XF" soon after she got out of residency and when she started a practice with a Valley Family Health Care, a federally qualified health center in New Plymouth, Idaho. While in Idaho, she founded the Idaho Osteopathic Physicians Association and started using buprenorphine to treat her patients on illicit opioids. She continued this work when she moved to Port Angeles, Washington, to work at the Jamestown Family Health Clinic in Sequim, Washington, run by the Jamestown S'kallam Tribe. She realized that buprenorphine was not only successful in treating patients on illicit opioids, but buprenorphine could be used successfully to replace full agonist opioids in patients being treated for pain.  

Her interest in working with patients on opioids continued when she became the medical director for the VA clinic in Port Angeles. When the VA started a program that allowed primary care physicians to use buprenorphine for veterans on opioids, she transferred to Tacoma. A native of the Northwest, she enjoys hiking and camping. She is a member of the Sunset Rotary Club where she has worked on "Masking the Homeless," promoting blood drives and other projects that support her community. She also enjoys Argentinian tango, which has been a COVID-challenged sport. 

Anthony Dekker, DO, FACOFP, FAAFP, FAOAAM, DFASAM is currently the Chief Medical Officer of the Division of Developmental Disabilities for the State of Arizona. He is committed to the mission of advocating for our members in DDD. Previously he retired after 37 years of federal service, lastly being a member of the Primary Care Service Line at the Gallup Indian Medical Center in the Indian Health Service. 

Born and raised in Western Michigan, he graduated from Hope College in Holland Michigan. He completed his osteopathic education at Michigan State University in 1978. He completed his internship and family medicine residency at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and an Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine fellowship at Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago. As a Public Health Service Scholar, he served Chicago’s South Side for fourteen years. He was Professor and Chair of Family Medicine at the Kansas City University School of Medicine and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (Children’s Mercy Hospital) during his four years in Kansas City. He served in the Indian Health Service from 1998 to 2010 in the Phoenix Indian Medical Center as the Associate Director, Ambulatory Care and Community Health and 2020 to 2022 at the Gallup Indian Medical Center. He also served in the Department of Defense and the Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System. 

Dr. Dekker is board certified in Family Practice and Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment, Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Addiction Medicine and Pain Medicine. He is a Fellow in numerous professional societies. His areas of expertise include developmental disorders, addiction medicine, chronic pain syndromes, informatics, high risk youth, domestic violence and behavioral health. Past faculty appointments include clinical professorships at George Washington University (Washington DC), and currently at the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine and Andrew Taylor Still University (Mesa, AZ).

Robert N. Agnello, DO, FACOFP is assistant professor of family medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine at CUSOM. He has been adjunct faculty since the inception of CUSOM in 2013 assisting the OMM department. Dr. Agnello is board-certified in family medicine since 2001 via Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg, NJ and added a CAQ in pain medicine in 2017. He has worked at the Womack Army Medical Center in family medicine since 2010 and interdisciplinary pain medicine since 2014. Clinical interest is in pain management via integrative osteopathic medicine. The focus is to develop osteopathic plans of medical care through using a combination of integrative medicine strategy. Research interest includes complementary care modalities and the impact techniques such as osteopathic manipulation, auricular acupuncture and functional medicine have on pain.