COLLEGE OF NURSING A N N U A L R E P O R T 2021–2022
CONTENTS 2
BY THE NUMBERS
4
RESEARCH
10
STUDENTS
18
FACULTY
WHO WE ARE Mission
24
ACADEMICS
30
ALUMNI
32
SPECIAL EVENTS
To prepare nurses to excel as outstanding and compassionate clinicians, scholars, and leaders who will enhance the health and health care of individuals, families, communities, and populations locally and globally.
Vision The University of Rhode Island College of Nursing is a dynamic catalyst for improving health and transforming health care through innovation and excellence in education, knowledge development, discovery, and professional practice to meet the needs of a global society.
Values • Social justice, diversity, inclusivity, and civic engagement • Respectful, ethical, humanistic, and compassionate care • Intellectual curiosity, innovation and scholarly inquiry • Leadership, lifelong learning, and excellence in practice
URI COLLEGE OF NURSING
DEAN’S MESSAGE Significant changes continue in the health-care arena and the URI College of Nursing is there to meet these challenges. We know that COVID has taken a toll on the nursing workforce, further compromised by a national shortage of nursing faculty. These trends, in the face of a complex health environment and intricate health-care needs of our society, can be daunting. Yet, I remain hopeful and am energized by the work of the students, alumni, staff, faculty, and greater community. During the past two years of a pandemic, the college has stayed steadfast in our mission to prepare nurses to excel as outstanding clinicians, scholars, and leaders to serve the needs of the state of Rhode Island and the greater global community. I am truly grateful for everyone who came together to make it possible to continue to provide an exceptional educational experience during uncharted times. In addition, the college has remained unwavering in contributing to scholarship, advancing knowledge with impact and making scientific discoveries that improve health and nursing care. Over the last six years, we have made a concerted effort to expand and enhance the College’s capacity to impact health care and research. That effort has not gone unnoticed, as our programs have shot up the national rankings. Our master’s degree program has drawn particular attention, soaring to the top 50 in the country this year. Similarly, our Doctor of Nursing Practice program and undergraduate offerings are in the top 100. Importantly, our college continues to excel in the student experience. The URI College of Nursing is, indeed, a unique place. Our fellowships, community involvement, national presence, and community of scholars continue to expand, as highlighted in this report. These are just some of the many accomplishments of this fabulous community. I invite you to visit our website at uri. edu/nursing/news for a broader view of how our students, faculty, staff, and alumni continue to impact health and transform health care, and I look forward to an even more successful new academic year. —Dean Barbara Wolfe
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BY THE NUMBERS
1,224
2,369
Admitted students
Student Applications
30%
3.92
First-generation college students
Average GPA of incoming students TOP
100 National rank of BS, MS, DNP programs U.S. News & World Report
18%
25%
Increase in RhodyNow (annual fund) support
Percent of incoming students from historically underrepresented backgrounds
4 Research studies funded by RO1 grants from NIH and AHRQ
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Professor Emeritus Mary Sullivan, Assistant Professor Amy D’Agata and Ph.D. student Pamela Brewer
RESEARCH A College commited to health care and health discovery
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Multiple Research Projects Funded By RO1 Grants Among the many dynamic research projects undertaken by faculty members in the URI College of Nursing, four of them are funded by RO1 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), among the most prestigious research funding sources. The Research Project Grant (R01) is the original and historically oldest grant mechanism used by NIH. The R01 provides support for health-related research and development based on the mission.
Violence Screening in College Health Centers Effects of Premature Birth Into Adulthood Among the most intense experiences of adversity for infants is premature birth. Annually, 1 in 10 infants are born prematurely, yet studies of premature infants at adulthood are few compared to those at younger ages, and most focus on the smallest 20 percent of premature infants. Newly designated Professor Emeritus Mary Sullivan has been following a cohort of people born prematurely for more than 30 years, and Assistant Professor Amy D’Agata and Ph.D. student Pamela Brewer have joined the study as it is funded for another five years. The longitudinal study is the 10th wave of a Rhode Island-born cohort representing a wide range of neonatal morbidity, birth weight, and socioeconomic status who are now in their early 30s. The study aims include: complex modeling of adult outcomes of health, function, work, and social competence; examination of allostatic load with metabolic, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and inflammatory biomarkers; and epigenome-wide DNA methylation and estimates of age acceleration. The project brings a life-course perspective to determine how prematurity and environmental stress affect preterm-to-adult health. It is believed to be the only U.S. study of premature infants to age 30-33.
More than 20 percent of women are sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, and female college students experience some of the highest rates of intimate partner violence and sexual violence of all groups. Associate Deans Kathy Hutchinson and Melissa Sutherland have found only 10 – 11 percent of college health-care providers report screening female student patients for violence, prompting their study. The research aims to identify the barriers to violence screening and increase the reporting of partner and sexual violence among college communities. The study will include surveys with a national sample of 1,900 college health-care providers from more than 300 colleges, and in-depth interviews with a subsample of participants. Online focus groups and brief surveys are being conducted with female college students in order to identify potential student reactions to violence screening. The study’s findings will inform the development of recommendations and multi-level interventions to promote intimate partner and sexual violence screening in college health centers. ANNUAL REPORT 2021−22 / 5
Effect of Racial Inequities on Caregiver Resources
School-Based Asthma Therapy
Structural inequity and racial or ethnic residential segregation may affect serious illness outcomes by limiting access to palliative care and limiting the capacity of family caregivers to engage with the health-care system. Few studies have been done to highlight racism’s impact on family caregivers. To address this gap, Associate Professor Susan DeSanto-Madeya aims to disentangle the relationships between segregation, neighborhood deprivation, and health-care utilization to determine whether racial inequities, not patient mistrust, are the primary barriers to equitable palliative care and health outcomes.
This project is a hybrid effectiveness-implementation study in which the principal investigator, Research Professor Kimberly Arcoleo, is conducting a rigorous, comprehensive evaluation of the School-Based Asthma Therapy (SBAT) program’s clinical and academic outcomes and cost-effectiveness when implemented in a real-world setting.
DeSanto-Madeya is analyzing the rates of serious illness, access to palliative care, availability of caregiver resources, individual utilization of health-care facilities, and the ultimate health outcomes in specific neighborhoods with high rates of ethnic minority families. Next, she will conduct case studies of hospitals to characterize how hospital cultures support or constrain caregiver engagement for people with serious illness from different communities. Finally, she will consult with community representatives to recommend culturally appropriate solutions to improve equity in caregiver engagement for serious illness.
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The SBAT program enhances asthma self-management and improves adherence to daily, effective preventive care, increasing symptom-free days. Over seven years, Arcoleo and her colleagues implemented and expanded the SBAT program to more than 900 students in 288 schools in Columbus, Ohio. They will also assess implementation strategies with the goal of expanding of the SBAT program across a variety of schools. Dissemination and implementation research on this integrated, interprofessional, multidimensional SBAT program could serve as a model for programs that aim to improve asthma care and reduce morbidity for high-risk children with asthma and has applications for other chronic health conditions.
Increased Use Of Telehealth To Continue Post-Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic radically transformed the delivery of primary care in the United States, exposing the fragility of the nation’s reliance on in-person primary care. To facilitate access to primary care, telehealth services regulations, administrative rules, payer policies, and reimbursement were modified almost overnight. Providers quickly adapted, and more patients have become acquainted with primary health care offered in the comfort of their home, a care delivery model that eliminates travel time and time-consuming waits in primary care practices. Routhier Chair and Professor Betty Rambur joined colleagues from around the country for an in-depth look at the impact COVID-19 has made on telehealth, and the future of the virtual care, which was published in the journal ScienceDirect.
Highlights include: • Payment policy should support the provision of services designed to promote health and support self-management of chronic conditions provided by RNs, APRNs, and other providers as part of a team-based approach to primary care. • Primary care services delivered through telehealth should be subject to the same standards, regulations, and quality expectations as in-person visits, providing the full range of prevention and health promotion services. • Basic and graduate nursing education curricula must change to reflect a primary care practice environment that increasingly incorporates telehealth connections and technology as a hallmark of quality care.
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URI nursing students practice their clinical skills at the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center in Providence.
Despite COVID, Nursing Students Remain Committed While the COVID-19 pandemic has increased stress exponentially and impacted the mental health of many nurses and nursing students, it hasn’t necessarily dampened the desire for nursing students to pursue the profession, according to a URI Nursing professor’s recent study. Assistant Professor Karen Jennings Mathis conducted a survey of URI nursing students in the summer of 2020 asking about their interest in the profession in light of the pandemic, as well as their mental health. Among the 161 Karen Jennings Mathis respondents, 54.4 percent affirmed their interest in becoming a nurse, while just 14.3 percent indicated that the pandemic led to a reduced interest in a nursing career.
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“Overall, it was good news to know students are still interested in pursuing their career, they still speak highly of nurses, and have a love of helping others,” Jennings Mathis said. “There have been enormous challenges for our students. But despite those stressors, students were still interested in pursuing this career.” Despite their positive response about pursuing the nursing profession, many expressed feeling overwhelmed and “unsettled about the future.” Respondents cited mental health issues, with 18.7 percent reporting moderate-to-severe anxiety and 19.8 percent reporting moderate-to-severe depression. The survey results suggest a need to prioritize mental health screening and to improve mental health services for nurses and nursing students for career success and the ability to “emotionally manage” any “external stressors” that arise, Jennings Mathis said.
College Sponsors ENRS Conference The URI College of Nursing served as a lead sponsor of the Eastern Nursing Research Society annual conference in Providence this year, and the College was well represented throughout the three-day meeting. Professors Denise Coppa and Kim Arcoleo gave presentations on their research studies, as did Research Associate Suzy Barcelos Winchester. Associate Professor Susan Desanto-Madeya was awarded the Suzanne Feetham Nurse Scientist Family Research Award, Professor Mary Sullivan served on a panel discussion on health inequities in research, and several students presented posters of their own research projects. Above: Professor Mary Sullivan serves on a panel discussion on health inequities in research during the ENRS conference. Far Left: Associate Professor Susan DeSanto-Madeya is awarded the Suzanne Feetham Nurse Scientist Family Research Award. Left: Research Associate Suzy Barcelos Winchester presents her research project. Below: Recent B.S. graduate Melissa Sosa discusses her research on the mental health of first generation college students.
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STUDENTS Preparing the future of health-care delivery and discovery
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Nursing Graduate Overcomes Societal, Personal Obstacles To Excel at URI Melissa Sosa, first generation American and college student employed in neuro ICU In 2010, Melissa Sosa was a 10-year-old girl going to grade school in Providence, playing softball and volleyball with her friends, and just generally being a kid. Then her mother, Alba Vasquez, was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. It was a monumental challenge for her mom and the entire family but also was a source of inspiration that set Melissa on her current course. “I didn’t really understand the process at all, and every time my mom would go in and have all these surgeries and chemo, I didn’t really understand what was happening. It was really scary for us,” Sosa said. “It wasn’t until a nurse sat down with me and my sister and really talked to us in simple terms so we could understand. It made me feel a lot more comfortable. It was from there that I decided what I wanted to do, the type of person I wanted to be. Since then, I knew I wanted to be a nurse.” Sosa has now achieved that goal, crossing the stage at the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing Commencement ceremony May 21. While she is only just beginning her career, she has already overcome significant obstacles to get to this point in her career and her life. Sosa’s parents, born in Guatemala, immigrated to the United States looking to give their future daughters a better life. Despite the challenges of being a first-generation American and first-generation high school student, Sosa excelled in her studies, becoming valedictorian. As Sosa was embarking on her college career, her mother’s health deteriorated. During her first year at URI, her mom was able to attend-in-person ceremony at Edwards Auditorium as she received her white coat, marking the beginning of a nursing student’s career. Alba Vasquez sadly passed away soon after. “Six weeks before she passed, I think she knew it was her time. She sat me down and said, ‘I’m going to need you to keep pushing. Even if I might not be here, I’ll always be watching down. And I want you to know the day you cross that stage,
I’ll be there,’” Sosa said. “And I think that’s what really drove me. I did this for my family, for her, and for myself.” Sosa made the most of her experience at URI, serving as a college ambassador, working on research Melissa Sosa carries the College of studies, and Nursing banner during graduation ceremonies in May. being named the college’s Academic Excellence Award winner for 2022. Her hard work has already paid off with her first job in the neuro-intensive care unit at Rhode Island Hospital.” Learn more about Sosa and her journey at uri.edu/ nursing/news.
Big Ideas. Bold Plans. Student Access Cost should not prevent talented, hardworking students from achieving their dream career in nursing, but students and their families confront that barrier every year. Generous funds like the Nancy A. Tucker Scholarship for Nursing help bridge the funding gap, but more scholarships are needed to meet current Melissa Sosastudent carries theneeds. College of Nursing banner during graduation ceremonies in May}
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Inaugural Flynn Fellows Graduate Palliative Care Program Katherine Fitzmaurice and Rebecca Allder receive certificates from funder Fred Flynn, who named the fellowship for his late wife, Susan Flynn.
Two College of Nursing students who have enhanced their expertise in palliative care and contributed to palliative care knowledge through their research projects, as the first participants in the Susan D. Flynn Palliative Care Undergraduate Fellowship, graduated from the program Aug. 2. Rebecca Allder and Katherine Fitzmaurice, both entering their senior year at URI, received certificates of completion during a ceremony at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence. During the ceremony, the students presented the research projects they pursued while working with HopeHealth personnel to help provide palliative care. Allder’s project focused on comfort feeding versus sustenance feeding for patients in palliative care. She reported that food plays
an important role in a patient’s well-being and socialization. While there may be risks to self-feeding for some patients, for those who are able, eating can enhance quality of life and make the patient feel more autonomy. Fitzmaurice focused on the impact of respite care for pediatric patients, giving parents whose children are facing serious illness a much-needed rest from the constant stress of caring for an ill child. Her study found that respite care allowed parents to rest, spend quality time with other children, and generally feel some freedom from stress while palliative care nurses temporarily take over the duties of care. The Flynn Fellowship, a preceptor-based internship program, is sponsored by Fred Flynn in memory of his wife, Susan, who died of ovarian cancer.
Students Discuss Nurses’ Role in Advocacy at D.C. Summit Dean Barbara Wolfe was joined at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Student Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., in March by URI nursing students Emily Haynes, Shivani Mehta, and Darciah Costa. The summit is a two-day conference open to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students consisting of didactic program sessions focused on the federal policy process and nursing’s role in professional advocacy. Students also get the chance to tour the Capitol and often meet with legislators. 12 / URI COLLEGE OF NURSING
Students Present Research Projects at Honors Forum With topics as varied as substance use disorder, food insecurity, breastfeeding, and more, URI College of Nursing students presented their research projects during the Honors Research Showcase May 4 in the Memorial Union ballroom.
Students presenting their research included:
Pamela Bedoya
Katherine Cintron
Kaitlyn Driscoll
Keely Ford
Alyssa Johnson
Brianna Kelly
Hannah Kramer
Abigail Miller
Melissa Sosa Not pictured: Jessica Petonic
Big Ideas. Bold Plans. URI Learning Experience Academic and co-curricular activities develop students’ potential for leadership and discovery. Gifts to RhodyNow: Nursing provide flexible funding to underwrite experiential learning and access to such conferences as the AACNS Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.
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Two Nursing Students Named URI Ryan Scholars Two high-performing students in the URI College of Nursing have been named Ryan Scholars, giving them access to leadership opportunities, international travel, and the advantage of focusing on their studies and research, without the stress of covering expenses. The Ryan scholarship program for students covers tuition and fees, and offers access to the University’s Honors Colloquium, Leadership Institute, and Winter J-Term. The College of Nursing Ryan Scholars include:
Samantha Salerno ’24
Darciah Costa ’25 Hometown: Long Island, N.Y.
About Salerno: A nursing major with a minor in Gender and Women’s Studies, Salerno is involved in community service as the panhellenic VP of philanthropy and service, a Service Corps Alternative Spring Break trip leader, and an assistant in the Office of Civic Engagement and Action. She is also a student coordinator for the Leadership Institute preparing the future of health care delivery and discovery and a nursing ambassador for the College of Nursing. She finished her first clinical rotation at Rhode Island Hospital and said she is looking forward to her maternity rotation this year. Future plans: “After graduation, I hope to become a maternity nurse in New York and eventually become a nurse practitioner. After learning so much about women’s health disparities through my GWS minor, I hope to use my nursing education to make a difference in this area.” Why URI?: “I chose URI because of how welcomed I felt by everyone here when I visited and the variety of clinical experiences available to students in the nursing program. My choice was really solidified by Mr. Ryan’s incredible generosity along with all of the support I received from faculty as part of the first class of Ryan Scholars.”
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Hometown: Attleboro, Mass. About Costa: “I plan to advocate for the experiences of others within health at URI through an executive position in the Student Nurses Association. Tour-guiding has connected me so much with the campus and given me such a deep appreciation for the URI community.” Future plans: “I plan on working in an ICU or ER and eventually transition into health advocacy work.” Why URI?: “My mom attended URI as the first person in her family to graduate college. Coming here felt like finding my way back home. URI truly provided a community that changed my family’s life and has allowed me to grow so much as a person.”
Students, Faculty Members Inducted in Phi Kappa Phi Four URI College of Nursing students, along with Clinical Assistant Professor Professor Sandra Basley and Dean Barbara Wolfe, became the latest from URI inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Students include: Melissa Sosa (right), Lily Jacobson, Grace Beaudry, and Katherine Cintron.
Students, Faculty Connect During Sophomore Retreat Dean Barbara Wolfe, Associate Dean Mary Leveillee, and the entire faculty welcomed second-year nursing students to the Ryan Center April 29 for the annual Sophomore Retreat, sponsored by R.I. Free Clinic founder and friend to the college, Stephanie Chafee. The retreat gives second-year nursing students the opportunity to connect with one another and their professors as they begin their journey into the nursing profession.
Big Ideas. Bold Plans. Innovative and Distinctive Programs Classroom training alone cannot teach the scope of caring for a human being, often during the most vulnerable and fragile time of a patient’s life. With assistance from the B Street Foundation, the Sophomore Retreat explores professional obligations, ethical considerations, and communication skills necessary for working with patients and their families. Students participating in the retreat explore the transition from the classroom to a clinical setting, learning to navigate the dynamics of patient-centered care.
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Ph.D. Student Scores Second Fellowship to Aid Research
“It allows me to commit myself to my own research,” Carroll said. “I won’t be working as a teaching assistant or a research assistant; I’ll be focusing on my specific projects.”
Carroll is also working with colleagues at Boston Children’s Hospital on a pilot study involving Family Talk, a family-based intervention originally designed to prevent depression in family members of adults with depression, which she has adapted to help support family members of children with psychosis. Going forward, she is planning her dissertation research that explores sexual violence among college students with autism, for which she plans to apply for a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health.
And those projects are many, focusing on people with neurodevelopment disorders. For the past year, Carroll has been studying caregiver burden among those who care for children with psychosis. She has submitted a paper to the Journal of American Psychiatric Nurses Association on her study measuring caregivers’ level of burden, looking at levels of social support, and ways to improve the parent-child relationship.
In addition to her research, Carroll will be taking on a full load of coursework in the fall and teaching a clinical practicum class for psychiatric nurse practitioner master’s students. She will also present her study — examining the parental provision of alcohol to college students, and its effects on the propensity for risk-taking behavior — at the American Psychiatric Nurses Association annual meeting this October.
A Ph.D. student in the College of Nursing is expanding her research profile, engaging in multiple projects as she enters her second year, thanks to a second fellowship she’s been awarded to help fund her studies. Devon Carroll, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Boston Children’s Hospital and Ph.D. candidate at URI, has received a Graduate Dean’s Fellowship, which, provides a nine-month academic year stipend to allow graduate students to fully commit to their own research projects. Carroll is also recipient of a Cynthia and Thomas Sculco Graduate Nursing Research scholarship, which also helps cover student expenses, allowing students to focus exclusively on their research and studies.
Senior Student Nurse of the Year Recent URI College of Nursing graduate Emily Louzon, left, was named Senior Student Nurse of the Year by RI Monthly, part of the magazine’s annual Excellence in Nursing Awards. Louzon, a Charlestown, R.I. native, graduated from URI in December.
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Pathways Reflection Revelry Research has demonstrated that patients are most comfortable with people like themselves when receiving nursing care, especially when there are language and economic barriers. Unfortunately, there is an acute shortage of nurses from diverse and underrepresented communities. To help address this disparity, the URI College of Nursing began the Pathways to Nursing program in 2010 with the goal to recruit, support, retain, and graduate diverse and historically underrepresented students. Aiming to reduce health-care inequalities and achieve health equity by increasing diversity in the nursing workforce, the program provides students with resources and support to attain bachelor’s degrees in nursing. The program has seen hundreds of students who may not have had the opportunity otherwise to study at
URI and become the nurses and nurse leaders they are today. The College has graduated its latest cohort of Pathways students, who gathered in May for an annual celebration, where they shared their challenges and achievements over their college careers. For more information on Pathways, contact Clinical Associate Professor Diane DiTomasso at dditomasso@uri.edu.
URI Students Inducted Sigma Theta Tau Thirty-five URI College of Nursing students were inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the second-largest nursing organization in the world, along with Assistant Professor Thaís São-João, who was inducted as a nurse leader. The inducted students include: Kate Atwell
Maureen Haffey
Kimberly Linares-Torres
Morgan Olivia Petrarco
Rivka Bernstein
Shauna Hamill
Britney Lunch
Olivia Marie Rackley
Cailey Catherine MacGregor
Story E. Black
Laura Marie Heslin
Caitlin Bouchard
Olivia Lynn Howes
Catherine Callahan
Marissa Hunter
Sydney Grace Celseti
Chelsea Kowash
Jodi Lynn Criner
Natalie LaBua
Rachel Decker
Hannah Lawlor
Elisa Michele Gustafson
Juliet Mary Lenzon
Emily Meerholz Kaela Ann Mowrey Cheyenne Murray Kristina Elizabeth O’Connell Ifeanyi Alexis Ofakansi
Mia Demi Roslin Abby Royer Desiree Short Emily Frances Smith Hailey Wadland Karen Wholey Grace Winberry ANNUAL REPORT 2021−22 / 17
FACULTY Dynamic leaders in health care, education, and research
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College Welcomes New Professors The URI College of Nursing has welcomed three new professors over the past year. Learn a bit about the college’s newest educators:
Professor Melissa Sutherland Education: Ph.D., University of Virginia, Charlottesville; M.S., Binghamton University, Binghamton, N.Y., with a focus on community health education and nurse practitioner; B.S. in nursing, Binghamton University; B.S. in Rural Sociology, Cornell University Recent experience: Director, Kresge Center for Nursing Research, Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences; professor, Binghamton University, Decker School of Nursing; associate professor, Boston College, Connell School of Nursing; lecturer, University of Virginia School of Nursing. Research focus: Sutherland’s work has been funded by private foundations and by the National Institute of Nursing Research, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Her research focuses on interpersonal violence and recovery. Her current AHRQ R01 project examines female college students’ experiences with intimate partner violence and sexual violence and factors associated with violence screening in college health centers. Teaching focus: Dr. Sutherland is a board-certified family nurse practitioner and has taught community and public health at the undergraduate and graduate level. Among other courses at URI, Sutherland plans to teach a class in growth and development over the lifespan to undergraduate students. The course focuses on health promotion and disease prevention from newborns to older adults.
Assistant Professor Thaís São-João Education: Ph.D., Nursing, University of Campinas; Post-Doc, Health Sciences, University of Campinas; M.S.N., University of Campinas (Brazil); B.S.N., Nursing, University of Campinas. Recent experience: Assistant Professor, University of Campinas; Professor, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas. Research focus: São-João focuses on health-related behavior change, especially risk factors for diseases including diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. In Brazil, she received grants from the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development and from the São Paulo Research Foundation as a tenured professor. São-João is experienced in studies aimed at designing, implementing and assessing nurse-driven interventions, as well as randomized, controlled intervention studies in clinical settings. She has expertise in research design and methods and in cultural adaptation and validation studies, with a focus on people with such noncommunicable diseases as cardiovascular conditions, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Teaching focus: Dr. São-João’s area of focus is on the fundamentals of medical/ surgical nursing.
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Clinical Assistant Professor Kate Healy Education: D.N.P. Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions; M.S.N., University of Pennsylvania; B.S.N., University of Pennsylvania. Recent experience: Associate Director of Nursing, Associate Professor, Norwich University, Northfield, Vt.; registered nurse, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, N.H.), Gifford Medical Center (Randolph, Vt.), VA Medical Center (White River Junction, Vt.); Nurse Practitioner, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, N.Y.). Teaching focus: “My teaching focus and where I hope to develop my scholarship is in active learning in the classroom, lab/simulation, and clinical settings. I strive to make classroom content relevant to nursing practice to help make concepts more tangible for students. My goal is to help students develop their abilities to apply the nursing process to practice.”
Big Ideas. Bold Plans. Transformative Faculty Leadership Investing in transformative faculty leadership attracts prestigious and influential professors who are thought leaders, encouraging them to innovate and share their knowledge and represent the College of Nursing abroad. The Janet Schade ’70 bequest to support URI nursing education enhances recruitment of the best and brightest Ph.D. students who will become the nursing educators of tomorrow.
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Nursing Professor Wins AANP State Award for Excellence Former URI College of Nursing Professor Mary Lavin was the Rhode Island winner of the 2022 State Award for Excellence from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. “An NP faculty member for more than 30 years, and active member of the NP Alliance, she is a superior mentor and educator of NP students and graduates, with a strong focus on improving the health of communities,” the AANP award reads. Lavin is a long-standing board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with expertise in primary care. She has worked in multiple primary care settings throughout her career and has been a practice affiliate member of Newport Hospital. A member of the American Nurses Association, the Nurse Practitioner Association of Rhode Island, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing, Lavin retired from teaching at URI in May.
Faculty in the News Professor Selected as NIH Research Institute Scholar
Professor Serves as Governor’s Health Advisor
Assistant Professor Karen Jennings Mathis has been selected as an NIH 2022 Health Disparities Research Institute Scholar. The institute provides a broad overview of the leading issues in minority health and health disparities research, enhancing the ability of scholars to secure research grants.
Assistant Professor Dahianna Lopez is playing a key role in R.I. Gov. Dan McKee’s plan “to build a more resilient, prosperous, and equitable state,” serving on the governor’s advisory team tasked with creating a framework and guiding document for the state over the next decade.
An advanced practice registered nurse in the specialty of family psychiatric-mental health nursing, Jennings Mathis’ research focuses on the prevalence and presentation of eating disorders within Black populations and how to integrate cultural factors to enhance evidence-based assessments and interventions.
Faculty Member Elected to Thoracic Society Assembly Assistant Professor Jennifer Mammen was elected to the American Thoracic Society Assembly on Nursing Nominating Committee. The ATS is the world’s leading medical society dedicated to accelerating the advancement of global respiratory health through multidisciplinary collaboration, education, and advocacy. Nursing assembly members include scholars, clinicians, and educators within the profession of nursing who conduct research to address the needs of populations across the lifespan in clinical settings.
Lopez serves as the representative for public health and health care and has been actively engaged in soliciting community input from multiple stakeholders across the state. She has joined other education, health, and civic leaders in implementing “a working draft for the state’s future,” which suggests broad goals for the state over the next decade and recommends short-term and long-term actions the state should take to reach those goals.
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Associate Professor Appointed to Nursing Charter School Board
Professor Elected Vice Chair of Palliative Care Panel
Clinical Associate Professor Mary Leveillee was appointed to the board of directors of the Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College Charter School. Based in Providence, the school is the first public charter high school in the country focused on the nursing profession.
Associate Professor and Weyker Chair Susan DeSanto-Madeya was elected vice chair of the American Academy of Nursing’s Expert Panel on Palliative and End of Life Care, which identifies and disseminates public policy priorities for clinical care, research, and education related to palliative and end-of-life care. Dr. DeSanto-Madeya is an expert in palliative and end-of life nursing care. She is an investigator on an NIH-funded study examining standardized patient-centered medication review in home hospice and the primary investigator on a study to align goals of care for patients living with serious illness.
Assistant Professor Appointed to Global Cancer Commission URI nursing Assistant Professor Dr. Erica Liebermann was appointed as an advisor on the Lancet Commission on Women and Cancer. The commission comprises a multidisciplinary and diverse team from around the globe, with expertise in gender studies, human rights, law, economics, sociology, as well as cancer epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. The commission works to ensure equitable access to affordable quality cancer prevention, risk reduction, treatment, supportive, rehabilitative, and palliative care for all.
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Arcoleo Elected President of International Respiratory Society Research Professor Kim Arcoleo was elected the new president of the International Society for the Advancement of Respiratory Psychophysiology, which promotes relationships between psychological and physiological aspects of respiration. Arcoleo is an expert in respiratory ailments whose research focus is on closing the health disparity gap for low-income, under served children with asthma. Arcoleo was also the recipient of the 2022 American Public Health Association Distinguished Service Award.
Professor Serves on National Health Policy Council
Associate Dean Serves on NIH FIRST Program
Professor and Routhier Chair Betty Rambur was selected to serve on the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Health Policy Advisory Council “to provide contextual guidance to the association on issues that require insight from nurse faculty.” Nursing faculty members and administrators from colleges and universities across the country “guide the development of policy statements surrounding current and emerging areas in health, healthcare, and higher education.” Dr. Rambur’s term runs through 2023.
Associate Dean Kathy Hutchinson was invited to serve as a reviewer for the NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation Program, a high-profile National Institutes of Health funding opportunity. The goal of the FIRST Program is to enhance inclusive excellence in the biomedical research community through the recruitment of early-career faculty and to build a culture that supports diversity and inclusive excellence. Dr. Hutchinson—whose own research focuses on sexual risk behavior and sexual violence—teaches research methods at the doctoral level, leads grant-writing and research workshops, and sponsors F31 NRSA applications for pre-doctoral students.
Professor Defends Dissertation, Earns Ph.D. Clinical Assistant Professor Sandra Basley has earned her Ph.D. in nursing from URI after successful defense of her dissertation, “The experience of nurses as double duty caregivers for a family member at end-of-life; interpretive description.” Basley focuses her research on double-duty caregiving, innovative pedagogy and interdisciplinary education.
Calling it a Career Congratulations to Professors Patricia Burbank (left), Mary Lavin, Mary Sullivan, and Mary Cloud, who retired in May after decades educating future nurse leaders and making groundbreaking discoveries through dynamic research projects. Dean Barbara Wolfe and the entire College of Nursing thank them for their years of exemplary service to the College and the enormous impact they have each made on health and health care for generations to come!
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Selected Nursing Faculty Publications 2021–2022 Kaur, K., Arcoleo, K. J., Serebrisky,, D., Rastogi,, D., Marsiglia,, F. F., & Feldman,, J. M. (2021). Impact of caregiver depression on child asthma outcomes in Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. Journal of Asthma. Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2021.2008427
O’Donoghue, S. C., Hardman, J., & DeSanto-Madeya, S. (2021). Moving forward: Lessons learned from the covid-19 pandemic. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 40(6), 309–310. doi.org/10.1097/ dcc.0000000000000497
McGovern, C. M., Harrison, R., & Arcoleo, K. (2021). Integrative review of programs to improve outcomes for children with comorbid asthma and anxiety/depressive symptoms. Journal of School Nursing. Advance online publication. doi. org/10.1177/10598405211061508
Tjia, J., Clayton, M. F., Fromme, E. K., McPherson, M. L., & DeSanto-Madeya, S. (2021). Shared medication planning in (simplify) home hospice: An educational program to enable goal-concordant prescribing in home hospice. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 62(5), 1092–1099. doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.05.015
McGovern, C. M., Hutson, E., Arcoleo, K., & Melnyk, B. (2021). Considerations in pediatric intervention research: Lessons learned from two pediatric pilot studies. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 63, 78–83. doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2021.10.016 Attin, M., Reifenstein, K., Mehta, S., Arcoleo, K., Lin, C. D., & Storozynsky, E. (2022). Reported signs, symptoms, and diagnostic tests before cardiotoxicity among women with breast cancer: A pilot study. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 37(2), 104–111. doi. org/10.1097/jcn.0000000000000848 Ogbogu, P. U., Noroski, L. M., Arcoleo, K., Reese, B. D., & Apter, A. J. (2022). Methods for cross-cultural communication in clinic encounters. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 10(4), 893–900. doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2022.01.010 Coppa, D., Winchester, S. B., Maestri, X., & Roberts, M. B. (2022). Nurse practitioners in home-based prepalliative care demonstrate an innovative, value-based approach to end-of-life care planning. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 34(5), 701–710. doi.org/10.1097/jxx.0000000000000713 Kutahyalioglu, N. S., Scafide, K. N., Mallinson, K. R., & D’Agata, A. L. (2021). Implementation and practice barriers of family-centered care encountered by neonatal nurses. Advances in Neonatal Care. Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1097/anc.0000000000000948 D’Agata, A. L., Kelly, M., Green, C. E., & Sullivan, M. C. (2022). Molding influences of prematurity: Interviews with adults born preterm. Early Human Development, 166, Article 105542. doi. org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2022.105542 Clark, L. T. S., Sanchez, S., Phelan, C., Sokol-Hessner, L., Bruce, K., & DeSanto-Madeya, S. (2021). Covid-19 inpatient cohorting team. Nursing Management, 52(5), 38–45. doi.org/10.1097/01. numa.0000737624.29748.4e Clements, C., Barsamian, J., Burnham, N., Cruz, C., Darcy, A. M., Duphiney, L., FitzGerald, J., Holland, S., Joyce, C., & DeSanto-Madeya, S. (2021). Supporting frontline staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. American Journal of Nursing, 121(9), 46–55. doi. org/10.1097/01.naj.0000790632.18077.c1 Hurley, S. L., DeSanto-Madeya, S., Fortney, C. A., Izumi, S., Phongtankuel, V., & Carpenter, J. G. (2021). Building strong clinician-researcher collaborations for successful hospice and palliative care research. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 24(1), 64–69. doi. org/10.1097/njh.0000000000000818 O’Donoghue, S. C., Church, M., Russell, K., Gamboa, K. A., Hardman, J., Sarge, J., Moskowitz, A., Hayes, M. M., Cocchi, M. N., & DeSanto-Madeya, S. (2021). Development, implementation, and impact of a proning team during the COVID-19 intensive care unit surge. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 40(6), 321–327. doi. org/10.1097/dcc.0000000000000498
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Sannes, T. S., Pirl, W. F., Rossi, J. S., Grebstein, L., Redding, C. A., Ferszt, G. G., Prochaska, J. O., Braun, I. M., & Yusufov, M. (2021). Identifying patient-level factors associated with interest in psychosocial services during cancer: A brief report. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 39(5), 686–693. doi.org/10.1080/07347332.2020.1837329 Saint-Eloi Cadely, H., Hutchinson, M. K., & Sutherland, M. A. (2022). The influence of pre-college behaviors and parenting practices on alcohol misuse, sexual risk-taking, and adverse outcomes among first-year college women. Journal of American College Health. Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2056416 Liebermann, E., Hammer, M. J., Gúzman, N. F., Van Devanter, N., & Ompad, D. (2021). Dominican provider practices for cervical cancer screening in Santo Domingo and Monte Plata provinces. Journal of Cancer Education, 36(4), 693–701. doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01690-9 Liebermann, E., Van Devanter, N., Frías Gúzman, N., Hammer, M. J., & Ompad, D. (2021). Dominican provider attitudes towards HPV testing for cervical cancer screening and, current challenges to cervical cancer prevention in the Dominican Republic: A mixed methods study. Journal of Cancer Education, 36(6), 1170–1185. doi. org/10.1007/s13187-020-01746-w Kumar, S., Usmanova, G., Nair, T. S., Srivastava, V. K., Singh, R., Mohanty, N., Akhtar, N., Kujur, M. S., Srivastava, A. K., Pallipamula, S. P., Agarwal, G., Singh, A. B., Kashyap, V., McCarthy, M., Liebermann, E. J., & Ginsburg, O. (2022). Implementation of a large‐scale breast cancer early detection program in a resource‐constrained setting: Real‐world experiences from 2 large states in India. Cancer, 128(9), 1757–1766. doi.org/10.1002/cncr.34114 Ridge, L. J., Liebermann, E. J., Stimpfel, A. W., Klar, R. T., Dickson, V. V., & Squires, A. P. (2022). The intellectual capital supporting nurse practice in a post‐emergency state: A case study. Journal of Advanced Nursing. Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1111/jan.15282 Sarich, P., Cabasag, C. J., Liebermann, E., Vaneckova, P., Carle, C., Hughes, S., Egger, S., O’Connell, D. L., Weber, M. F., da Costa, A. M., Caruana, M., Bray, F., Canfell, K., Ginsburg, O., Steinberg, J., & Soerjomataram, I. (2022). Tobacco smoking changes during the first pre-vaccination phases of the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine, 47, Article 101375. doi. org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101375 Lopez, D., Malloy, L. C., & Arcoleo, K. (2022). Police narrative reports: Do they provide end-users with the data they need to help prevent bicycle crashes? Accident Analysis & Prevention, 164, Article 106475. doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2021.106475 Magan, K. C., Hirschman, K. B., Starr, L. T., & Meghani, S. H. (2021). Longitudinal trajectories and correlates of post-caregiving depressive symptoms in former caregivers of persons with alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 39(6), 725–736. doi.org/10.1177/10499091211042836
Mammen, J. R., Java, J. J., Halterman, J., Berliant, M. N., Crowley, A., Frey, S. M., Reznik, M., Feldman, J. M., Schoonmaker, J. D., & Arcoleo, K. (2021). Development and preliminary results of an electronic medical record (emr)-integrated smartphone telemedicine program to deliver asthma care remotely. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 27(4), 217–230. doi.org/10.1177/1357633x19870025 Mammen, J. R., & Lee, J. E. (2021). Understanding the genetics of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Α1-antitrypsin deficiency, and implications for clinical practice. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 33(8), 576–579. doi.org/10.1097/ jxx.0000000000000627 Mammen, J. R., & McGovern, C. M. (2021). Summary of the 2020 focused updates to U.S. asthma management guidelines: What has changed and what hasn’t? Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 34(2), 238–241. doi.org/10.1097/ jxx.0000000000000619 Mammen, J. R., McGovern, C. M., Schoonmaker, J. D., Philibert, A., Schlegel, E. C., & Arcoleo, K. (2021). A multilevel perspective on goals, barriers, and facilitators of school-based asthma management. Journal of Asthma. Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1080/0277 0903.2021.2018704
Yakusheva, O., Rambur, B., & Buerhaus, P. I. (2022). Value-informed nursing practice: What is it and how to make it a reality. Nursing Outlook, 70(2), 211–214. doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2022.01.001 Yakusheva, O., Rambur, B., O’Reilly-Jacob, M., & Buerhaus, P. I. (2022). Value-based payment promotes better patient care, incentivizes health care delivery organizations to improve outcomes and lower costs, and can empower nurses. Nursing Outlook, 70(2), 215–218. doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.12.012 Kadri Filho, F. E., São-João, T. M., Alexandre, N. M., de Lucca, S. R., Gallasch, C. H., Rodrigues, R. C., & Cornélio, M. E. (2021). Musculoskeletal symptoms, psychosocial factors and work ability in Brazilian labor justice workers. Work, 69(3), 917–926. doi.org/10.3233/wor-213524 Kadri-Filho, F. E., São-João, T. M., Alexandre, N. M., Rodrigues, R. C., & Cornélio, M. E. (2021). Musculoskeletal symptoms and work ability in a context of electronic judicial process. Revista Brasileira De Medicina Do Trabalho, 19(01), 3–12. doi.org/10.47626/1679-4435-2021-497 de Oliveira, M. K., Kaizer, U. A., Jannuzzi, F. F., Gallani, M.-C., Alexandre, N. M., Cornélio, M. E., São-João, T. M., & Rodrigues, R. C. (2022). Content validity of a questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior to assess the psychosocial determinants of insulin adherence. Value in Health Regional Issues, 29, 76–85. doi. org/10.1016/j.vhri.2021.08.007
Feldman, J. M., Serebrisky, D., Starr, S., Castaño, K., Greenfield, N., Silverstein, G., Fruchter, N., Mammen, J., McGovern, C., & Arcoleo, Simmonds, K., Schwartz-Barcott, D., & Erickson-Owens, D. (2021). K. (2022). Reduced asthma morbidity during COVID-19 in minority Nurse practitioners’ and certified nurse midwives’ experiences providchildren: Is medication adherence a reason? Journal of Asthma. ing comprehensive early abortion care in New England, USA. Health Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2022.2059510 Care for Women International. Advance online publication. doi.org/10. Egbert, A. H., Hunt, R. A., Williams, K. L., Burke, N. L., & Mathis, 1080/07399332.2021.1929991 K. J. (2022). Reporting racial and ethnic diversity in eating disorder Jaekel, J., Anderson, P. J., Bartmann, P., Cheong, J. L., Doyle, L. W., research over the past 20 years. International Journal of Eating Hack, M., Johnson, S., Marlow, N., Saigal, S., Schmidt, L., Sullivan, Disorders, 55(4), 455–462. doi.org/10.1002/eat.23666 M. C., & Wolke, D. (2021). Mathematical performance in childhood Haynos, A. F., Wang, S. B., LeMay-Russell, S., Lavender, J. M., Pear- and early adult outcomes after very preterm birth: An individual particson, C. M., Mathis, K. J., Peterson, C. B., & Crow, S. J. (2021). An ipant data meta‐analysis. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, empirical taxonomy of reward response patterns in a transdiagnostic 64(4), 421–428. doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.15132 eating disorder sample. Eating Behaviors, 42, Article 101531. doi. Jiang, L., Ding, Y., Sutherland, M. A., Hutchinson, M. K, Zhang, C., org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2021.101531 & Si, B. (2021). A novel sparse model-based algorithm to cluster Goel, N. J., Jennings Mathis, K., Egbert, A. H., Petterway, F., categorical data for improved health screening and public health Breithaupt, L., Eddy, K. T., Franko, D. L., & Graham, A. K. (2022). promotion. IISE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering, Accountability in promoting representation of historically marginalized 12(2), 137-149. doi:10.1080/24725579.2021.1980467. racial and ethnic populations in the eating disorders field: A call to Discepola, M.-N., Carboni-Jiménez, A., Kwakkenbos, L., Henry, action. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 55(4), 463–469. doi. R. S., Boruff, J., Krishnan, A., Boström, C., Culos-Reed, S. N., org/10.1002/eat.23682 Hudson, M., Leader, D. M., Mattsson, M., Mouthon, L., Wojeck, R., Jennings Mathis, K., Carden, H., Tavares, A., & Al Sanea, A. (2022). Yakes Jimenez, E., Sauve, M., Welling, J., Guillot, G., Benedetti, How do risky behaviors and mental health differ among students A., & Thombs, B. D. (2021). Effects of non-pharmacological and based on undergraduate class status? Journal of the American non-surgical interventions on Health Outcomes in Systemic sclerosis: Psychiatric Nurses Association. Advance online publication. doi. Protocol for a living systematic review. BMJ Open, 11, e-047428. doi. org/10.1177/10783903211066126 org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047428 Kells, M., & Jennings Mathis, K. (2022). Influence of Covid‐19 on Wojeck, R. K., Bailey, D. E., Somers, T. J., & Knisely, M. R. (2021). the next generation of nurses in the United States. Journal of Clinical Self‐management interventions in systemic sclerosis: A systematic reNursing. Advance online publication. doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16202 view. Research in Nursing & Health, 44(2), 376–392. doi.org/10.1002/ nur.22118 McGrane, C., Masson, N., & Martins, D. C. (2021). A group respite pilot project for children with special needs. Public Health Nursing, Wojeck, R. K., Silva, S. G., Bailey, D. E., Knisely, M. R., Kwakkenbos, 38(6), 1009–1014. doi.org/10.1111/phn.12957 L., Carrier, M.-E., Nielson, W. R., Bartlett, S. J., Pope, J., & Thombs, B. D. (2021). Pain and self-efficacy among patients with systemic Rambur, B., & Pulcini, J. (2022). Understanding the language of sclerosis. Nursing Research, 70(5), 334–343. doi.org/10.1097/ health reform. American Journal of Nursing, 122(1), 48–53. doi. nnr.0000000000000528 org/10.1097/01.naj.0000815436.83350.da Kells, M., Gregas, M., Wolfe, B. E., Garber, A. K., & Kelly‐Weeder, Solari-Twadell, P. A., Flinter, M., Rambur, B., Renda, S., Witwer, S., S. (2022). Factors associated with refeeding hypophosphatemia in Vanhook, P., & Poghosyan, L. (2022). The impact of the COVID-19 adolescents and young adults hospitalized with anorexia nervosa. Nupandemic on the future of telehealth in primary care. Nursing Outlook, trition in Clinical Practice, 37(2), 470–478. doi.org/10.1002/ncp.10772 70(2), 315–322. doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.09.004
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ACADEMICS Comprehensive programs prepare the next health-care leaders 26 / URI COLLEGE OF NURSING
Master’s Degree Program Ranked in Top 50 Nationally The URI College of Nursing master’s degree program, already among the best in the country, has risen again in the national rankings, moving into the top 50 in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report. The B.S. and D.N.P. also ranked in top 100. The College’s master’s program is now ranked 45th in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report, among the leading authorities in college and university rankings, a significant improvement over last year’s 53rd spot. The program has consistently risen in the rankings each year, making an impressive climb from #133 as recently as 2016. “We are thrilled to be recognized among the top 50 programs in the country, which is a credit to our dynamic faculty, staff, clinical partners, and, of course, our top-notch students,” College of Nursing Dean Barbara Wolfe said. “Everyone in the College has played an important role in achieving this distinction, which only hardens our resolve to educate the best nurses and
New Fellowship Boost for Nursing Graduate Students
nurse scientists, who are prepared to be healthcare leaders in the community locally, nationally, and globally.” U.S. News & World Report also ranked doctor of nursing practice programs, with the URI College of Nursing maintaining its impressive ranking of 80th in the country. About one-third of the URI College of Nursing’s faculty members are recognized Fellows in national nursing organizations, including the American Academy of Nursing, for their distinguished academic achievements. The number of faculty publications, funded external grants, and committed gifts to the College has all increased over the last five years as the College continues to impact health and health care.
At a time of growing need for nurses, the U.S. is also facing a nursing faculty shortage. The URI College of Nursing is working to address that. A small group of anonymous donors has committed $600,000 to support the Dr. Donna Schwartz-Barcott and Dr. Hesook Suzie Kim Nursing Fellowship for graduate-level research and professional development. The endowment provides fellowships with a preference for students on the Ph.D. track but will also consider D.N.P. candidates. The fund aims to develop the next generation of nursing faculty. An additional anonymous donor has issued a $500,000 match for all new gifts made to the Barcott-Kim Fellowship through Dec. 31, 2022. The Barcott-Kim Fellowship will help build the faculty pipeline by selecting and supporting registered nurses whose research interest stems from their area of practice.
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Experiential Learning Around the College SIM training Students in Clinical Associate Professor Diane DiTomasso's Family Health Nursing course (NUR 354) practice postpartum care on mother and baby in the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center's advanced simulation labs, which feature lifelike mannequins. The course trains students in obstetrics and pediatrics, allowing them to practice caregiving in a simulated environment.
Big Ideas. Bold Plans. Strategic Opportunities For the College to address the national nurse and nurse-faculty shortage, we must take advantage of strategic opportunities with quick action. Honoring the co-founders of URI’s doctoral nursing programs, the Dr. Donna Schwartz-Barcott & Dr. Hesook Suzie Kim Nursing Fellowship enhances the College’s ability to recruit and retain doctoral candidates. Recognizing Drs. Schwartz-Barcott and Kim’s more than 80 combined years of service, more than $750,000 has been raised to date. An anonymous donor is inspiring others to expand on this initial investment with a $500,000 matching grant through December 2022.
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Classroom Debrief Nursing Simulation Coordinator Jessica Skaltsis leads a discussion with students, breaking down their performance in a simulated hospital room in a lab at the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center. The College often employs live actors, along with lifelike mannequins, to help students prepare for patient care.
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Marie Ghazal Earns Fellowship, Announces Retirement
“I know I’ve made a difference in the lives of other people who just would not have gotten care. That feeling is great. I feel good knowing that I helped to do that here.”
A prominent URI College of Nursing alumna is calling it a career after years helping underserved populations receive the critical care they need, for which she was inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in Fall 2021. Marie Ghazal, ’77, D.N.P. ’17, has announced her retirement as chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Free Clinic in Providence, which she has transformed into a critical resource for low-income Rhode Islanders who are do not have health insurance and therefore lack access to quality, affordable health care. In 12 years running the clinic, Ghazal made it a mission to increase access to care for as many people as possible, while building a sustainable model for free clinics to survive in an increasingly costly health-care environment. Upon beginning at the clinic more than a decade ago, Ghazal set out to make access to services more equitable, eliminating a lottery system that had potential patients lining up outside each morning in hopes of having their name drawn to see a doctor. She worked to increase clinician and volunteer hours to move to an appointment-based system. The clinic now accepts about 50 new patients every month. Ghazal has also led an increase in services the clinic offers, even opening a free dental clinic in 2018, the first of its kind in the region. Increasing access and services for the underserved has been a mission throughout Ghazal’s career. She served as director of the Central Falls Health Center, a Community Health Centers project coordinator with the state Department of Health, and vice president and chief nursing officer for Providence Community Health Centers. Read more about Ghazal and her career at uri.edu/nursing/news.
ALUMNI Representing the College in the community
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Alumni in the News URI alum Executive Wins PBN Career Award URI College of Nursing alum Cathy Duquette was named the 2022 “Career Achiever” for Providence Business News’ annual C-Suite Awards program. Duquette, who earned her M.S.N. in nursing administrtion from URI.
Alumnus Appointed VP of Cancer Institute URI College of Nursing alumna Julie Principe ‘07, was appointed vice president of the Lifespan Cancer Institute, making her one of the most senior leaders at Rhode Island Hospital. Principe has been with the cancer institute since 2016, overseeing clinics, infusion centers and radiation therapy, and planning for the institute’s new cancer center in Lincoln. She has also been involved in plans to pursue National Cancer Institute designation for the Legorreta Cancer Center of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Principe is also the president-elect of the Society of Radiation Oncology Administrators.
Lifetime Achievement Alumna Kristen Swanson has received a lifetime achievement award from the University of Colorado, where she earned her Ph.D. Swanson, who earned her B.S. in nursing from URI, is dean of the College of Nursing at Seattle University and chair of the board of trustees of Swedish Health System.
Excellence in Nursing URI College of Nursing alumnus Margaret Clifton, former state director of the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education, received an “Excellence in Nursing” award from Rhode Island Monthly.
Alumni inducted into AAN Two URI College of Nursing alumni have been inducted as fellows in the American Academy of Nursing. Cynthia Taylor Handrup, BS in Nursing, from URI is the Director of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner DNP program and Director of the Primary Care Mental Health Concentration at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Amy Salisbury, MS in Nursingfrom URI, is a professor and associate dean for research at Virginia Commonwealth University.
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American Nurses Association President Ernest Grant meets with College of Nursing personnel before his lecture at the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center in Providence.
SPECIAL EVENTS Enhancing the educational experience
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ANA President Delivers Spring Distinguished Lecture
National Nursing Research Director Delivers Fall Distinguished Lecture
The College welcomed American Nurses Association President Ernest Grant, to deliver the College’s Spring Distinguished Lecture on Wednesday, April 20.
The College’s fall Distinguished Lecture Series featured a national leader in nursing research who extolled the benefits of nurses harnessing their unique knowledge of health care to advance health science.
Dr. Grant spoke about the critical role nurses continue to play in the country’s health care during his presentation, “The Future of Nursing: Leadership, Advocacy, and Activism in Action,” at the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center in Providence. Dr. Grant, who serves as adjunct faculty for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing, where he works with undergraduate and graduate nursing students in the classroom and clinical settings, has more than 30 years of nursing experience. He is an internationally recognized burn-care and fire-safety expert, having previously served as the burn outreach coordinator for the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at the UNC School of Medicine. Grant, was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in 2014. He is a past chair of the National Fire Protection Association board of directors and served as second vice president of the American Burn Association board of trustees. He is the first man to be elected to the office of president of the American Nurses Association. The College hosts its Distinguished Lecture Series each semester. Past lectures have been delivered by former director of the Yale University School of Nursing Center for Biobehavioral Health Research Dr. Nancy Redeker; and famed founder of the global health initiative, Partners in Health, Dr. Paul Farmer, among others.
Shannon Zenk, director of the National Institute of Nursing Research, delivered the lecture virtually, which was livestreamed at the Nursing Education Center in Providence. She encouraged nurses and nursing students to engage in research, which has taken on a renewed emphasis in the URI College of Nursing, recently ranked among the top 50 nationally in research funding, currently with four RO1-funded projects underway. Zenk’s own research focuses on social inequities and health with a goal of identifying effective, multilevel approaches to improve health and eliminate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities. Her research portfolio has included NIH-supported work into urban food environments, community health solutions, and veterans’ health.
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Louisa White Uniform Displayed in White Hall The uniform once worn by Louisa White, a groundbreaking nurse scientist who went on to become the first dean of the URI College of Nursing, is now on display in the building that bears her name.
Hall, home of the URI College of Nursing, given the impact White had on not just the nursing profession, but on the education of women in general.
Rhode Island Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association representatives Donna Cimini, Barbara Colvin, and Colleen Choiniere presented Dean Barbara Wolfe with the uniform White wore when she was a student at the school, 1914– 1917. It is fitting the uniform is on display in White
“Louisa had the vision and the tenacity to say, ‘It’s time that nursing is a profession that is educated like a profession,’” Wolfe said. “Women weren’t necessarily pursuing higher education opportunities—never mind a whole new career opportunity in a university setting.”
Lecture at URI Urges Nurses to ‘Choose Wellness’ The pandemic and its wake have brought untold challenges to everyone, but especially to nurses. Many have experienced grief, loss, and overwhelming uncertainty. Nurses need to find a way to care for themselves in order to rebound from one of the most trying periods in history. Nurse practitioner and well-being expert Dr. Eileen O’Grady helped URI alumni and faculty do just that, presenting an interactive program with science-backed resiliency tools for health-care workers during a virtual lecture during alumni weekend. Resiliency tools she 34 / URI COLLEGE OF NURSING
presented include: • Boundary setting and putting yourself in your day. • How to become the CEO of your own life. • The importance of using bedrock behaviors using habit science.
The lively, supportive discussion encouraged nurses to explore strategies to pursue their own well-being. The free program included valuable continuing education credit for nurses. Dr. O’Grady is a certified nurse practitioner and wellness coach. She is founder of the School of Wellness, dedicated to infusing the science of well-being into practice. She uses an evidence-based approach with individuals and groups to promote high-level wellness. O’Grady is an expert on intentional change, emphasizing the importance of extreme self-care and how to identify and remedy a life that is off-kilter. She is an author and editor of two textbooks.
College in the Community: WaterFire Providence The URI College of Nursing frequently reaches out into the community, caring for patients at area medical centers, serving on state, national and international health boards, and, sometimes, stepping out for a night on the town to support a popular cultural event. URI College of Nursing faculty, staff members, students and alumni staffed a booth at a full WaterFire lighting in Providence last fall, as part of URI’s sponsorship of the artistic event. WaterFire Providence is an artistic fire installation featuring more than 80 bonfires in the middle of the Providence River, spread out through the city’s downtown. The periodic events often include local musicians, artists and community organizations like URI who sponsor and host individual events.
Above: URI College of Nursing faculty and students staffed a booth. Left: Dean Barbara Wolfe carries the torch to kick off a WaterFire lighting the URI College of Nursing sponsored.
Big Ideas. Bold Plans. The Campaign for URI. A convergence of generational and societal factors are impacting the country’s nursing profession, as the need for professional registered nurses continues to grow. There is an acute shortage of nurses nationwide, and the nursing school pipeline is hampered by faculty shortages, resulting in many schools limiting student capacity. At this time of unprecedented focus on health care, training the next generation of nursing leaders is critical to the public’s health and economic sustainability. URI and the College of Nursing are addressing this need through Big Ideas. Bold Plans. The Campaign for the University of Rhode Island. You can advance the College of Nursing by investing in increased student access, an enlivened URI learning experience, the next generation of transformative faculty leadership, innovative and distinctive programs, and emerging strategic opportunities. For more information about supporting the College of Nursing, contact: Eric Schonewald, assistant vice president for development, at eschonewald@uri.edu or 401.874.9017. Tim Babcock, director of development, at tbabcock@uri.edu or 401.874.4909.
ANNUAL REPORT 2021−22 / III
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URI is an equal opportunity employer committed to the principles of affirmative action. 9/2022 1700/NUR
PHOTOS: JOE GIBLIN; NORA LEWIS; PATRICK LUCE; MIKE SALERNO
