FORGING FUTURES
McCagh’s Memory and Mission Live on With PA Scholarship
BY TY DEMARTINO ’90
The late Dr. Sean McCagh loved his family. He loved his community. And he loved being a doctor.
“Sean loved his job as a dermatologist and always stressed to our sons that you need to find something that you love to do,” recalled his wife, Terri McCagh. “Sean was fortunate to find an occupation that he could build relationships with people and help them at the same time.”
But in recent years, Sean noticed changes in his field. As the owner of his own dermatology practice, he spent a great deal of time fighting with insurance companies to cover procedures and medicines. It was around that time he saw the need for physician assistants (PAs), especially in Western Maryland.
“Sean felt the shortage of physicians in Cumberland and saw that so many of our young people leave the area after going to school. He knew that this area needed PAs and the best way to keep them here was to start a PA program at FSU,” said Terri.
Sean worked behind the scenes with Frostburg administrators in helping to establish the FSU Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies program at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, which enrolled its first students in 2019. Sadly, he never got the chance to see the program’s first graduating class. Sean died from complications of COVID-19 on Jan. 31, 2021. The first class graduated the following May.
To honor the wishes of her late husband, his wife created the Sean and Terri McCagh Family Physician Assistant Scholarship. The award is presented to a student enrolled in the program with preference to residents in Allegany and Garrett counties and those demonstrating financial need.
“I would hear him telling young students that they should be a PA instead of a physician because you can have more regular hours, not have the headaches of running a business, make a good salary and can change specialties easier in your career,” Terri said, noting that Sean encouraged their oldest son, Mike, to become a PA. “Education was extremely important to Sean. He felt the more education you had, the more opportunities you will also have.”
With his sudden passing, Sean left a giant hole in the heart of the community and his family. He was the creator of the annual Hooley Plunge to raise funds for programs for developmentally disabled individuals in Allegany County. According to Terri, whenever Sean saw a need, he helped. She said that same spirit went in to starting and supporting the PA program at FSU.
“This program was extremely important to Sean, and I saw his enthusiasm when he saw it come to fruition,” she said.
And while Sean did not make it to that first graduation of PA students, Terri represented her late husband and knows exactly how he would have felt.
“Sean would have been beaming with pride, but he would be too humble to show it,” she admitted. “I want to keep Sean’s memory alive and his will to always help people, especially in Cumberland, through this scholarship.”
How to Give
CONTACT:
Lynn Ketterman
Director of Development
SEND PAYMENTS TO:
FSU Foundation Inc.
101 Braddock Road
Frostburg, MD 21532-2303