Caring for Veterans and Their Families University of Hawai‘i at Ma-noa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene is awarded Veterans Affairs Nursing Academy Partnership
On April 9, 2009, U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Daniel K. Akaka and Senator Daniel K. Inouye announced that the University of Hawai‘i School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene and the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System were selected by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the VA Nursing Academy’s Enhancing Academic Partnerships Program.
Over the past decade, the ranks of island veterans seeking medical care has steadily grown. Additionally, the younger veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan often require a more complex and multi-layered level of care. At a time when the entire nation is facing a nursing workforce shortage, the need for locally-accessible and culturally-competent VA nurses in Hawai‘i and the Pacific is greater than ever. SONDH is one of 15 nursing schools across the nation selected for this honor. Said Mary Boland, Dean, SONDH, “This academic-practice partnership supports both our agency missions while developing capacity to address the nursing faculty shortage, recruitment and retention of professional nurses, and advancement of evidence-based research and practice in Hawai‘i and the Pacific Rim.” The three-year VA Nursing Academy partnership will enable the VAPIHCS and Tripler Army Medical Center, the tertiary care center for veterans, to increase clinical and instructional capabilities. VAPIHCS Associate Director Patient Care Services Susan M. Curcio-Mangery explains, “The VAPIHCS is thrilled to be chosen to participate in the VA Nursing Academy. The program will allow us to increase nursing
VAPIHCS Leadership Team Mary G. Boland, DrPH, RN, FAAN, Dean and Professor, SONDH is committed to shaping the future of nursing education and scholarship for Hawaii and the Pacific region. Susan M. Curcio-Mangery, RN, MEd, BSN, BS, NE-BC is the VAPIHCS Associate Director of Patient Care Services/Nurse Executive with supervision of key staff supporting all clinical areas of inpatient Mental Health, PTSD inpatient program, Hemodialysis, Ambulatory Care (Primary Care & Specialty Clinics), and Community Based Outpatient Clinics.
The VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) and UH Ma-noa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene (SONDH) are teaming up to serve proud veterans in Hawai‘i and the Pacific.
In a letter to the Honorable Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye states, “Programs such as the VA Nursing Academy provide the education and training necessary for our providers to deliver the required care, and to build and retain capacity in the Pacific. Utilizing the research and educational strengths offered by a partnership between SONDH and VAPIHCS will better enable the VA to meet the needs in the Pacific.”
08/09 Dianne Ishida, PhD, APRN, is an Associate Professor at the SONDH and the school-based Program Director for the VA Academy. She works with the various course coordinators to facilitate clinical at VAPIHCS and TAMC, serves as a resource to the VA faculty on curricular issues, and works collaboratively with Ms. Parmalee to implement and evaluate all phases of the program. Martha Parmelee, RNC, MSN, MSA, is the VA-based Program Director of the VA Nursing Academy at VAPIHCS. She arranges clinical placements and orientation for clinical courses at VAPIHCS and TAMC, serves as a resource to the VA faculty on clinical placement issues, and works collaboratively with Dr. Ishida to implement and evaluate all phases of the
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2009 VA Nursing Academy Faculty Lynette T. Dubbs, MSN, RN is teaching health assessment and professional nursing at the Community Living Center, VAPIHCS. From left to right: Dr. Dianne Ishida, Ms. Martha Parmalee, Ms. Susan Curcio-Mangery, Honorable VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, SONDH Dean Dr. Mary G. Boland, and SONDH Director of Community Partnerships, COL (Ret) Stephanie Marshall.
recruitment and retention by enhancing clinical experiences for nursing students, expand teaching faculty in the VA and the University of Hawai‘i, and enhance potential for research opportunities for VA nurses.” The VA Nursing Academy partnership will add 40 nursing students and 10 additional faculty over the course of three years. SONDH will support research and mentorship activities with the VAPIHCS staff, and provide opportunities for VAPIHCS faculty and staff development. In addition, this academic partnership will open doors for nursing students by offering new clinical practicum sites; participation in TeleHealth, a virtual teaching environment; and the creation of Hawai‘i’s first VA summer nursing internship program. While recently visiting veterans at the Spark M. Matsunaga VA Medical Center and Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC), the Honorable Eric Shinseki, VA Secretary, personally congratulated Hawai‘i’s VA Nursing Academy team for their commitment to providing the education and training necessary for health care providers to deliver the high quality care that our veterans deserve. “The Hawai‘i VA Nursing Academy will allow our young men and women in the local area to stay close to their homes and receive the education necessary to assist our veterans,” said Secretary Shinseki. U
Penny Morrison, MS, RN, is teaching adult health at TAMC and assisting with learning in the simulation lab. Abbie J. Neves, MSN, APRN-Rx, BC, is teaching psychiatric/mental health nursing at VAPIHCS and co-teaching psycho-social concepts. Catherine B. Ryan, DNP, is teaching community health nursing at VAPIHCS and co-teaching nursing research.
VA Academy Nursing Program Directors and Faculty from left to right: Dianne Ishida, Catherine Ryan, Penny Morrison, Lynette Dubbs, and Martha Parmelee. Not shown in photo: Abbie Neves.
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PhD Student Shannon Cohen’s research focuses on the veteran population in Virginia Shannon Cohen, a student in the online PhD in Nursing program at SONDH, conducted her research at the Salem VA Medical Center (Virginia) to examine the influence of patient adherence and patient-provider goal-setting and decision support on factors related to cardiovascular disease risk among veterans. The study concluded that health care provided at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center was effective in improving biological outcomes. Future studies are needed to further define the relationship between patient adherence and patient-provider goal-setting and decision support and develop culturally sensitive and innovative programs among this population. Shannon successfully defended her dissertation in August and will receive her PhD from UH Ma-noa in December 2009. She will present her findings at the Salem VA Medical Center this fall and at the Mayo Clinic in the spring 2010. U
SONDH honored by U.S. Army
The US Army 45th Fires Brigade presented SONDH an American flag flown over Camp Arifjan, Kuwait in honor of the SONDH nursing faculty and staff for their support to the U.S. Armed Forces deployed in Iraqi Freedom. Left to right: Captain Michael Caraang, Rear Detachment Commander, 29th IBCT Hawai‘i National Guard; Vickie Niederhauser, SONDH Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Captain Reuben Argel, SONDH nursing faculty deployed in 2008-09 at Kuwait Naval Base; Stephanie Marshall, Director for Community Partnerships.