NURSING Magazine | 2020 | Volume 2

2020 . VOLUME 2

r s u e s N , R U O r e o H e s R U O Looking back at the myriad ways the UR School of Nursing community rose up in response to the COVID-19 crisis

PICTURE THIS

UR School of Nursing Among Those Taking a Stand Against Racism As a deadly global pandemic caused people to physically separate, another destructive and lethal force drew them back together. The death of George Floyd in Minnesota and, later, Daniel Prude just miles from the University of Rochester campus, were galvanizing events of the summer of 2020. At the UR Medical Center, a flurry of events would take place putting racism and police brutality against Black people at center stage.

Perhaps the largest of these activities was the White Coats for Black Lives demonstration held outside of Strong Memorial Hospital on June 5 (see photos below and at right).

Hundreds of URMC health care professionals from every discipline, including UR Nursing students, faculty, and staff, filled the lawn and lots outside the building. Armed with signs supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, they kneeled in silence for nearly nine minutes, the same amount of time that video footage showed Floyd’s neck being pinned under a police officer’s knee before he succumbed.

Months later, another video surfaced of a Black man losing consciousness while being subdued by police. The incident occurred in Rochester back in March, but when video of Daniel Prude’s arrest emerged publicly in September, it set off a firestorm of protests and moved the UR Nursing Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to issue a statement. It read in part:

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We are at this moment – more than any other – compelled to respond. As health care professionals, health advocates, and educators, we simply cannot afford to remain silent. The loss of any life at the hands of those who are sworn to protect and serve is tragic.

The ramifications of such an event expand exponentially when it occurs in your own city.

We join the leadership of the University and URMC in denouncing racism and all acts of violence and taking action to help our community heal. We remain unwavering in our commitment to educating practitioners who can provide the best possible care to those with behavioral and mental health issues. And we also look inward with a critical eye for ways we can create a more just and inclusive school, knowing that no community can be free of the scourges of hate and violence without vigilance and persistence.

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A Message from the Dean Dear Friends, On Dec. 27, I had the privilege to attend – virtually – a 100th birthday party for our founding dean, Loretta Ford.

It was a wonderful celebration of this incredible milestone, and I’m so pleased that I had the opportunity to spend time with Loretta among her family and friends and be part of a day dedicated to a woman so many of us admire and revere.

Loretta is a visionary, but as much as her ability to envision a different future for health care, she had the perseverance, determination, and fortitude to make it a reality in an era that was not all that welcome to change.

Kathy H. Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP Vice President, University of Rochester Medical Center Dean and Professor of Clinical Nursing

As we look back on the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, I can’t help but think of her and her influence on our profession. Today’s nurses have displayed strength, courage, and ingenuity in the fight against COVID-19. Much like Loretta in the 1960s, our nurses in the darkest days of the pandemic stood against a seemingly overwhelming foe and pressed on using every tool at their disposal to offer the best possible outcomes for their patients.

and Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Nursing

I know that many of you are tired. You’ve suffered loss. You’ve seen, felt, and experienced a lifetime’s worth of fear, anger, and stress. None of us have been unscathed by the tumultuous events of 2020. But with the flipping of a calendar and the arrival of two new vaccines, there is great hope for a brighter 2021.

While many will remember 2020 for pain, sorrow, and injustice, I do believe there have been many moments that have brought us joy. We must not ignore the pride we’ve felt, the strides we’ve made, or the hard-fought victories we’ve won.

I truly hope that this message finds you physically and mentally as strong as you can be under the circumstances and that you had a wonderful and blessed holiday season. And I want to offer my sincerest thanks to each and every one of you for everything that you have done during this past year. There are no words sufficient to express my gratitude for your tenacity, creativity, compassion, and your commitment to excellence.

I’m extremely proud of our School of Nursing family, and I look forward to the days ahead when I can share my gratitude with you all in person.

Until then…Meliora!

On the Cover…

Like countless health care professionals across the country, Jose Perpignan selflessly dedicated himself to caring for those affected by COVID-19.

Unlike others, the New York City nurse was on the receiving end of a generous “thank you” on national television.

Photo by Steven Eloiseau

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NURSING UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER SCHOOL OF NURSING 2020 . VOLUME 2

FEATURES

20 Shattering Glass Ceilings

Heffner, Lin make history as UR’s newest Wilson Professors page 24

page 25

24 Hopkins Honored with E.P. Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching 25 Change Agent

For ABPNN grad Megan Reynolds, health care and humanitarian efforts work in tandem to support her quest to make an impact on the world

30 Necessity Sparks Acceleration of Educational Innovation

School leveraged technology, experiential learning methods to bolster academic offerings despite pandemic disruptions 32 UR Nursing Students Volunteer to Help Community’s COVID-19 Efforts 34 Health Care Hero

UR Nursing grad surprised on live TV with $100K award in recognition of his selfless work on COVID front lines

DEPARTMENTS 4 Nursing News page 34

42 Class Notes

37 Alumni Relations & Advancement

NURSING Magazine Credits University of Rochester School of Nursing Kathy H. Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP

Editor Patrick Broadwater

Vice President, University of Rochester Medical Center Dean and Professor of Clinical Nursing and Pediatrics

Senior Associate, Public Relations Director, Strategic Communications University of Rochester School of Nursing

University of Rochester Medical Center B. Chip Partner Assistant Vice President, URMC Communications University of Rochester Medical Center

Melissa L. Head ’99W (MS) Executive Director of URMC Academic Programs and Alumni Relations Advancement

Contributing Writers Ivy Burruto Associate, Public Relations

Art Director/Designer Brittany Colton Graphic Designer University of Rochester Medical Center Marketing

NURSING Magazine is a biannual publication of the University of Rochester School of Nursing in conjunction with the University of Rochester Medical Center Departments of Nursing, Alumni Relations, Advancement, and Public Relations and Communications.

We welcome your letters and feedback concerning stories in the magazine or issues related to the University of Rochester School of Nursing. Send your comments to Editor, NURSING Magazine, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box SON, Rochester, NY 14642 or via email to Patrick_Broadwater@urmc.rochester.edu.

Andrea J. Allen Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations University of Rochester School of Nursing

www.son.rochester.edu  facebook.com/UofRSchoolofNursing  twitter.com/UofRSON  instagram.com/urnursing  urson.us/LinkedInURSON

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NEWS

School to Launch New Acute Care Pediatric NP Program The UR School of Nursing is set to launch a new Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) Acute Care program, its latest groundbreaking initiative in a history of transformative nurse practitioner education.

The one-year post-master’s certificate program, slated to begin in the fall of 2021, is the first of its kind in New York State. It focuses on caring for children of all ages with complex, acute, critical and chronic illnesses, disabilities, or injuries, and prepares students to deliver high-quality advanced nursing care that restores health, prevents complications, and assists patients and families in navigating rapidly changing health care environments. Program graduates will be well-prepared to work in a variety of clinical settings, such as pediatric intensive care units, emergency rooms, urgent care departments, trauma centers, and pediatric specialties such as cardiology, pulmonology, and neurology.

The UR PNP acute care post-master’s program is a critical addition to the advanced practice specialties available to nurses, not only in Rochester, but across the region. Nationwide, there are only 42 acute care PNP programs recognized by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board.

The UR Nursing program was developed by a small group of specialty pediatric faculty, led by Erin Baylor, DNP, RN, PPCNPBC, ONP, who will be the specialty program director. The team also included Elizabeth Cole, MS, RN, ACPNP-BC; Andrew Wolf, EdD, RN, AGACNP-BC; Craig Sellers, PhD, RN, AGPCNP-BC, GNP-BC, FAANP; and Margaret Carno, PhD, RN, PPCNP-BC. The program will consist of a mixture of online courses and on-campus intensives. Students will be required to complete two semester-long

courses of 6-9 credit hours each, which include a lab and clinical hours.

Requirements for the program include a bachelor’s degree in nursing from an accredited school of nursing, a graduate degree (master’s or doctoral) as a pediatric nurse practitioner, and RN licensure.

The application deadline for the program is April 15, and a limited number of students will be accepted into the program each fall. For more information on the program, please visit urson.us/pnp-acute.

Erin Baylor, DNP, RN, PPCNP-BC, ONP, the current director of the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program, will be the specialty program director of the PNP-Acute Care program. A small group of specialty pediatric faculty, led by Baylor, developed the new program.

UR Nursing in the News What’s new in the School of Nursing? Here are some recent media reports involving UR Nursing faculty, staff, and students.

Beth Palermo, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, ACNP-BC, assistant professor of clinical nursing, was quoted in a Futurity article about the history of the ventilator during its peak demand at the beginning of the pandemic.

The Rochester Business Journal profiled Associate Dean Renu Singh, MS, on her success as the CEO of UR Medicine Employee Wellness Program and its nurse-based condition management program.

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Dean Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, made several local Rochester TV and radio appearances during National Nurses Week in May, including teaming up with acute care nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital and alumna Danette Niles, BSN, RN-BC, to share how the COVID-19 outbreak had impacted both nursing job responsibilities and education.

Rideout also appeared on Fox’s “Good Day Rochester” in the fall to discuss

the UR School of Nursing’s commitment to diversity and its fourth consecutive HEED Award (see story, opposite page).

The stars aligned for UR School of Nursing student Jose Perpignan, RN, when Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest announced he was the winner of the show’s $100,000 Healthcare Hero giveaway. Perpignan is a 2016 graduate of the UR Nursing APNN program and is currently a student in the UR Nursing FNP/DNP program (see story, page 34).

Four-peat UR School of Nursing Honored with Fourth Consecutive HEED Award It’s a four-peat for the University of Rochester School of Nursing.

For the fourth straight year, the UR School of Nursing was honored with the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

The UR School of Nursing and the UR School of Medicine and Dentistry were among 46 health professions schools selected to receive the only national honor recognizing U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy, nursing, osteopathic, and allied health schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The schools were featured in the December 2020 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The University of Rochester was previously named a recipient of the HEED Award presented to colleges and universities in November.

The HEED awards were a bright spot in a year where racial tensions ran high and waves of protests raged across the country, including in Rochester, which temporarily became the epicenter of outrage this summer when news emerged of the death of a Black man, Daniel Prude, after being subdued by city police.

On campus, protests and demands for equality also flared, prompting UR Medical Center leadership to take action, such as declaring racism a public health crisis and stripping the name of past leaders whose historical exclusionary practices were well documented from campus buildings. Mark Taubman, MD, dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry and CEO of the Medical Center, personally led the development of a comprehensive anti-racism action plan, incorporating input from medical students, residents, graduate students, the Black Physicians Network of Greater Rochester, the Rochester Black Nurses Association, and faculty and staff

from across the university in an effort to further strengthen the Medical Center’s commitment to diversity and equality.

The UR School of Nursing, which has been at the forefront of diversity, inclusion, and equity issues for nearly two decades, was one of only nine nursing schools to receive the HEED Health Professions Award in 2020. Its academic programs attract scientists, clinicians, researchers, and future nurses of varying ages, backgrounds, and talents, and its incoming fall class of students in the Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses (ABPNN) included students from across the U.S. and countries such as Nigeria, Mexico, Turkey, Jamaica, and Ghana. Thirty-five percent of the new ABPNN students were from groups underrepresented in nursing, and 25 percent were male, approximately three times higher than the percentage of men in the nursing workforce.

“Receiving the HEED Award is a gratifying acknowledgement of the School of Nursing’s decades of work fostering an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, dean of the School of Nursing and vice president of the University of Rochester Medical Center. “We’re proud of how much we have accomplished, but we also know there is much work still to do. We will continue to look inward with a critical eye, knowing that our vigilance and persistence is essential to continual growth.”

“The HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees – and best practices for both – continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day.”

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NEWS

Employee Wellness Team Honored with Meliora Award Developed by the University of Rochester School of Nursing, the UR Medicine Employee Wellness program, known internally as the Center for Employee Wellness (CEW), received the 2020 Meliora Award in June.

The award, presented by the University of Rochester, recognizes staff members whose work performance and dedication during the preceding year exemplify the University's motto, Meliora, which translates to “ever better.”

What started as a program for University employees in 2013 is now offered in 55 organizations across the region to more than 47,000 employees.

Akin to a startup company, the Center for Employee Wellness was built from the ground up. With the dedication of a team of over 40 experts that include clinicians, analysts, programmers, and scholars and the leadership of CEO Renu Singh, MS, the CEW developed a game-changing wellness program capable of achieving measurable health improvements in the population they serve.

The team is consistently praised by clients and colleagues as working with clarity, integrity, innovative spirit, and a commitment to wellness.

Rick Amundson, wellness consultant at Smola Consulting said, “The team is driven by a collective commitment to improve health and wellness in our community.”

Team members of the CEW have reached numerous

impressive milestones and achievements, including the highest reported engagement rates in condition management coaching programs for individuals with chronic diseases.

Under the direction of Lisa Norsen, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, the chief wellness officer, the clinical wellness programs have demonstrated measurably improved health for employees that participated in screenings or one-to-one condition management programs. In a large data study published in a peer-reviewed health journal, the CEW demonstrated a significant reduction in cardiovascular health risks in the population they serve.

“For the Center for Employee Wellness, the wellness program is not just a product, it’s their purpose,” UR School of Nursing Dean Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, said in her letter supporting the CEW’s nomination. “Every member of the team is invested in the mission.”

“The most potent differentiator of this program is the outstanding quality and dedication of their clinical team,” said Jason Mull, vice president of employee benefits at Brown and Brown Insurance, in his letter of support. “They are knowledgeable, sincere, and passionate about what they do. The client representatives and the business office are responsive, articulate, and committed to program success and client satisfaction.”

The UR Medicine Employee Wellness program started as a pilot in 2013, bringing wellness programs to University of Rochester employees.

Several years later, the Employee Wellness team serves 55 organizations and more than 47,000 employees in the Finger Lakes region.

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Alumna, Former Faculty Member Elizabeth Kellogg Walker Establishes Endowed Nursing Scholarship with $100K Gift For more than 60 years, the University of Rochester School of Nursing has been a central influence in the professional life of Elizabeth Kellogg Walker ’62N, ’73N (MS), ’81 (MA), ’86 (PhD). She first came to the university as an undergraduate in 1957 and retired from the nursing faculty in 2016. After so many years being connected to the school, she knew exactly where she would direct the funds if she ever found herself in a position to make a substantial financial gift.

A longtime member of the George Eastman Circle, Walker made a $100,000 gift to the UR School of Nursing in November to establish the Elizabeth Kellogg Walker ‘62N, ‘73N (MS), ’81 (MA), ’86 (PhD) Nursing Scholarship.

“The University has been a very important part of my life, from my days as an undergraduate on River Campus to nursing school and the many degrees I received there,” said Walker. “I was very proud to be a faculty member there, and I believe I contributed to students' growth and the profession of nursing.

“I’ve always been proud of the University of Rochester and this is about giving something for future generations. I’m very happy Elizabeth Kellogg Walker with this.”

Walker has had a long and distinguished career in nursing and education. She was formerly chair of the UR School of Nursing’s Division of Health Care Systems and was director of the start-up joint MSN/MBA program with Simon School in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. She went on to serve as dean of nursing at SUNY Institute of Technology, retiring as dean emerita in 2000. She returned to the UR School of Nursing in 2002 as a part-time assistant professor of clinical nursing and mentor for the Center for Academic and Professional Success.

When determining the structure of the scholarship, Walker intentionally left it unrestricted, which will allow the school to annually award funds to students enrolled in any of its academic programs.

“As a former dean, I know that flexibility helps a great deal in offering scholarship support,” Walker said. “I told Kathy Rideout, ‘I want you to be able to use this to go get that star student you want.’”

SON National Council Holds Inaugural Meeting Members of the new School of Nursing National Council held their inaugural meeting in November.

In their first gathering, held remotely, the council heard updates from around the school, received insight into the next round of strategic planning, and discussed ways they can assist the school moving forward.

Chaired by Sandy Parker, former president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance and a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, the council serves as a leadership volunteer advisory group to the dean and a bridge between the school and the greater community. It consists of national thought leaders who bring particular knowledge and experience to help shape plans for the future of the school.

Other members of the National Council, which will meet two times per year, are: • Rachel Bandych, franchise executive consultant and attorney • Kamila Barnes, ’11N (MS), ’13N (DNP), assistant professor of nursing at Long Island University - Brooklyn, family nurse practitioner at Northwell Health • Nancy Dianis, ’85N (MS), vice president and practice director, Westat • Sergio Esteban, chairman and principal at LaBella Associates • Marilyn Fiske, ’67N, retired co-founder, OCI • Arnice Jackson, ’11N, nurse practitioner, adjunct professor, Long Island University • Gerri Lamb, ’78N (MS), professor, founding director, Center for Advancing Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research, Arizona State University • Susan Parkes McNally, executive vice president, treasurer and human resources director, O’Connell Electric Company • Jacqueline Nasso, ’95N (MS), ’97N (MS), certified nurse midwife, assistant professor of clinical nursing, UR School of Nursing • LaRon E. Nelson, ’02N, ’04N (MS), ’09N (PhD), associate dean of global affairs and planetary health and Independence Foundation Associate Professor of Nursing, Yale University • Phyllis Arn Zimmer, ‘72N, NP, president, Nurse Practitioner Healthcare Foundation; faculty, University of Washington School of Nursing; president, America’s Nurses, a public benefit corporation

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NEWS

Helen Wood Hall Expansion Project to Enhance Academic Experience, Accommodate Enrollment Growth A $15 million expansion project at Helen Wood Hall will enhance the academic environment and allow the UR School of Nursing to better serve its surge in new students.

The project, which adds three floors to the Loretta C. Ford Education Wing, will provide for the continued projected growth of both undergraduate and graduate students and new expanded experiential learning spaces.

Construction of the project began last fall when the School of Nursing welcomed another record-breaking student body.

The school’s total enrollment has grown by more than 50 percent since 2016, from 529 to nearly 800 students. The timing of an enrollment boom couldn’t be better since the demand for nurses in the workforce is also at an all-time high.

In response to the workforce needs and health professional education trends over the past decade, 21st-century nurse educators must employ more active learning approaches that ensure graduates are competent clinicians, employ data-driven clinical decision making, demonstrate complex problem-solving skills, and effectively collaborate on inter-professional teams. This requires a dynamic, flexible, and highly individualized learning environment.

Experiential learning labs will support a variety of learning activities, including high-fidelity simulation, standardized patient scenarios, virtual/augmented reality experiences, and task-based education for development of psychomotor skills.

This new space will also be used as collaborative spaces for case-based learning, team-based learning, and debriefing activities.

“Year after year, student response to simulated learning opportunities—currently limited due to existing capacity—is overwhelmingly positive with students universally requesting additional simulation experiences,” said Kathy Rideout,

EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, dean of the School of Nursing and vice president of the University of Rochester Medical Center.

“Therefore, the additional space will not only deepen student learning, but also enhance student engagement and student satisfaction with their educational experience at the School of Nursing.”

Earlier in the year, the UR School of Nursing received a $1 million award from the Higher Education Capital Matching Grant (HECap), part of an apportionment for capital projects at 35 colleges and universities across New York to help campuses modernize facilities, enhance student experiences, and spur economic development.

Helen Wood Hall was originally built in 1925 to house the University of Rochester's nursing program. The building served as a dormitory with classroom learning spaces in its early years. In later years, residential areas were converted to offices, classrooms, and clinical lab spaces. Over time, limitations in classroom and clinical lab space restricted necessary program growth.

The need to incorporate larger and “smarter” classrooms as well as advanced clinical simulation experiences led to the addition of the Loretta C. Ford Education Wing in 2006, a 28,000-square-foot expansion that includes four large classrooms, an auditorium for 170 people, a seminar room and atrium. This current vertical expansion project, expected to be completed by spring of 2022, expands even more the academic programs and instructional capabilities that are critical to student learning in an increasingly complex health care system.

It will also allow for renovation of significant square footage on the first floor of Helen Wood Hall due to the relocation of the existing skills and simulation labs to the new addition. This will be completed in a separate phase.

An architectural rendering of the planned vertical expansion of Helen Wood Hall. The $15M project, which began in October and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2022, adds three floors to the Loretta C. Ford Education Wing.

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A Woman for the Ages

Loretta Ford named to USA Today list of most influential women of the last 100 years 2020 was a special year for Loretta Ford, EdD, RN, PNP, FAAN, FAANP. Not only was she presented with the Surgeon General's Medallion for her extraordinary achievements and contributions to the cause of public health, but December of that year would mark the diminutive trailblazer’s 100th birthday.

Ford, renowned as the co-founder of the nurse practitioner role, was born in New York City in 1920, the same year that women gained the right to vote in the U.S. A century later, when USA Today commemorated the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Ford herself was listed among the period’s most extraordinary and influential women.

USA Today editors compiled a remarkable list of 500 women – living and dead – whose accomplishments and contributions to society over the past century have had an unmistakable impact on American life. Only 10 would be chosen to represent each U.S. state.

Retired and living in central Florida, Ford was selected to represent the Sunshine State, alongside such luminaries as Zora Neale Hurston, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and Janet Reno, but her time spent in New York and Colorado would have a lasting impact that stretched far beyond any borders.

Ford began her career at age 16 as a nurse’s aide at Middlesex General Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey and earned her nursing diploma in 1941. She joined the Visiting Nurse Service, but enlisted in the Air Force after her fiancé was killed in World War II. She spent three years in the military then signed up to attend the University of Colorado on the G.I. Bill, kickstarting a groundbreaking career in nursing practice and education. She received her bachelor’s in nursing in 1949, a master’s in public health in 1951 and a doctorate in education in 1961. She joined the faculty at the University of Colorado School of Nursing, where she famously teamed with pediatrician Henry Silver to create the first pediatric nurse practitioner program in 1965. The move was controversial at the time, and Ford was met with considerable resistance and criticism in the medical community, but she pressed on, seeing how the program could improve patient care for those families most in need.

In 1972, Ford became founding dean of the University of Rochester School of Nursing and director of the nursing service at Strong Memorial Hospital. She bridged these two disciplines to create the “unification model of nursing,” a program that combines education, research, and clinical practice to form a more holistic approach to nursing and health care.

By the time she retired in 1986, Ford had succeeded in establishing the nurse practitioner as an integral part of health care teams and brought greater respect and appreciation to the nursing profession as a whole. Today, there are more than 290,000 practicing nurse practitioners in the U.S. For her work, Ford was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011.

Few health care providers can boast a legacy equal to that of Loretta Ford. The co-creator of the nurse practitioner role and the unification model of nursing, the UR School of Nursing’s founding dean’s lifetime of work was recognized by USA Today, which named her one of the nation’s most influential women of the past 100 years.

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Rochester Academy of Medicine Recognizes Three UR Nursing Faculty Members Three members of the UR School of Nursing faculty were among a dozen URMC professors honored at the Rochester Academy of Medicine’s annual awards event on Oct. 27.

Marianne Chiafery, DNP, RN, PNP-BC, Elizabeth Palermo, DNP, RN, ANPBC, ACNP-BC, and Tobie Olsan, PhD, RN, CNL, FNAP, were each recognized at the academy’s annual meeting for their contributions to health care in the Rochester community.

Chiafery was presented the Individual Distinguished Service in Health Care Award. The academy’s Distinguished Service Awards are given to individuals and teams in recognition of their outstanding service in the health care profession.

Chiafery is an associate professor of clinical nursing, a pediatric nurse practitioner, and a member of the Hospital Ethics Committee and the Clinical Ethics Consult Team at Strong Memorial and Golisano Children’s Hospital.

Palermo received the Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award, which is given to the individual who demonstrates the strongest ability to work collaboratively within a health care team in the delivery of the highest quality, evidence-based care that is patient- or family-focused. In addition to working as a nurse practitioner at Strong Memorial Hospital, Palermo is an assistant professor of clinical nursing and specialty director of the Adult-Gerentology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program at the UR School of Nursing.

Olsan, professor of nursing emerita, was presented with the Carter & T. Franklin Williams Geriatric Prize Award for her scholarly writing on geriatric health care.

Olsan shared the prize with Suzanne Gillespie, MD, RD, a colleague of hers at the Canandaigua Veterans Medical Center and the UR School of Medicine and Dentistry.

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Parent Peer Mentor Michelle Morales Honored by NY Office of Mental Health Michelle Morales was honored by the New York State Office of Mental Health in October for her work mentoring parents of children with eating disorders.

Morales is a parent peer mentor for the Western New York Comprehensive Care Center for Eating Disorders, one of three legislatively mandated comprehensive care centers for eating disorders funded by the New York State Department of Health. In her role, she teaches parents how to offer support to their loved ones in recovery.

She was selected to be the Family/Caregiver honoree at the What’s Great in Our State event, a forum to celebrate children’s mental health awareness, and recognized at the awards ceremony on Oct. 15.

The Western New York Comprehensive Care Center, a partnership between the UR School of Nursing and Golisano Children’s Hospital, is directed by Professor of Clinical Nursing Mary Tantillo, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAED, CGP, out of the UR School of Nursing. It serves as a hub for eating disorder services in the 30-county Western New York region, which has an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 individuals with an eating disorder.

Marianne Chiafery, DNP, RN, PNP-BC  Elizabeth Palermo, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, ACNP-BC  Tobie Olsan, PhD, RN, CNL, FNAP Michelle Morales 10 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

Meet UR Nursing's Director of Student Affairs Colleen Johnson, MS, joined the UR School of Nursing in July as its new director of student affairs.

Johnson brings a wealth of experience to the role. She worked for seven years at Rochester Institute of Technology, and most recently spent five years at Finger Lakes Community College, where she was director of academic success and access programs.

At the UR School of Nursing, Johnson takes over a newly revamped student affairs office, which formerly was part of the admissions operations, but now reports directly to Lydia Rotondo, DNP, RN, CNS, FNAP, associate dean for education and student affairs. The new student affairs office will focus on all student-facing activities, including advisement and compliance, student support programs, such as the Center for Academic and Professional Success, and student organizations, such as Leading with Integrity For Tomorrow and Street Outreach.

5 Questions with Colleen Johnson: Where are the places you’ve called home?

Rochester and Greece, NY Reading, UK Potter, NY Fairport, NY Who are your role models?

The many female leaders, in both my professional and personal life, who’ve taught me to keep learning, ask tough questions, be authentic, and always pay forward what I have been fortunate to receive as a mentee.

Why did you get into higher education/student affairs?

I stumbled into higher education and ultimately, student affairs. As an undergraduate student, I was interested in clinical psychology as well as organizational and industrial (I/O) psychology. After completing my master’s degree in human resource development, I considered doctoral work in I/O psychology, but was discouraged from pursuing the opportunity due to concerns I would be overqualified and under experienced in my late 20’s/ early 30’s. I took a year to focus on my next steps and worked in the Co-op and Career Services Office at RIT, where I started interacting with students preparing for co-op placement. Many years later, I still enjoy the process of building relationships with students, making connections, and guiding them towards completion of their personal and academic goals. I have been fortunate to have experiences where I can combine my love of supporting students, leadership and human resources, and systems design. I think of myself as an architect of the student experience.

What are you currently reading?

I don’t read very much fiction. When I have time and mental bandwidth, I read Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell and the Handbook of Self-Determination Research by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan.

What might people be surprised to learn about you?

Learning was always difficult for me and it was not until late into my undergraduate experience (just before graduating), where I really understood my own learning preferences, interests, and potential. Ask me about my travels in Europe, it’s all related.

Schmitt, Stanek take on academic leadership positions The School of Nursing welcomed two faculty members to its academic leadership team this fall.

Linda Schmitt, MS, RN-BC, CNL, was named co-director of the Health Care Organization Manage- Schmitt ment and Leadership (HCM) program, and Susan Stanek, PhD, MSN/Ed, RN, was named interim director of the Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL).

The school also announced that Yingzi Zhang, PhD, successfully completed her postdoctoral fellowship and accepted an offer to join the school’s tenure track faculty as an assistant professor.

Schmitt, who received her master’s degree in the Clinical Nurse Leader track in 2012, recently joined the faculty as an assistant professor of clinical nursing.

Stanek completed her PhD from the UR School of Nursing in 2020. A senior associate, she has been teaching at the school since 2012.

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NEWS

National Nursing Leaders Speak on Caring in Crisis at UR Nursing’s DNP Summit For the fifth consecutive year, the University of Rochester School of Nursing gathered nursing experts in a national discussion about the value of doctorally prepared nurses in the modern world of health care.

This year’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Summit, “DNPs Leading and Caring in Crisis” addressed the need for strong practitioners and nursing professionals to be prepared to meet challenges and enact positive change during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

The summit began on Friday, Oct. 16, and continued Oct. 23 and Oct. 30. In contrast to previous years and fitting with the event’s theme, the summit was held virtually to maintain COVID-19 safety measures and precautions.

The digital format proved to be a great success, attracting nearly 250 attendees. Alumni, current students, UR School of Nursing and University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Valcin employees, and individuals from health care institutions in almost every state across the U.S. tuned in to the event.

Presenters included Strong Memorial Hospital’s Director of Adult Critical Care Nursing Kate Valcin, DNP, RN, CCRN-K, NEA-BC, CNL, University of Delaware School of Nursing’s Sharon Dudley-Brown, PhD, FNP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, and Vanderbilt University School of Nursing’s April Kapu, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, FAANP. A co-leader of the Highly Infectious Disease Unit, Valcin helped lead Strong’s COVID-19 planning, transforming the Medical Center’s response from reactionary to proactive planning.

In her DNP summit presentation, “Hitting the Ground Running: DNP Preparation Meets Global Pandemic,” Valcin shared stories of nursing innovation, rapid implementation of evidence-based practice, and interprofessional collaboration within URMC. A graduate of UR Nursing’s Clinical Nurse Leader and DNP programs, Valcin also recounted her many “aha” moments where lessons learned in her academic journey Dudley-Brown aligned with the work being done to combat COVID-19.

Dudley-Brown, who earned her bachelor’s degree from the UR School of Nursing in 1984, was this year’s Clare Dennison Lecturer, a designation that traditionally kicks off the University’s Meliora weekend celebrations. Dudley-Brown, an associate professor and director of the DNP Program at the University of Delaware School of Nursing, shared what every DNP-prepared nurse needs in a time of crisis in her presentation titled, “DNP Toolkit: Critical Competencies for Leading and Caring in Crisis.”

An associate nursing officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Kapu explained how she saw the challenges of COVID-19 as opportunities to innovate and lead.

During her presentation, “Crisis and DNP Opportunity: Practice and Policy during COVID,” Kapu also elaborated on the policy and legislative changes throughout the pandemic that opened doors to demonstrate the impact of increased access to nurse-driven, evidence-based care.

Kapu 12 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

NEWS

UR Nursing Takes New Approach to Traditional Year-End and Convocation Events In a year that has played havoc with accepted customs and traditions, the University of Rochester School of Nursing continued well-established practices that bookend the school’s academic calendar, albeit in a different format.

When the COVID-19 virus necessitated physical distancing in the midst of the spring semester, the UR School of Nursing, like many institutions, wrestled with how to deal with traditionally in-person academic events. The school not only developed new approaches to handle its graduation and pinning ceremonies (see pages 22-23 ), but it also retained its year-end award event to honor faculty and staff and launched the 2020-21 academic year with a virtual conovcation ceremony.

Previous convocations featured a packed auditorium with students eager to begin their nursing education. This year, a recordhigh student body of nearly 800 watched the event remotely.

The ceremony began with welcoming remarks from University President Sarah Mangelsdorf, Medical Center CEO Mark B. Taubman, MD, and UR School of Nursing Dean Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP. Five UR Nursing students were recognized for their academic achievements in six categories, including: Clare Dennison Prize Jassel Glanville, an Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses student, was honored for her outstanding proficiency in general nursing care.

Like the convocation ceremony, the year-end award event was held virtually. Normally held in the spring, it was moved to September and paired with Dean Rideout’s State of the School address.

Among this year’s awardees were: Dean’s Appreciation Award Greg Thornton, Claude Goff, John Bauer, Richard Vangrol, Jham Chhetri, Environmental Services and Facilities team Sarah Lesniak, MS, RN-BC, CSPHA, nurse educator, URMC Nancy Resseguie, RN, MS, nurse recruiter, URMC Josephine Craytor Nursing Faculty Award Erin Baylor, DNP, RN, PNP-BC, ONP, assistant professor of clinical nursing, director of simulation, specialty director, PNP program Natalie Leblanc, PhD, MPH, RN, BSN, assistant professor, Harriet J. Kitzman Fellow in Health Disparities Drs. Jeremy A. Klainer and Pamela York Klainer Endowed Dean’s Discretionary Award in Nursing Joseph Gomulak-Cavicchio, EdD, MSEd; Tara Serwetnyk, MS, RN, NPD-BC; Kaitlyn Burke, MS, RN, CCRN, CNE-cl; Nadine Taylor, instructional design team Outstanding Scholarly Practitioner Susan Blaakman, PhD, RN, NPP-BC, professor of clinical nursing, director of FPMHNP program

Eleanor Hall Award with the Support of the Class of 1965 in Honor of Elsje Planje Higgins Linzie Marie France, a student in the Family Nurse Practitioner program, demonstrated the ability to work with others, to inspire and listen, and to be a leader with integrity.

Outstanding Faculty Colleague Erin Baylor, DNP, RN, PNP-BC, ONP, assistant professor of clinical nursing, director of simulation, specialty director, PNP program

Michele Unger Leadership Award and Student Diversity Engagement Award Lavern Sleigh-Sharpe, a student in the Health Care Management and Leadership program, received two awards for her ability to establish collaborative relationships with physicians, leaders and staff, and for her commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Most Promising New Investigator Natalie Leblanc, PhD, MPH, RN, BSN, assistant professor, Harriet J. Kitzman Fellow in Health Disparities

George Spencer Terry Jr. B’49 Endowed Fund in Nursing Michele Baker, a Doctor of Nursing Practice student, was honored for being engaged in developing innovative solutions to challenges facing nurses, health care providers, and patients.

Loretta C. Ford Fellowship Shelby Przybylek, a full-time student in the PhD program, was recognized for demonstrating the highest potential for academic and professional success.

Mary Dombeck Diversity Enhancement Faculty Award Mitchell J. Wharton, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CNS, assistant professor of clinical nursing, faculty diversity officer

Professional Advancement Award Susan Groth, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAANP, associate professor Mary Dombeck Diversity Enhancement Staff Award Helen Arditi, senior software engineer Outstanding Staff Colleague Lindsay Kimmerly, staff accountant Outstanding Staff Member of the Year Patrick Broadwater, senior PR associate, director of strategic communications NURSING 2020 Volume 2 13

NEWS

Hyekyun Rhee Named to Strategic Planning Group Advising NINR Leadership Hyekyun Rhee, PhD, RN, PNP, FAAN, is among a small working group of nurse scientists advising National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR) leadership on its next strategic plan.

This past summer, Rhee, the Endowed Chair of Nursing Science at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, was one of 22 researchers from across the country invited to participate in the process of advising NINR leadership and providing recommendations that will help to identify strengths, limitations, challenges, and opportunities to help determine the future course of federally supported nursing science.

“This is an incredible recognition of the respect for Hyekyun’s work and the role she can play in shaping nursing science for the future,” said Dean Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP. The working group was established

under the auspices of the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research, the advisory council to NINR. Group members were chosen as experts in areas of interest central to NINR’s mission. The NINR’s current strategic plan, Advancing Science, Improving Lives: A Vision for Nursing Science, was released in 2016.

Over the past decade, Rhee has established an internationally recognized program of research developing innovative approaches to asthma self-management using technology and peer dynamics to improve asthma outcomes in adolescents. Using these approaches, she developed an award-winning wearable device that monitors symptoms around the clock and can be analyzed for patterns of symptom frequency throughout the day, guiding medication or behavioral adjustments.

Rhee earned her PhD in nursing at

the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, and joined the UR School of Nursing faculty in 2007.

Tantillo Book Examines Role of Relationships in Eating Disorder Recovery While there is much more to uncover about eating disorders, considerable progress has been made in understanding how crucial relationships are to treatment and recovery.

In her new book, Multifamily Therapy Group for Young Adults with Anorexia Nervosa: Reconnecting for Recovery, Professor of Clinical Nursing Mary Tantillo, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAED, CGP, examines recovery under a relational lens.

Through clinical observations of young adults suffering from anorexia nervosa and their families, Tantillo and her co-researchers developed a family-centered outpatient group therapy called Reconnecting for Recovery (R4R). The new R4R approach is designed to help young adults and their family members learn the emotional and relational skills required to continue collaboration in recovery.

Intended for providers, patients, and their family members, the book acts as a 14 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

treatment manual that provides a deeper understanding of the nature, purpose, and process that characterizes R4R. It is a product of Tantillo’s extensive expertise in clinical work and research related to the treatment of eating disorders. For over 30 years, she has provided care and support to patients and families coping with eating disorders across a spectrum of clinical settings.

Tantillo is the director of the Western New York Comprehensive Care Center for Eating Disorders, directed out of the UR School of Nursing, that coordinates eating disorder services in the 30-county Western New York region. She is also the founder and former CEO of The Healing Connection, Inc., a non-profit eating disorder partial hospitalization program for adults and adolescents, and a fellow and former board member of the Academy for Eating Disorders.

Multifamily Therapy Group for Young

Adults with Anorexia Nervosa: Reconnecting for Recovery is available for purchase on Amazon. The book’s co-authors include Jennifer Sanftner McGraw, PhD, and Daniel Le Grange, PhD.

NEWS

$4.6M Award Extends School’s Deep-Rooted Research on Nurse-Family Partnership The University of Rochester School of Nursing will receive $4.6 million over the next four years, continuing its three-decade association with the Nurse-Family Partnership.

The UR Nursing award is a sub-grant of a $6.7 million National Institutes of Health study titled "Influence of prena­ tal and early childhood home-visiting by nurses on development of chronic disease: 29-year follow-up of a ran­ domized clinical trial." The latest collaboration between the UR School of Nursing and David Olds of the University of Colorado, the study consists of a follow-up evaluation of participants in the Memphis New Mother’s Study, which was the foundation for the creation of the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a program of prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses for low-income mothers and their children.

The UR Nursing team, led by Associate Professor Susan Groth, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAANP, oversees the Memphis site and the study’s data collection and data management processes. Mary Carey, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, an associate professor at the School of Nursing, is a co-investigator on the study. Previous studies of NFP participants have supported the hypoth-

esis that early nurse-led interventions lead to reductions in the emergence of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and premature mortality among both mothers and their first-born offspring.

The project continues the powerful legacy of Harriet Kitzman, PhD, RN, FAAN, whose work over several decades with young, socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers and children was instrumental in the development and ongoing funding of the NFP. Kitzman herself was the lead principal investigator on at least 14 studies from 1992 through the 2010s, and co-investigator on dozens more, attracting millions of dollars in funding to the school.

The Nurse-Family Partnership, an evidence-based community health program with more than 40 years of evidence showing improvements in the lives of first-time moms and their children living in poverty, was federally funded in 1996 and since then has served more than 330,000 families across 40 states. NFP nurses are charged with improving pregnancy outcomes, children’s health and development, and women’s health and economic self-sufficiency with the goal of reducing health disparities over the lifespan.

Kitzman

Groth

$1.2M HRSA Grant Expands Nurse Practitioner Residency Program A $1.2 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will help expand the Nurse Practitioner (NP) Residency program that is integrated into the University of Rochester/Highland Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program. Funding of $400,000 each year for three years will be used to expand the NP residency program from two residents per year to four residents per year, with a rural medicine component.

The Highland Family Medicine (HFM) Nurse Practitioner Residency program was developed in 2016 as a collaboration between HFM and the UR School of Nursing. It is the first program of its kind in New York state, where residents from all

disciplines train together to create an inter-professional collaborative learning environment.

“We are very excited about this opportunity to expand our program and help provide more health care in rural communities,” said director of the program Kristin E. Smith, DNP, FNP-C, AAHIVS. The HFM clinic is the third oldest physician residency program in the country, internationally recognized for leadership and innovation in the integration of behavioral health into primary care practice. These qualities were instilled into the NP residency program from its inception, leading it to receive accreditation by the National Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Consortium (NNPRFTC).

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 15

PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, HONORS, AND AWARDS

Scholarly Publications The following is a listing of research findings published

by School of Nursing faculty from June 2019 to September 2020.

Danielle C. Alcena-Stiner, PhD, RN Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Leblanc, N., Braksmajer, A., Crean, H.F., & Alcena-Stiner, D. (2020). Association of medical mistrust and poor communication with HIV-related health outcomes and psychosocial wellbeing among heterosexual men living with HIV. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 34, 27-37.

Elizabeth A. Anson, MS Olds, D.L., Kitzman, H., Anson, B., Smith, J.A., Knudtson, M.D., Miller, T., Cole, R., Hopfer, C., & Conti, G. (2019). Prenatal and infancy nurse home visiting effects on mothers: 18-Year follow-up of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 144, e20183889.

Kitzman, H., Olds, D.L., Knudtson, M.D., Cole, R., Anson, E., Smith, J.A., Fishbein, D., DiClemente, R., Wingood, G., Caliendo, A.M., Hopfer, C., Miller, T., & Conti, G. (2019). Prenatal and infancy nurse home visiting and 18-Year outcomes of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 144, e20183889.

Mary G. Carey, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN Wagner, S.L., White, N., Fyfe, T., Matthews, L.R., Randall, C., Regehr, C., White, M., Alden, L.E., Buys, N., Carey, M.G., Corneil, W., Fraess-Phillips, A., Krutop, E., & Fleischmann, M.H. (2020). Systematic review of posttraumatic stress disorder in police officers following routine work-related critical incident exposure. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 63, 600-615.

Dzikowicz, D.J., & Carey, M.G. (2020). Exercise-induced premature ventricular contractions are associated with myocardial ischemia among asymptomatic adult male firefighters: Implications for enhanced risk stratification. Biological Research for Nursing, 22, 369-377.

Dzikowicz, D.J. & Carey, M.G. (2020). An incidental finding on a preprocedural electrocardiogram.

JNP- Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 16, E49-E52.

16 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

Dzikowicz, D.J., & Carey, M.G. (2019). Obesity and hypertension contribute to prolong QRS complex duration among middle-aged adults.

Annals of Noninvasive Electrocardiology, 24, e12665.

Carey, M.G., Al-Zaiti, S.S., Kozik, T.M., & Pelter, M.M. (2019). Important electrocardiographic changes in the absence of positive cardiac biomarkers. American Journal of Critical Care, 28, 325-326.

Fearrington, M.A., Qualls, B.W., & Carey, M.G. (2019). Essential oils to reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting. Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing, 34, 1047-1053.

Carey, M.G., Trout, D.R., & Qualls, B.W. (2019). Hospital-based research internship for nurses: The value of academic librarians as co-faculty. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 35, 344-350.

Carey, M.G., Nowzari, S., & Finnell, D.S. (2019). Brief video intervention to teach firefighters the neurobiological basis of high risk alcohol use: A pilot study. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 33, 377-382.

Hugh F. Crean, PhD Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Leblanc, N., Braksmajer, A., Crean, H.F., & Alcena-Stiner, D. (2020). Association of medical mistrust and poor communication with HIV-related health outcomes and psychosocial wellbeing among heterosexual men living with HIV. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 34, 27-37.

Braksmajer, A., Walters, S.M., Crean, H.F., Stephenson, R., & McMahon, J.M. (2020). Pre-exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men experiencing partner violence. AIDS and Behavior, 24, 2299-2306.

Arcoleo, K.J., McGovern, C., Kaur, K., Halterman, J.S., Mammen, J., Crean, H., Rastogi, D., & Feldman, J.M. (2019). Longitudinal patterns of Mexican and Puerto Rican children's asthma controller medication adherence and acute healthcare utilization. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 16, 715-723.

W.R. (2019). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for insomnia in PTSD: Differential relationships with symptom clusters. Sleep, 42, A354.

Pigeon, W.R., Funderburk, J., Cross, W.F., Bishop, T.M., & Crean, H.F. (2019). Brief CBT for insomnia delivered in primary care to patients endorsing suicidal ideation: A proof-of-concept randomized clinical trial. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 9, 1169-1177.

Poleshuck, E., Wittink, M., Crean, H.F., Juskiewicz, I., Bell, E., Harrington, A., & Cerulli, C. (2019). A comparative effectiveness trial of two patient-centered interventions for women with unmet social needs: Personalized Support for Progress (PSP) and Enhanced Screening and Referral (ESR). Journal of Women’s Health, 29, 242-252.

Crean, H.F., Bishop, T.M., & Pigeon, W.R. (2019). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for insomnia in PTSD: Differential relationships with symptom clusters. Sleep, 42, A354.

Wang, X., Heffner, K.L., Anthony, M., & Lin, F. (2019). Stress adaptation in older adults with and without cognitive impairment: An fMRI pattern-based similarity analysis. Aging, 11, 6792-6804.

Lin, F.V., Tao, Y., Chen, Q.J., Anthony, M., Zhang, Z.W., Tadin, D., & Heffner, K.L.. (2020). Processing speed and attention training modifies autonomic flexibility: A mechanistic intervention study.

Neuroimage, 213, 116730.

Marie A. Flannery, PhD, RN, AOCN Loh, K.P., Mohile, S.G., & Flannery, M. (2020). Electronic symptom monitoring: Not everyone fits the mold.

Annals of Oncology, 31, 13-14.

Harriet J. Kitzman, PhD, RN, FAAN Olds, D.L., Kitzman, H., Anson, B., Smith, J.A., Knudtson, M.D., Miller, T., Cole, R., Hopfer, C., & Conti, G. (2019). Prenatal and infancy nurse home visiting effects on mothers: 18-Year follow-up of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 144, e20183889.

Loh, K.P., Kleckner, I.R., Lin, P.J., Mohile, S.G., Canin, B.E., Flannery, M.A., … & Mustian, K.M. (2019).

Effects of a home-based exercise program on anxiety and mood disturbances in older adults with cancer receiving chemotherapy. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67, 1005-1011.

Kitzman, H., Olds, D.L., Knudtson, M.D., Cole, R., Anson, E., Smith, J.A., Fishbein, D., DiClemente, R., Wingood, G., Caliendo, A.M., Hopfer, C., Miller, T., & Conti, G. (2019). Prenatal and infancy nurse home visiting and 18-Year outcomes of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 144, e20183889.

Loh, K.P., Mohile, S.G., Epstein, R.M., McHugh, C., Flannery, M., Culakova, E., Lei, L., … & Duberstein, P.R. (2019). Willingness to bear adversity and beliefs about the curability of advanced cancer in older adults. Cancer, 125, 2506-2513.

Natalie M. Leblanc, PhD, MPH, RN, BSN Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Leblanc, N., Braksmajer, A., Crean, H.F., & Alcena-Stiner, D. (2020). Association of medical mistrust and poor communication with HIV-related health outcomes and psychosocial wellbeing among heterosexual men living with HIV. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 34, 27-37.

Susan W. Groth, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAANP Yu, Y., Burke, L.E., Shen, Q.W., Imes, C.C., Sun, R., Groth, S., Zhang, W., & Kalarchian, M.A. (2020). A qualitative exploration of patients' experiences with lifestyle changes after sleeve gastrectomy in China. Obesity Surgery, 30, 3127-3134.

Groth, S.W. (2020). Pregnancy weight: What happens after childbirth matters. Journal of Women's Health, 29, 471-472.

Bishop, T.M., Crean, H.F., Hoff, R.A., & Pigeon, W.R. (2019). Suicidal ideation among recently returned veterans and its relationship to insomnia and depression. Psychiatry Research, 276, 250-261.

Rhee, H., Love, T., Groth, S.W., Grape, A., Tumiel-Berhalter, L., & Harrington, D. (2019). Associations between overweight and obesity and asthma outcomes in urban adolescents. The Journal of Asthma, 57, 1053-1062.

Li, Y.I., Cerulli, C., Heffner, K.L., Crean, H.F., Bishop, T.M., & Pigeon,

Kathi L. Heffner, PhD Li, Y.I., Cerulli, C., Heffner, K.L.,

Harris, O.O., Leblanc, N., McGee, K., Randolph, S., Wharton, M.J., & Relf, M. (2020). Alarm at the gate: Health and social inequalities are comorbid conditions of HIV and COVID-19.

Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 31, 367-375.

Braksmajer, A., McMahon, J.M., Leblanc, N., & Urban, M.A. (2019).

Feasibility and acceptability of pre-exposure prophylaxis use among women in violent relationships. AIDS Care: Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, 31, 475-480.

Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Fiscella, K., Przybyla, S., Braksmajer, A., Leblanc, N., & Liu, Y. (2019). HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis implemen-

tation cascade among health care professionals in the United States: Implications from a systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 33, 507-527.

Ren, P., Anderson, A.J., McDermott, K., Baran, T.M., & Lin, F. (2019). Cognitive fatigue and cortical-striatal network in old age.

Aging, 11, 2312-2326.

Ogunbajo, A., Leblanc, N.M., Kushwaha, S., Boakye, F., Hanson, S., Smith, M.D.R., & Nelson, L.E. (2019). Knowledge and acceptability of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Ghana. AIDS Care-Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, 32, 330-336.

James M. McMahon, PhD Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Leblanc, N., Braksmajer, A., Crean, H.F., & Alcena-Stiner, D. (2020). Association of medical mistrust and poor communication with HIV-related health outcomes and psychosocial wellbeing among heterosexual men living with HIV. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 34, 27-37.

McMahon, J.M., Braksmajer, A., Zhang, C., Leblanc, N., Chen, M., Aidala, A., & Simmons, J. (2019).

Syndemic factors associated with adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV-positive adult heterosexual men. AIDS Research and Therapy, 16, 32.

Braksmajer, A., Walters, S.M., Crean, H.F., Stephenson, R., & McMahon, J.M. (2020). Pre-exposure prophylaxis use among men who have sex with men experiencing partner violence. AIDS and Behavior, 24, 2299-2306.

F. Vankee Lin, PhD, RN Wang, X., Heffner, K.L., Anthony, M., & Lin, F. (2019). Stress adaptation in older adults with and without cognitive impairment: An fMRI pattern-based similarity analysis.

Aging, 11, 6792-6804.

Lin, F.V., Tao, Y., Chen, Q.J., Anthony, M., Zhang, Z.W., Tadin, D., & Heffner, K.L.. (2020). Processing speed and attention training modifies autonomic flexibility: A mechanistic intervention study.

Neuroimage, 213, 116730.

Magnuson, A., Lei, L., Gilmore, N., Kleckner, A.S., Lin, F.V., Ferguson, R., Hurria, A., Wittink, M.N., Esparaz, B.T., Giguere, J.K., Misleh, J., Bautista, J., Mohile, S.G., & Janelsins, M.C. (2019). Longitudinal relationship between frailty and cognition in patients 50 years and older with breast cancer. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67, 928-936.

Anderson, A.J. & Lin, F. (2019). How pattern information analyses of semantic brain activity elicited in language comprehension could contribute to the early identification of Alzheimer's disease. NeuroImage: Clinical, 22, 101788.

Braksmajer, A., McMahon, J.M., Leblanc, N., & Urban, M.A. (2019).

Feasibility and acceptability of pre-exposure prophylaxis use among women in violent relationships. AIDS Care: Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of AIDS/ HIV, 31, 475-480.

Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Fiscella, K., Przybyla, S., Braksmajer, A., Leblanc, N., & Liu, Y. (2019). HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis implementation cascade among health care professionals in the United States: Implications from a systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 33, 507-527.

McMahon, J.M., Braksmajer, A., Zhang, C., Leblanc, N., Chen, M., Aidala, A., & Simmons, J. (2019). Syndemic factors associated with adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV-positive adult heterosexual men. AIDS Research and Therapy, 16, 32.

Braksmajer, A., Zhang, C., & McMahon, J.M. (2020). Associations between relationship power and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among men who have sex with men.

AIDS and Behavior, 24, 1358-1364.

Yu, F., Mathiason, M., & Lin, F. (2019).

Cognitive and physical factors affecting daily function in Alzheimer's disease: A cross-sectional analysis. Nursing Health and Sciences, 21, 14-20.

Trabold, N., McMahon, J., Alsobrooks, S., Whitney, S., & Mittal, M. (2020). A systematic review of intimate partner violence interventions: State of the field and implications for practitioners.

Trauma Violence & Abuse, 21, 311-325.

Anderson, A.J., Ren, P., Baran, T.M., Zhang, Z.W., & Lin, F. (2019). Insula and putamen centered functional connectivity networks reflect healthy agers' subjective experience of cognitive fatigue in multiple tasks. Cortex, 119, 428-440.

Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Simmons, J., Brown, L.L., Nash, R., & Liu, Y. (2019). Suboptimal HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis awareness and willingness to use among women who use drugs in the United States: A system-

atic review and meta-analysis. AIDS and Behavior, 23, 2641-2653.

Ying Meng, PhD, RN, ACNP Meng, Y., Wu, T., Billings, R., Kopycka-Kedzierawski, D.T., & Xiao, J. (2019). Human genes influence the interaction between Streptococcus mutans and host caries susceptibility: A genome-wide association study in children with primary dentition. International Journal of Oral Science, 11, 19.

Sally A. Norton, PhD, RN, FNAP, FPCN, FAAN Duberstein, P.R., Chen, M., Hoerger, M., Epstein, R.M., Perry, L.M., Yilmaz, S., Saeed, F., Mohile, S.G., & Norton, S. (2020). Conceptualizing and counting discretionary utilization in the final 100 days of life: A scoping review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 59, 894-915.

Ingersoll, L.T., Alexander, S.C., Ladwig, S., Anderson, W., Norton, S.A., & Gramling, R. (2019). The contagion of optimism: The relationship between patient optimism and palliative care clinician overestimation of survival among hospitalized patients with advanced cancer.

Psycho-oncology, 28, 1286-1292.

Duberstein, P.R., Maciejewski, P.K., Epstein, R.M., Fenton, J.J., Chapman, B., Norton, S.A., Hoerger, M., Wittink, M.N., Tancredi, D.J., Zing, G., Mohile, S., Kravitz, R.L., & Prigerson, H.G. (2019). Effects of the values and options in cancer care communication intervention on personal caregiver experiences of cancer care and bereavement outcomes. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 22, 1394-1400.

Tobie H. Olsan, PhD, RN, CNL, FNAP Oh, J.H., Shelly, M., Nersinger, S., Cai, X.Y., & Olsan, T. (2020). Implementing clinical practice guidelines for replacing peripheral intravenous catheters. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 35, 108-114.

Haverhals, L.M., Manheim, C., Gilman, C., Karuza, J., Olsan, T., Edwards, S.T., Levy, C.R., & Gillespie, S. (2019). Dedicated to the mission: Strategies US Department of Veterans Affairs home-based primary care teams apply to keep veterans at home. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67, 2511-2518.

Hyekyun Rhee, PhD, RN, PNP, FAAN Rhee, H., Love, T., Groth, S.W., Grape, A., Tumiel-Berhalter, L., & Harrington, D. (2019). Associations between overweight and obesity and asthma outcomes in urban adolescents. The Journal of Asthma, 57, 1053-1062.

Rhee, H., Grape, A., Tumiel-Berhalter, L., Wicks, M., Sloand, E., & Butz, A. (2020). Fidelity of a peer-led asthma self-management intervention and its attention control in a multisite study of urban adolescents. Research in Nursing and Health, 43, 195-205.

Sloand, E., Butz, A., Rhee, H., Walters, L., Breuninger, K., Pozzo, R.A., Barnes, C.M., Wicks, M.N., & Tumiel-Berhalter, L. (2019). Influence of social support on asthma self-management in adolescents.

Journal of Asthma, 4, 1-9.

Rhee, H., Love, T., Harrington, D., & Walters, L. (2019). Long-term effects of a peer-led asthma self-management program for adolescents on peer leaders' healthcare utilization. European Respiratory Journal, 54, PA930.

Kathy H. Rideout, EdD, PPCNPBC, FNAP McCauley, L., Broome, M.E., Frazier, L., Hayes, R., Kurth, A., Musil, C.M., Norman, L.D., Rideout, K.H., & Villarruel, A.M. (2020). Doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree in the US: Reflecting, readjusting, and getting back on track. Nursing Outlook, 68, 494-503.

Temkin-Greener, H., Szydlowski, J., Intrator, O., Olsan, T., Karuza, J., Cai, X., Gao, S., & Gillespie, S.M. (2019). Perceived effectiveness of home-based primary care teams in veterans health administration. The Gerontologist, 60, 494-502.

Joyce A. Smith, PhD, RN, ANP Olds, D.L., Kitzman, H., Anson, B., Smith, J.A., Knudtson, M.D., Miller, T., Cole, R., Hopfer, C., & Conti, G. (2019). Prenatal and infancy nurse home visiting effects on mothers: 18-Year follow-up of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 144, e20183889.

Dang, S., Olsan, T., Karuza, J., Cai, X., Gao, S., Intrator, O., Li, J., & Gillespie, S.M. (2019). Telehealth in home-based primary care: Factors and challenges associated with integration into veteran care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 67, 1928-1933.

Kitzman, H., Olds, D.L., Knudtson, M.D., Cole, R., Anson, E., Smith, J.A., Fishbein, D., DiClemente, R., Wingood, G., Caliendo, A.M., Hopfer, C., Miller, T., & Conti, G. (2019). Prenatal and infancy nurse home visiting and 18-Year outcomes of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 144, e20183889.

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 17

PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, HONORS, AND AWARDS Karen F. Stein, PhD, RN, FAAN Stein, K.F., Trabold, N., & Connelly, K. (2019). Unhealthy weight control strategies: An outcome of body image and eating tensions in women of Mexican origin living in rural farming communities. Journal of Health Psychology, 24, 1293-1304.

Underhill, M.L., Pozzar, R., Chung, D., Sawhney, M., & Yurgelun, M. (2020). Health care provider perceptions of caring for individuals with inherited pancreatic cancer risk. Journal of Cancer Education, 35, 194-203.

Stein, K.F., Lee, C.K., Corte, C., & Steffen, A. (2019). The influence of identity on the prevalence and persistence of disordered eating and weight control behaviors in Mexican American college women. Appetite, 140, 180-189.

Jinjiao J. Wang, PhD, RN Simning, A., Orth, J., Wang, J.J., Caprio, T.V., Li ,Y., & Temkin-Greener, H. (2020). Skilled nursing facility patients discharged to home health agency services spend more days at home. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 88, 1573-1578.

Lee, C.K., Corte, C., Stein, K.F., Feng, J.Y., & Liao, L.L. (2020). Alcohol-related cognitive mechanisms underlying adolescent alcohol use and alcohol problems: Outcome expectancy, self-schema, and self-efficacy. Addictive Behaviors, 105, 106349.

Wang, J.J., Caprio, T.V., Simning, A., Shang, J.J., Conwell, Y., Yu, F., & Li, Y. (2020). Association between home health services and facility admission in older adults with and without Alzheimer's disease. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 21, 627-633.

Mary Tantillo, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAED, CGP Tantillo, M., Starr, T., & Kreipe, R. (2019). The recruitment and acceptability of a Project ECHO(R) eating disorders clinic: A pilot study of telementoring for primary medical and behavioral health care practitioners.

Eating Disorders, 28, 230-255.

Wang, J.J., Kong, D.X., Sun, B.C., & Dong, X.Q. (2020). Health services utilization among Chinese American older adults: Moderation of social support with functional limitation. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 39, 481-489.

Megan L. Underhill-Blazey, PhD, APRN, AOCNS Jabaley, T., Underhill-Blazey, M.L., & Berry, D.L. (2019). Development and testing of a decision aid for unaffected women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Journal of Cancer Education, 35, 339-344.

Berry, D.L., Hong, F., Halpenny, B., Sanda, M., Master, V.A., Filson, C.P., Chang, P., Chien, G.W., Underhill, M., Fox, E., McReynolds, J. & Wolpin, S. (2019). Evaluating clinical implementation approaches for prostate cancer decision support.

Urology Practice, 6, 93-99.

Underhill, M., Stopfer, J., Chittenden, A., Nayak, M.M., Lansang, K., Lederman, R., Garber, J., & Gundersen, D.A. (2019). Development and testing of the KnowGene scale to assess general cancer genetic knowledge related to multigene panel testing. Patient Education and Counseling, 102, 1558-1564.

Underhill-Blazey, M., Blonquist, T., Lawrence, J., Hong, F., Yurgelun, M.B., & Syngal, S. (2019). Health behaviours and beliefs in individuals with familial pancreatic cancer.

Familial Cancer, 18, 457-464.

18 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

Wang, J., Maxwell, C.A., & Fang, Y. (2019). Biological processes and biomarkers related to frailty in older adults: A state-of-the-science literature review.

SAGE Journals, 21, 80-106.

Mitchell J. Wharton, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CNS Harris, O.O., Leblanc, N., McGee, K., Randolph, S., Wharton, M.J., & Relf, M. (2020). Alarm at the gate: Health and social inequalities are comorbid conditions of HIV and COVID-19.

Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 31, 367-375.

Yang Yu, PhDc, MPHc, MSN Yu, Y., Burke, L.E., Shen, Q.W., Imes, C.C., Sun, R., Groth, S., Zhang, W., & Kalarchian, M.A. (2020). A qualitative exploration of patients' experiences with lifestyle changes after sleeve gastrectomy in China. Obesity Surgery, 30, 3127-3134.

Chen Zhang, PhD, MPH Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Leblanc, N., Braksmajer, A., Crean, H.F., & Alcena-Stiner, D. (2020). Association of medical mistrust and poor communication with HIV-related health outcomes and psychosocial wellbeing among heterosexual men living with HIV. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 34, 27-37.

Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Fiscella, K., Przybyla, S., Braksmajer, A., Leblanc, N., & Liu, Y. (2019). HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis imple-

mentation cascade among health care professionals in the United States: Implications from a systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 33, 507-527.

McMahon, J.M., Braksmajer, A., Zhang, C., Leblanc, N., Chen, M., Aidala, A., & Simmons, J. (2019).

Syndemic factors associated with adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV-positive adult heterosexual men. AIDS Research and Therapy, 16, 32.

Braksmajer, A., Zhang, C., & McMahon, J.M. (2020). Associations between relationship power and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behavior, 24, 1358-1364.

Zhang, C., McMahon, J., Simmons, J., Brown, L.L., Nash, R., & Liu, Y. (2019). Suboptimal HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis awareness and willingness to use among women who use drugs in the United States: A systematic review and meta-analysis. AIDS and Behavior, 23, 2641-2653.

Zhang, C., Qian, H., Liu, Y., & Vermund, S. (2019). Voluntary medical male circumcision and HIV infection among men who have sex with men: Implications from a systematic review. Sage Open Medicine, 7, 2050312119869110.

Zhang, C., Penson, D.F., Qian, H.Z., Webb, G.F., Lou, J., Shepherd, B.E., Liu, Y., Vermund, S.H. (2019).

Modeling economic and epidemiological impact of voluntary medical male circumcision among men who have sex with men in Beijing, China.

International Journal of STD & AIDS, 30, 630-638.

Zhang, C., Webb, G.F., Lou, J., Shepherd, B.E., Qian, H.Z., Liu, Y., & Vermund, S.H. (2019). Predicting the long-term impact of voluntary medical male circumcision on HIV incidence among men who have sex with men in Beijing, China.

AIDS Care-Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, 32, 343-353.

Chi, P.L., Zhao, S., Zhang, C., Li, X.M., Guo, Y., Lin, X.Y., & Du, H.F..

(2019). Effects of psychosocial interventions on children affected by parental HIV/AIDS: A meta-analysis on depression and anxiety. BMC Public Health, 19, 1572.

Scholarly Presentations The following is a listing of presentations by School of Nursing faculty at symposiums, conferences, and meetings from June 2019 to September 2020.

Kaitlyn Burke, MS, RN, CCRN, CNE-cl Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education Conference. (2019). “Transforming a hybrid health assessment course to an engaged distance learning experience.” St. Paul, MN. Mary G. Carey, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN ANA-NY Annual Conference. (2020).

“Advanced practice providers should interpret 12-lead ECGs.” Virtual.

Margaret A. Carno, PhD, MBA, MJ, RN, CPNP, D,ABSM, FNAP, FAAN AACN Baccalaureate Conference.

(2019). “Trends and emergent solutions for innovation in RN to baccalaureate education.” Orlando, FL. Susan M. Ciurzynski, PhD, RNBC, PNP, VCE, FNAP Sigma 45th Biennial Convention and Annual Research Congress. (2019).

“Development of a care management curriculum: An academic-practice partner collaboration.”

Washington, DC. Karen K. Davis, PhD, RN, NEA-BC AACN Doctoral Conference. (2020).

“Creating organizational synergy through academic-practice partnerships: Implementation of a DNP Practice Fellow Program.” Naples, FL. Marie A. Flannery, PhD, RN, AOCN Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science State of the Science Congress on Nursing Research.

(2020). “Patient reported outcome common terminology criteria for adverse events: Free-text symptom responses in older adults.” Virtual.

Irene R. Garrick, PhD, LPC-CT, LMHC-NY, NCC, MBA World Nursing and Healthcare Congress. (2019). “Dealing with Trauma.” Las Vegas, NV. Jessica M. Lapinski, MNE, RN Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education Conference. (2019). “Assessing student knowledge with the use of case studies in clinical post conferences.” St. Paul, MN.

Natalie M. Leblanc, PhD, MPH, RN, BSN University of Rochester Alumni Lecture. (2020). “The fire this time: Inequalities in the time of COVID-19.” Virtual.

Sigma 45th Biennial Convention and Annual Research Congress. (2019).

“Couple-centered HIV prevention and treatment: It’s time for uptake in U.S. health settings.” Washington, DC. Lisa Norsen, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC American Public Health Association. (2019). “Reducing cardiovascular disease risk for employees through a comprehensive wellness program.” Philadelphia, PA. Irena Pesis-Katz, PhD American Public Health Association. (2019). “Reducing cardiovascular disease risk for employees through a comprehensive wellness program.” Philadelphia, PA. National Wellness Conference.

(2019). “The beat goes on: The comprehensive wellness program that reduces cardiovascular disease risk for employees.” Kissimmee, FL. Kathy H. Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP Rochester Forum. (2019). URSON: Commitment to our community.”

Rochester, NY. Lydia Rotondo, DNP, RN, CNS, FNAP AACN Doctoral Conference. (2020).

“Creating organizational synergy through academic-practice partnerships: Implementation of a DNP Practice Fellow Program.” Naples, FL. Tara M. Serwetnyk, MS, RN, NPD-BC Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education Conference. (2019). “Transforming a hybrid health assessment course to an engaged distance learning experience.” St. Paul, MN. Renu Singh, MS National Wellness Conference.

(2019). “The beat goes on: The comprehensive wellness program that reduces cardiovascular disease risk for employees.” Kissimmee, FL. Karen F. Stein, PhD, RN, FAAN Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science State of the Science Congress on Nursing Research. (2020). “State of the science: A review of intuition research in health science.” Virtual.

Andrew Wolf, EdD, MS, RN, ACNP-C Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education Conference. (2019). “Data-informed curriculum mapping: A four-step approach.” St. Paul, MN.

Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education Conference. (2019). “Artificial intelligence to enhance formative assessment of student writing.” St. Paul, MN. Rebecca R. Wolf, MEd Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education Conference. (2019). “Data-informed curriculum mapping: A four-step approach.” St. Paul, MN. Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education Conference. (2019). “Artificial intelligence to enhance formative assessment of student writing.” St. Paul, MN. Chen Zhang, PhD, MPH Association in Nurses in AIDS Care.

(2019). “Understanding 'Purview Paradox' in the implementation of pre-exposure prophylaxis care in the United States." Portland, OR. Yingzi Zhang, PhD Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science State of the Science Congress on Nursing Research. (2020). “Patient reported outcome common terminology criteria for adverse events: Freetext symptom responses in older adults.” Virtual.

Honors and Awards The following faculty honors were received between June 2019 and September 2020.

Erin S. Baylor, DNP, RN, PNP-BC, ONP Josephine Craytor Nursing Faculty Award (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Outstanding Faculty Colleague Award (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Susan W. Blaakman, PhD, RN, PMHNP-BC, FNAP Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, Nursing (2020). National Academies of Practice Annual Meeting: San Diego, CA. Outstanding Scholarly Practitioner Award (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Pamela A. Brady, DNP, RN Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY.

Kaitlyn Burke, MS, RN, CCRN, CNE-cl Drs. Jeremy A. Klainer and Pamela York Klainer Endowed Dean’s Discretionary Award in Nursing (2020).

University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Mary G. Carey, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN RBJ Health Care Heroes Award in Nurse category (2020). Rochester Business Journal: Rochester, NY. Marianne C. Chiafery, DNP, PNP-BC Distinguished Service in Health Care Award (2020). Rochester Academy of Medicine: Rochester, NY. Patricia A. Chiverton, EdD, RN, FNAP Dean’s Medal (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Loretta C. Ford, EdD, RN, PNP, FAAN, FAANP Florence Nightingale Award (2019).

Center for Nursing at the Foundation of New York State Nurses: Guilderland, NY. Joseph Gomulak-Cavicchio, EdD, MSEd Drs. Jeremy A. Klainer and Pamela York Klainer Endowed Dean’s Discretionary Award in Nursing (2020).

University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Susan W. Groth, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAANP Professional Advancement Award (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Expert Nurse of the Year (2020).

Texas Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses: Virtual.

Kathi L. Heffner, PhD Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Professorship (2020). University of Rochester: Rochester, NY. Patrick J. Hopkins, DNP, APRN, C-PNP, NNP Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2020). University of Rochester: Rochester, NY. Harriet J. Kitzman, PhD, RN, FAAN Dean’s Medal (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Rhonda (KC) Knapp-Clevenger, PhD, RN, CPNP, CCRP, FAAN Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (2019).

American Academy of Nursing: Washington, DC.

Natalie M. Leblanc, PhD, MPH, RN, BSN Josephine Craytor Nursing Faculty Award (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Most Promising New Investigator Award (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Dorothy M. Smith Nursing Leadership Award for Excellence in Diversity (2020). University of Florida School of Nursing: Gainesville, FL. F. Vankee Lin, PhD, RN Marie C. and Joseph C. Wilson Professorship (2020). University of Rochester: Rochester, NY. Lynne Massaro, DNP, RN, FNP-C, ANP-BC, FAANP Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (2019). American Association of Nurse Practitioners Annual Meeting: Indianapolis, IN. Ying Meng, PhD, RN, ACNP Early Career Travel Award (2019).

Obesity Society: Silver Spring, MD. Tobie H. Olsan, PhD, RN, CNL, FNAP Carter & T. Franklin Williams Geriatric Prize Award (2020). Rochester Academy of Medicine: Rochester, NY. Madeline H. Schmitt Award for Interprofessional Education (2019).

Rochester Academy of Medicine: Rochester, NY. Elizabeth Palermo, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, ACNP-BC Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Award (2020). Rochester Academy of Medicine: Rochester, NY. Lydia Rotondo, DNP, RN, CNS, FNAP Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, Nursing (2020). National Academies of Practice Annual Meeting: San Diego, CA. Tara M. Serwetnyk, MS, RN, NPD-BC Drs. Jeremy A. Klainer and Pamela York Klainer Endowed Dean’s Discretionary Award in Nursing (2020).

University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Mitchell J. Wharton, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CNS Mary Dombeck Diversity Enhancement Faculty Award (2020). University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY. Ying Xue, DNSc, RN Loretta C. Ford Endowed Professorship in Primary Care Nursing (2019).

University of Rochester School of Nursing: Rochester, NY.

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 19

Shattering Glass Ceilings Heffner, Lin make history as UR’s newest Wilson Professors

The installation of Kathi Heffner, PhD, and Vankee Lin, PhD, RN, as Wilson Professors was unlike any that had come before it.

For starters, this was the University of Rochester’s first virtual professorship installation ceremony. It took place Oct. 6 in a mostly empty Helen Wood Hall auditorium with a few dignitaries in attendance wearing masks, while the rest of the participants and viewers watched on Zoom. However, what made this event unique had nothing to do with the concessions made to a global pandemic, but with who was being honored.

Heffner and Lin were the first School of Nursing faculty members to be awarded the University of Rochester’s prestigious Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professorship.

They were also the first women recipients of the honor in its more than 50 years of existence.

“This is the first time in 53 years of the Wilson Professorship that it is being awarded to a woman. In fact, two great women,” said Dean Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, during her introductions. “I’m especially pleased because 2020 is recognized by the World Health Organization as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife. It is also the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. What a glorious time to have this incredible celebration.”

“It’s a tremendous honor to accept the Wilson Professorship,” said Heffner. “And I thank you for the honor.”

Heffner and Lin are frequent research collaborators and this past year were appointed co-directors of the Elaine C. Hubbard Center for Nursing Research on Aging at the School of Nursing. Because of the synergy of their work and close working relationship, they will split the three-year professorship, with each carrying the title of Wilson Professor for 18 months. Lin is the current recipient. She began the professorship in July 2020. Heffner will hold the title from January 2022 until July 2023.

“I was very fortunate to have many brilliant and supportive collaborators and friends to go through this journey and to keep me motivated, among them is Kathi Heffner,” Lin said.

“She is my mentor, collaborator, friend, and supporter. It is amazing to experience a relationship so agreeable while also stimulating.”

Lin is a nationally recognized leader in research on cognitive aging and dementia among older adults. Her work 20 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

is dedicated to understanding the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of cognitive impairment and designing non-pharmaceutical interventions to target those mechanisms in order to mitigate or prevent decline in cognitive aging. A prolific investigator and publisher, she has been awarded more than a dozen awards, including the Council for Advancement of Nursing Science’s Brilliant New Investigator Award and the American Neuropsychiatric Association’s Young Investigator Award. She is also the director of the CogT Laboratory, which focuses on preventing cognitive decline and promotes successful cognitive aging.

Heffner’s research centers on how social, psychological, and behavioral factors promote or impair physiological stress adaptation and immune/inflammatory regulation. In particular, she is interested in the implications of stress for healthy aging; the influence of sleep on stress physiology and clinical

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symptoms, including chronic pain and trauma-related symptomatology; and the role of social relationships in stress and health links. Her work has been supported by multiple organizational, NIH, and other federally funded grants. She is the associate chief of research for the Division of Geriatrics and Aging in the Department of Medicine, and also serves as co-director of the Rochester Roybal Center for Social Ties and Aging Research.

The Marie Curran Wilson and Joseph Chamberlain Wilson Professorship Fund was established in 1961 and supports several endowed professorships in disciplines ranging from biology, economics, history, political science, medicine, and optical physics. The fund, directed by the University’s Board of Trustees, is named for Joe Wilson, ’31, founder of Xerox, and his wife, Marie “Peggy” Wilson, a former member of the UR Board of Trustees. 

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 Members of the Wilson family, including J. Christine Wilson, and her spouse, Mary Collins, attended the installation ceremony via teleconferencing.  Among the University’s dignitaries who attended and offered congratulatory remarks was President Sarah Mangelsdorf.  Joseph and Marie “Peggy” Wilson established the professorship fund in 1961 to support endowed professorships at the University.  UR School of Nursing Dean Kathy Rideout awards a medal to associate professor Kathi Heffner in recognition of her appointment to the Marie C. Wilson and Joseph C. Wilson Professorship in the School of Nursing. Heffner and Vankee Lin, jointly installed at a ceremony in October, are the first School of Nursing faculty – and the first women – to be honored with this professorship.  Kathi Heffner delivers remarks in the auditorium of Helen Wood Hall, while Dean Kathy Rideout looks on from the audience and Vankee Lin watches from California, where she is currently a visiting assistant professor at Stanford University.

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 21

Rise and Shine

A new day dawns for SON graduates after a year filled with unique challenges underscores the core values of nursing Photos by John Schlia It was a school year that no one saw coming.

It started normally enough for the August 2020 cohort of the University of Rochester School of Nursing’s Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses. Last September they sat side by side in the auditorium of Helen Wood Hall for orientation, learning all about the intensive 12-month program they were about to begin.

One year later, they sat masked and six feet away from their closest classmate at a physically distant in-person pinning ceremony. In between, they found themselves adapting to a mix of remote and in-person learning experiences, standing up against racial injustices, and even volunteering to join the front lines in the fight against a global pandemic.

“All of these lessons and examples demonstrate a passion for serving; courage to share your fears and move forward despite them; integrity and the commitment to the underserved; leadership in times of crisis; advocacy to our patients, families, and colleagues; altruism or selflessness; strong work ethic; commitment to excellence; and social and racial justice. It’s not a surprise that these are all the core values of nursing,” Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, dean of the UR School of Nursing, told the graduating August cohort.

“I couldn’t be more proud of all of you.”

2020 was indeed a remarkable year for all UR Nursing students, but it was particularly difficult for graduating students, many of whom had to pivot to remote learning at the tail end of their degree programs. All told, approximately 250 students graduated from the school in May and August. And though the school wasn’t able to hold a traditional Commencement ceremony and scaled back its pinning ceremony, the school’s newest alumni still had their moments in the sun.

ter’s, and doctoral programs as part of a University-wide degree conferral event that included messages from President Sarah Mangelsdorf and Dean Rideout. Patrick Hopkins, DNP, APRN, C-PNP, NNP-BC, assistant professor of clinical nursing, was among the faculty, staff, and students recognized with University awards as part of the degree conferral. (see story, page 24).

“I couldn’t be more proud to be leading the School of Nursing during this time,” said Rideout, noting the contributions of alumni and current students who have worked on the front lines battling the COVID-19 crisis. “I always knew we admitted the best and brightest students, and once again it is confirmed that we also have the greatest graduates. I truly look forward to the difference that you will continue to make in our world.”

The School of Nursing’s degree conferral celebration website included video congratulatory messages from SON faculty and student speakers Yusuf Miraloglu (graduate speaker) and Efrem Foster (undergraduate speaker), as well as written remarks from Medical Center CEO Mark Taubman, MD, Loretta Ford, EdD, RN, PNP, FAAN, FAANP, and Mary

Traditional Commencement Ceremony Replaced with Online Degree Conferral Event Students scheduled to graduate in May, for instance, saw their in-person classroom instruction abruptly halted in late March, leaving them to complete their final few weeks remotely. The University’s traditional in-person Commencement ceremony was also postponed indefinitely.

However, on May 15, the UR School of Nursing celebrated the graduation of 178 students across its bachelor’s, mas22 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

The SON degree conferral website featuring speeches and congratulatory remarks from faculty, administration, and loved ones of the graduates was launched on May 15, replacing the traditional Commencement ceremony.

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Terhaar, associate dean of academic affairs and the Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin Professor of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, who was selected to deliver the keynote address.

“Society needs you, health care needs you. Individuals and families need you.

They need your resilience and dedication. They need your courage and integrity,” Terhaar said. “You and your classmates have come through some serious muck. Now, it is time to blossom. Congratulations! Bloom!”

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August Grads Celebrated at Physically Distant In-Person Pinning Ceremony The pinning celebration took place Aug. 26 at the Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni and Advancement Center auditorium. Traditionally, family members and friends are invited to attend, but due to COVID-19 safety concerns, their well-wishes were shared in the comment section of the UR School of Nursing’s Facebook page as they watched the live-streamed event.

After welcoming the graduates, Rideout reminded the cohort of their resiliency and determined spirit to work in the face of adversity this past year and introduced student speaker Prince Diaby.

Originally from the Ivory Coast and raised in Ghana, Diaby came to the U.S. in 1995, and after a multitude of jobs and experiences, joined the School of Nursing in 2019 to pursue his true calling of nursing. He echoed Rideout’s encouraging

sentiments of facing adversity. ”Take a deep breath and aim at every single target, every goal, and every desire. Do it while you’re afraid. Do it while you’re feeling the emotions that you’re just not good enough...Do it because of your life, your kids, your family.

The nation. The world depends on it and when you aim, give it everything you’ve got.”

After receiving their pins and sashes, the graduates made their way to the sun-filled front lawn of the Advancement Center for a class photo. They spaced themselves six feet apart from each other and smiled up into the sky, a unique moment captured by a hovering drone (see photo, back page).

Graduating students, masked and spaced at least six feet apart, were the only ones except APNN program and SON leadership in attendance at the August pinning ceremony. After the pinning, students gathered outside for a class photo taken by a drone and a few physically distant selfies.

As students processed across the stage, they grabbed a sash and proceeded to “pin” themselves, facing a camera that was live-streaming the event for friends and family to watch.  Prince Diaby was chosen to be the August cohort’s class speaker.

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 23

Hopkins Honored with E.P. Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Patrick Hopkins, DNP, APRN, C-PNP, NNP-BC, whose soft-spoken and gentle manner belies his vehement passion for teaching and bringing out the best of his students, was honored by the University of Rochester with one of its top teaching prizes.

In May, the University announced that Hopkins was chosen as the recipient of the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. He is just the third nursing faculty member to receive the award in its 58-year history, and the first since Rita D’Aoust in 2002.

“I am honored. I don’t think that I deserve this – there are much better educators in the School of Nursing than I could ever be. I am grateful to the people who nominated me and wrote letters of support,” said Hopkins, who has taught at the University for more than 20 years and been a neonatal nurse at the UR Medical Center since 1994. “I feel privileged and grateful for being provided the opportunity to teach, to interact with new members of our professions, to guide, to coach to success, to plant seeds, to nurture them, and watch them grow.”

Awarded for teaching excellence in schools with undergraduate programs, the E.P. Curtis Award recognizes a record of distinguished teaching, typically developed over at least eight years, as well as a demonstrated readiness to help less experienced faculty colleagues or teaching assistants master their craft. The faculty recipient is honored with a citation at commencement and receives a monetary award.

The Curtis Award debuted in 1962. In 1978, JoAnn Belle-Isle was the first nursing faculty member to receive the honor.

An assistant professor of clinical nursing, co-director of the Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses and specialty director of the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Program, Hopkins is known among students as much for his brilliant mind as his kind and friendly demeanor. He teaches pathophysiology in the accelerated bachelor’s program and content on the care of children and families in the pediatric nurse and family nurse practitioner programs. His students comment on his passion for teaching, his commitment to their success, and his creativity with methodologies that brings his clinical experience into the classroom.

Hopkins spends an incredible number of hours with students outside of class working with those who are having difficulties to ensure their understanding of the content. Prior to the pandemic it was not unusual to walk through the School of Nursing’s atrium and see students crowded around him as he conducted an impromptu teaching session. He also maintains robust office hours; his door is almost always open and a steady supply of chocolate is on hand to welcome visitors.

Making meaningful connections with students and building off those to develop strong interpersonal relationships helps Hopkins more effectively coach and mentor students.

24 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

“Patrick was definitely one of the most influential professors that I’ve ever had,” wrote one student in a course evaluation. “Never before have I had a professor that seems like they care about how I am both in and out of the classroom.

He is so knowledgeable, and I hope that this isn't the last time I learn from him.”

“Patrick is the epitome of a student-centered educator dedicated to helping them achieve their goals,” said School of Nursing Dean Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP. “His love for teaching and his students is certainly palpable, and vice versa.”

Hopkins has been recognized with the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Mary Dombeck Diversity Enhancement Faculty Award, and the Outstanding Scholarly Practitioner Award in the School of Nursing. A native of England, he has worked in the NICU at Strong Memorial Hospital since relocating to Rochester in 1994, rising from staff nurse to nurse leader to neonatal nurse practitioner.

He earned his master’s degree from the pediatric nurse practitioner program, his post-master’s certification as a neonatal nurse practitioner, and his doctor of nursing practice degree from the School of Nursing. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Hull and his registered general nurse degree at St. James University Hospital in Great Britain.

Change Agent For ABPNN grad Megan Reynolds, health care and humanitarian efforts work in tandem to support her quest to make an impact on the world rom an early age, Megan Reynolds ’19N has had a passion for helping people.

“Humanitarian work has always been integral in my drive to provide health care. My earliest memory as a kid was wanting to respond to the genocide in Sudan,” said Reynolds, a nurse in the Burn Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Strong Memorial Hospital who was honored by the School of Nursing in 2020 with its Humanitarian Award. “I’ve always known that I was going to end up doing this work in some capacity.”

To maximize the impact of her work, Reynolds realized that she had to gain actual experience in health care first, which led her to the UR School of Nursing’s Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses (ABPNN).

“I think there are a lot of people who may have good intentions with humanitarian work, but aren't bringing anything useful,” she said. “I knew I needed to bring tangible change.”

At the School of Nursing, Reynolds didn’t just focus on academics, but immediately went about putting her knowledge into action. In addition to her work with programs focusing

F

on student wellness and student advocacy and her role as a mentor for the Center for Academic and Professional Success (CAPS), Reynolds redefined the school's role in UR Street Outreach, a student-run initiative that improves accessibility to uninsured and underserved adults in Rochester.

Originally established by the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD), Street Outreach provides free health care services to the unsheltered homeless population. The organization operates out of the emergency shelter advocacy group Rochester Emergency Action Committee for the Homeless (REACH) House, St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center, and House of Mercy.

As a volunteer, Reynolds was impressed with Street Outreach’s mission and execution of weekly trips despite the grueling academic schedules the SMD students faced. However, the group struggled to staff three shifts a week. That’s when Reynolds saw a need for nurses.

“We were building relationships, educating, and providing trauma-informed care—that’s what UR Nursing students excel at,” said Reynolds.

Since UR Nursing’s role in Street Outreach was redefined, the group has not experienced a single understaffed shift.

At her Commencement ceremony, Reynolds was honored with the Paul Burgett Nursing Student Life Award, an achievement given to a graduating student who has enriched the School of Nursing environment regarding diversity, raised awareness of different cultural issues, actively participated in improving student life, has been a positive catalyst for change, and has the potential to influence nursing practice to be inclusive of all culture.

Shortly after that, she was on to her next mission. Reynolds received a call from her friend Dan Taylor, board member of Global Response Management (GRM) Group, a non-profit that delivers emergency medical care and humanitarian relief in high-risk areas.

Taylor invited Reynolds to join GRM in providing medical care to a camp populated by over 3,000 asylum-seekers and

A year after graduating from the UR School of Nursing, Meg Reynolds ‘19N volunteered as part of a team of humanitarian workers to provide health care at a refugee camp in Matamoros, Mexico. She spent two weeks providing needed medical services to camp residents just before COVID-19 erupted throughout Mexico.

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refugees in Matamoros, Mexico. Reynolds accepted and left for Mexico in early May 2020.

In 2018, the United States Department of Homeland Security enacted The Migration Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly referred to as the “Remain in Mexico” program.

The protocol requires asylum seekers to stay in this camp in Mexico until their paperwork is processed by U.S. immigration courts.

Reynolds described the camp as “a patchwork system of tarps and tents on a stretch of dirt about two football fields long.

Women, children, and infants were packed into these tiny filthy spaces with no health care or ability to cook and clean, and little access to food or hygienic materials of any kind.”

The camp gained access to drinkable water after GRM sent engineers to build a water filtration system that purifies water from the Rio Grande. A medical clinic established in the center of camp consisted of an RV and three semi-permanent humanitarian tents. Conditions are the very definition of low-resource medicine—sparse equipment and limited medical supplies.

In addition to members of GRM, the medical care team at the camp had three full-time physicians, two nurses, and two interpreters who ran the operation seven days a week, all of whom are Cuban and seeking asylum, as well.

Most of the cases the medical team treat are caused by malnutrition due to inaccessible resources, such as clean water, medicine, and healthy foods. Many children experience rashes from being exposed to chemicals and pollution. The camp burns plastic at all hours of the day to cook because energy-fueling resources like wood are scarce. The pollution in the air exacerbates other conditions present in many adults and puts children at risk for developing asthma.

Reynolds recalls sending a man to the hospital after he

broke his elbow because the medics were unable to provide an X-ray or administer pain control.

“Due to the danger in Matamoros, we cannot carry any narcotics whatsoever at any time. If cartels found out we had narcotics, they would steal all the supplies. With limited recourse medicine, you do what you can with what you have.

It’s an art,” she said.

After two weeks of caring for the people in Matamoros, Reynolds returned home to Rochester.

When asked how prepared the camp was for COVID-19, which was just starting to intensify during her stay, Reynolds said, “GRM has done a fantastic job building a field hospital, a COVID-19 isolation area, and screening area.” However, according to Reynolds, a wave of the virus seemed inevitable for the camp. “It's going to be devastating because of the state these people are forced to live in.”

Despite the limited resources, dangerous conditions, and uncertainty of their citizenships, Reynolds was shocked to see how generally happy people were there.

“They all help and take care of each other. I promise you that I would not be positive if I was in their shoes. Yet, they are so filled with love,” she said. “They have such a phenomenal sense of community there. We were there for Mother's Day and somehow they were able to sneak some cakes and throw a celebration for all of the mothers in the camp.“ What especially strikes Reynolds is how happy the children are. “I think you have to understand the situation they came from to understand how this is an improvement,” she said.

Reynolds said she would love to return to the camp in Mexico, but she also has other projects tugging at her attention. “I would go to the Navajo Nation if I could do anything in the world right now. They are in desperate need of critical care personnel.”

Reynolds encourages everyone to get involved with humanitarian work, especially fellow health care practitioners who can use their skills to provide medical relief.

When deciding what causes to get involved in, Reynolds offers this advice: “Listen to what evokes emotion in you and use it to educate yourself. Once you’ve researched, then offer your time. If you can’t offer time, then there's always a need for funds. If you’re not in the financial place to give money, then spread awareness.”

If interested in helping asylum seekers, Reynolds welcomes individuals to explore local organizations like Rochester Refugee and Refugees Helping Refugees, and consider donating to Global Response Management to sustain its ongoing mission.

As an undergrad in the Accelerated Program for Non-Nurses, Megan Reynolds (second from right) redefined the School of Nursing's role in UR Street Outreach, a student-run initiative that provides free health care services to the unsheltered homeless population in Rochester.

26 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

Why I Traveled to Guadalajara During the Pandemic

By Justin Chaize, RN, BSN

As a Mexican-American nurse, I wanted to do something to the police for not wearing a mask and later beaten and killed help health workers in Mexico affected by COVID-19. I read (and, yes, there were protests and riots). that the country’s health care system was ill-equipped to Of course, the best part of my trip was seeing family. They handle the pandemic, and that misinformation and a shortage are doing okay for now. However, I do worry about them of personal protective equipment (PPE) had contributed to the being out of work and those with underlying health issues. illness of thousands of Mexican health care workers at a rate Thanks to my family in Rochester, everyone who supported faster than has occurred in the U.S., Italy, and China. me on this trip, and especially to those who donated supI wanted to see how bad things were for myself and try to plies: Matté Baxendell, Wanda Martinez, and Claudia Perez. offer some assistance. I began collecting and asking for donations of PPE here in Rochester. I have family in Mexico, so I was able to make online connections to health care workers Justin Chaize, RN, BSN, is a student in the UR School of there. Despite travel uncertainty, I departed for Mexico on Nursing Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner May 10 and arrived safely in Jalisco, a western Mexican state program. of 8 million people. Its capital, Guadalajara, is the third largest city in Mexico, and has a population of 1.5 million. As of June 2020, Jalisco had recorded more than 2,000 cases, resulting in more than 200 deaths, though the totals were most likely higher due to lack of testing and tracking.

Upon my arrival, I quickly tried to get a sense of the political, economic, and social climate. As ordered by Jalisco’s state government, face masks are required in public, and most non-essential businesses were closed. I had traveled to Guadalajara once before, in July 2019. This time, I immediately noticed reduced traffic and bustle. However, some restaurants were seating diners, and there was still a fair amount of pedestrian activity.

I managed to confirm a contact with the secretary of health and get directions to a supply location for donations. Later in the week a doctor from the Red Cross, as well as a nurse who I met through a mutual friend, came to pick up supplies.

Jalisco has benefited or suffered (depending on one’s perspective) from strong leadership under Governor Enrique Alfaro Ramirez. Back in April, Alfaro appeared to be one of the first governors to implement a strict lockdown. Alfaro has created an economic strategy, independent of Mexico’s national plan, re-opening in phases. This is not to say everything is running smoothly. Like here in the U.S., there Justin Chaize (right), a Mexican-American nurse and student in the UR is confusion about which businesses can open and how to School of Nursing’s Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner implement safety protocols. Also, like here, tensions are high program, collected personal protective equipment in Rochester and with the police. Allegedly a man in Jalisco was detained by delivered it to health care workers in Guadalajara in May.

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Dean’s Diamond Circle 2020 Award Winners Each year, the University of Rochester School of Nursing hosts the Dean’s Diamond Circle dinner, a donor recognition event, in which those that have made a lasting impact in the community are recognized. This year’s ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19, but recipients were notified of their awards. Profiles of each recipient are featured below:

Distinguished Alumnus Award LaRon E. Nelson, ’02N, ’04N (MS), ’09N (PhD)

LaRon Nelson, PhD, RN, FNP, FNAP, FAAN, was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award for his leading efforts and significant contributions in HIV prevention within African and African diaspora communities in the United States, Canada, and Ghana.

Nelson is the inaugural associate dean for global health and equity and an Independence Foundation associate professor of nursing at Yale School of Nursing. He also oversees the Office of Global Health and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

At the UR School of Nursing, Nelson was an associate professor, inaugural Harriet J. Kitzman Fellow in Health Disparities, and associate director of international research in the Center for AIDS Research.

Nelson’s ongoing work investigates reducing the intersectional stigma in public health clinics and increasing the frequency of HIV testing among sexual minority men in Ghana.

Nelson also co-chairs the HIV Prevention Trials Network 096, a 16-city community randomized trial of a multi-level intervention to reduce HIV incidence among Black sexual minority men in the south.

Nelson completed post-doctoral education with the HIV Prevention Trials Network HPTN Scholars Program. In 2017, Nelson was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and in 2015, UR School of Nursing’s Most Outstanding New Investigator. Additionally, in 2012, the Canadian government recognized him as a rising star in global health.

Humanitarian Award Megan Reynolds, ’19N See story beginning on page 25.

28 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

Legacy Award The Karch Family

Amy Karch, MS, RN, was a beloved SON faculty member whose teaching career spanned five decades. As associate professor of clinical nursing, she taught one of SON’s largest and most substantive courses, pathophysiology and pharmacology, and taught thousands of students in both the undergraduate and graduate programs throughout

her time at the SON. Karch authored two nursing pharmacology textbooks—Focus on Nursing Pharmacology and Lippincott Nursing Drug Guide— that are used by nursing educators across the country. She was also a regular contributing columnist to The American Journal of Nursing. Karch was a member of the National League of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau. In 2004, Karch was recognized by SON with the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Faculty Hero Award. She received Strong Memorial Hospital’s M.E. Clark Pioneer in Nursing Award in 2009 and the Josephine Craytor Education Award in 2012. Additionally, she was twice awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) federal nurse traineeship and received the Nurse Scholar Award from the American Nurses’ Foundation.

Karch passed away in 2019. As a tribute to her commitment to SON and the nursing profession, her children, Timothy, Mark, Cortney, and Kathryn, established the Amy Karch Memorial Scholarship Fund to provide scholarship support to nursing students. Karch’s vital impact lives on through her family including her children and ten grandchildren.

Legacy Award The Andolina Family

Elaine Andolina, MS, RN, was an adored SON educator, mentor, and friend. For nearly 20 years, she was the director of admissions at SON, leading recruitment efforts and welcoming prospective students.

Andolina began her career at SON in 1996, serving as an admissions counselor and recruitment coordinator. In 1999, she joined the teaching faculty and was named director of admissions. In 2005, she was promoted to assistant professor. In 2007, Andolina co-directed the Accelerated

Programs for Non-Nurses and helped to significantly increase enrollment at SON. Andolina earned a bachelor of science in nursing from Georgetown University and a master of science in nursing from SON. In 2013, Andolina received the SON Professional Advancement Award. In 2014, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing presented her with their Graduate Nursing Admissions Professionals Annual Award for Extraordinary Service. She received the Leadership Award from the New York Organization of Nurse Executives, the SON Faculty Hero Award, and the GEM Mentor Award from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Andolina passed away in 2019. As a tribute to her dedication, the Elaine Andolina Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to provide scholarship support to nursing students. Andolina’s contributions to SON live on through her family including her husband, Dr. John R. Andolina, children, Jeffrey, Mark, and Carrie, and 12 grandchildren.

Dean’s Medal (2019) Harriet Kitzman, PhD, RN, FAAN An internationally celebrated and accomplished researcher, nurse, and mentor, Harriet Kitzman, PhD, RN, FAAN, was awarded the Dean’s Medal before passing away in March 2020.

Kitzman developed the pediatric nurse practitioner program at the University of Rochester and was the first clinical chief/chair responsible for nursing services in the University of Rochester Medical Center and nursing education and research within the UR School of Nursing. Kitzman was also one of the key drivers in the development of the Unification Model.

From her early years of research, Kitzman’s investigations had been related to the effects of nurse home visitations for firsttime mothers and children with a prominent focus on economically disadvantaged families.

Over a 30-year research period, Kitzman found that nurse visits lead to healthier pregnancies, improve the health and development of children, and help at-risk families improve their self-sufficiency. Her findings had a significant impact on both individual care and health care policy, which received national recognition through the Nurse Family Partnership National Service Office and American Academy of Nursing's Edge-Runner Programs, and now serves more than 30,000 families in 42 states.

Kitzman earned a vast number of awards and accolades over her 45 years of service to the UR School of Nursing including the Rochester Business Journal Health Care Achievement award and the University Award for Lifetime Achievement in Graduate Education. She held graduate degrees from the University of Rochester and the esteemed Loretta C. Ford Professorship.

Dean’s Medal (2020) Patricia A. Chiverton, ’80N (MS), ’91W (EdD)

Patricia Chiverton, EdD, RN, FNAP, a national leader in higher education and a recognized expert in nursing entrepreneurship, was awarded the 2020 Dean's Medal. Chiverton also served as dean and professor of UR School of Nursing and vice president of Strong Health Nursing.

Under Chiverton’s leadership as the dean, UR School of Nursing added many new and enhanced educational programs, completed a successful $20 million capital campaign, and constructed a new education wing. Chiverton also advanced the UR School of Nursing’s National Institutes of Health ranking among national nursing schools.

Chiverton’s unique sense of entrepreneurship led to the development of the Center for Nursing Entrepreneurship to cultivate businesses and services to fill niches in the health care market and foster new opportunities for nursing professionals.

Chiverton’s academic work has been published in more than 20 national peer-reviewed journals, and recognized through numerous awards. She was named a Fellow of the National Academy of Practice and received the Excellence in Leadership Award from the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.

John N. Wilder Award The Patrick P. Lee Foundation The Wilder Award honors an individual, family, corporation or foundation for philanthropic leadership which inspires an “Ever Better” world. The award was given to the Patrick P. Lee Foundation, which created a scholarship for students from Western New York to earn a psychiatric nurse practitioner degree at the UR School of Nursing.

As a means to decrease the mental health professional shortage, the scholarship expands access to the UR School of Nursing’s online Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program to individuals from more rural parts of the Western New York region who wish to pursue mental health degrees while remaining in their communities.

A philanthropist at heart, Patrick P. Lee’s passion for education and mental health have earned several awards: Philanthropist of the Year by Association of Fundraising Professionals of the Western New York Chapter; induction into St. Louis University’s Smurfit-Stone Entrepreneurial Alumni Hall of Fame, and later, the Alumni Merit Award; and the Horatio Alger Award given by the Association of Distinguished Americans for individuals who demonstrate personal initiative, leadership, and the importance of higher education.

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Necessity Sparks Acceleration of Educational Innovation School leveraged technology, experiential learning methods to bolster academic offerings despite pandemic disruptions For years, a core component of the University of Rochester School of Nursing’s Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses (ABPNN) involved sending students out into the greater Rochester area to get their first community health experience. Assigned to work with the school’s many community partners, they fanned out across the city where they often encountered patients challenged by the social determinants of health, such as racism, poverty, literacy, and transportation.

The community health component of NUR 377, the advanced medical-surgical nursing course, was both among the most challenging and most impactful experiences in a student’s 12-month undergraduate journey.

But in the spring of 2020, the school’s academic leadership team knew that big changes were necessary for the course.

And they had to happen fast.

As COVID-19 began to surge throughout the country, shutdowns began to take effect, travel was restricted, and faceto-face interactions were discouraged. If COVID disruptions meant students were unable to go out into the Rochester community, they would miss out on a meaningful portion of their education.

Rochester would have to come to them.

In a matter of weeks, faculty and members of the school’s Educational Innovation Team (EdIT) did just that.

With students starting the summer semester from their homes – some as far away as California – EdIT transformed the course, developing synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous (on-demand) content that allowed students to replicate the in-person experience of past semesters. From thousands of miles away, UR Nursing students could explore Rochester neighborhoods using interactive maps and windshield surveys (iPad videos taken while driving city streets that catalog the shops and services available to residents in a particular area). They accessed the lived experiences of residents by interviewing CEOs and program directors on video calls. And they sharpened their skills by simulating telehealth visits through remote interactions with standardized patients.

Flipping the community health component on its head was a massive undertaking, but much of the groundwork for the transition had been laid before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19. Over the past few years, the School of Nursing had already made strategic investments in its education tech-

30 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

nology infrastructure and had begun to implement changes to curricula and the methods in which students were educated. The stewards of the school’s educational mission placed a greater emphasis on student engagement, leveraging technology, and the further integration of clinical and classroom experiences.

“We had already been preparing the workforce for a changing environment, and the pandemic served as an accelerant to that,” said Lydia Rotondo, DNP, RN, CNS, FNAP, associate dean for education and student affairs. “That’s the silver lining of COVID-19. It accelerated and pushed us to more fully implement our innovations.”

That was particularly true of NUR 377, where the biggest changes were implemented in a matter of two to three weeks.

“We really needed to creatively identify alternate learning experiences,” Rotondo said. “We leveraged everything we had to make this work, and the efforts – large and small – of our faculty were remarkable.”

“We had to pivot so quickly we couldn’t do everything we wanted to do all at once. But we were able to bring the Rochester community to wherever our students were and then further refine that experience for the fall semester,” added Tara Serwetnyk, MS, RN, NPD-BC, a teaching associate and the education innovation coordinator for the school. “We took something that was already good and made it better.”

“What really stands out to me is that we ate, slept, and breathed this for about two weeks,” said Kaitlyn Burke, MNE, RN, CCRN-CNE-cl, instructor of clinical nursing and member of EdIT. “Everything really came together nicely considering what little time we had to put it together, but it has continued to evolve and expand.”

The makeover of NUR 377 was just one example of how the school – hastened by the pandemic – has re-imagined its academic environment due to the expanding literature on best practices for student learning and course design, as well as evolving educational requirements for nurses to effectively practice in complex and collaborative environments.

While the school’s academic programs were never put on hold, students shifted out of the in-person classroom setting back in March. Instruction was delivered remotely for classroom courses, but most labs and clinical training continued in person, though in smaller sizes. Helen Wood Hall saw its

maximum capacity cut by 75 percent and student gathering places such as the student lounge, atrium and Evarts Lounge were closed, while some classrooms, meeting rooms, and other public spaces were reconfigured to ensure appropriate physical distancing.

Faced with these obstacles, the school’s faculty, instructional designers, and simulation experts drew heavily on its iROC (Redefining Our Classroom) program, which focuses on optimizing technology to foster student engagement through an active and collaborative approach to education.

Developed in 2018, it places a strong emphasis on hands-on learning and using digital tools such as iPads, video-conferencing, and simulation to facilitate learning, enhance critical-thinking skills, and improve clinical judgment.

The revised community health component of NUR 377, which still immerses students in a community organization but gives them different tools with which to understand it, perfectly embodies the school’s shift in academic philosophy.

While health care professionals were learning to navigate technologies in order to help treat their patients through telehealth, so too were UR Nursing students. Telehealth visits in NUR 377 allowed students to triage standardized patients who presented themselves as being COVID-positive in a safe environment where their occasional mistakes could do no harm. That simulation experience was invaluable, said Megan Su, ’20N, an August ABPNN grad, who is now a COVID-19 case investigator in California.

“Never did I imagine I would be in a position where I would be tracing and investigating the spread of COVID in the community and applying my knowledge and experience from my Community Health course to provide resources and guidance to patients diagnosed with COVID,” she said. “All the trials and tribulations of 2020 serve as a reminder that we’re not alone, we’re resilient, and we’re stronger together. I feel so lucky and grateful to be in the nursing profession, and I couldn’t have done it without the guidance of my amazing instructors at UR.” “One of the great things from my perspective was that students not only learned more about the community, but they were also exposed to telehealth visits, which are relatively new for health care in general, but really new to nursing,” Burke said. “It really gave students a great opportunity to talk and work with patients in a secure setting.”

Many of the enhancements ushered in by the pandemic will remain part of the curriculum moving forward. UR Nursing faculty have built longstanding relationships with dozens of community partners across local counties, and when it is safe to do so, they’ll resume the process of embedding students in those organizations. But, recognizing the shift health care is taking from hospital-based care to community-based

care, the School of Nursing is also working on developing a community health course for the beginning of the accelerated program and integrating community health material in all courses across three semesters, rather than back-loading all of the content into a culminating course at the end of the year.

“We’re itching to get students back into the community – we don’t want to take that away from them,” said Serwetnyk, noting that these experiential learning opportunities will benefit students long after the current crisis wanes.

“There’s still a lot of value in what we created.”

Megan Su, an August 2020 graduate of the Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses who is now a COVID-19 case investigator in California, is one of the students who directly benefited from some of the innovative curricular changes that expanded out of necessity during the pandemic.

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UR Nursing Students

to Help Community’s COVID-19 Efforts When the University of Rochester School of Nursing switched to remote learning and most of the students’ clinical hours and jobs were put on hold at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Andrew Wolf, EdD, MS, RN, ACNP-C, director of educational effectiveness and assistant professor of clinical nursing, sensed an opportunity.

He emailed UR Nursing graduate students asking if they’d be willing to help the Monroe County Health Department’s COVID-19 relief efforts.

Wolf received an overwhelming number of responses. Within a few hours, more than 40 students offered to volunteer their time and knowledge to aid others.

One of the volunteers, Kathleen Mullaney, RN, had just eloped with her then-fiancé in a Texas courthouse where they exchanged vows and $10 Walmart rings while their families watched on Zoom. The couple had planned to marry in Rochester in June, but decided to forego a larger ceremony and reception for the well-being of their loved ones.

A student in the combined Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) to Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, Mullaney had temporarily relocated to Texas because that’s where her husband was stationed, and because her current employer, St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center, had closed its doors to patients due to state-mandated guidelines.

Although she was living more than 1,000 miles away from Rochester, Mullaney answered the public’s questions submitted through Monroe County’s COVID19 phone hotline and designated email account. She and other volunteers were provided access to the county’s secure system where the emails and phone calls were collected. Volunteers were responsible for answering each question based on their expertise, research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s website, and other validated resources.

“I have a really deep connection with the Rochester community. I want to make sure things are going well, and that I’m at least part of the solution,” Mullaney said. “Having these conversations, even though I’m far away, is important to me.

“It eases our anxieties, but it also helps the community and the department of health who are most likely feeling overwhelmed. Educating and helping others through hard times is in our nature and, for some, volunteering helps provide a sense of normalcy.”

While Mullaney was staying connected to Rochester from across the country, Tom Bonfiglio, who was halfway through the one-year Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses (ABPNN), couldn’t have been closer to the city’s COVID19 front line.

Monroe County’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) solicited nurses and student nurses to administer COVID-19 screenings, deliver isolation and quarantine instructions, provide wellness checks on isolated patients, and drop off sanitation supplies to patients in home isolation. When he wasn’t studying, Bonfiglio donned PPE and joined this group of volunteers.

For Bonfiglio, these visits were not unfamiliar. His EMS experience spans over 25 years and has no borders. Prior to enrolling at the UR School of Nursing last year, he had worked as regional director for American Medical Response and 32 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

Mullaney

Bonfiglio

Wheeler

as a subject matter expert for EMS and fire protection services in Bolivia and Kenya. Even as a student in the ABPNN program, Bonfiglio continued to work part time as a paramedic for Wayne County Advanced Life Support.

Due to his experience, Bonfiglio was tapped by OEM to provide leadership and guidance to nursing personnel unfamiliar with working in the community setting.

Before the volunteer opportunity, Bonfiglio said, “The hardest part was being home when everyone was helping the cause. It was very difficult for me to just sit doing school work. I think it was the guilt and stress that finally pushed me to do something.

This is what we’re cut out to do, isn’t it?”

Taylor Wheeler, RN, a student in UR Nursing’s Adult-Geriatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner program, is a nurse on Strong Memorial Hospital’s bone marrow transplant floor. She said one of the biggest challenges the pandemic presents is in the bone marrow transplant ward, where patients are among the most immunocompromised populations in the hospital.

“My unit has been struggling with how to keep these patients safe from the virus and how to limit potential exposure,” Wheeler said. “We’ve had to ban all visitors from seeing their loved ones in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus. It’s taken its toll on our patients.”

On top of her work and school responsibilities, Wheeler volunteered at the recommendation of her professors who supported creative ways for students to gain clinical hours during the pandemic.

“When I saw there was a need for people to make phone calls to the community, I jumped right in. I wanted to share my knowledge and understanding of the virus with others who don’t understand it.”

Like Mullaney, Wheeler was a respondent on the Monroe County Health Department triage line, but Wheeler was designated a team leader.

“As the team leader, I help decide who will answer which calls and how we will divide the work. I also take on difficult questions, and advise my colleagues on how to answer them,” Wheeler said.

“Unfortunately, we don't always have the answers to some of the questions. So much is still unknown about this virus.”

Rochester Black Nurses Association Joins Coalition Providing Care to Communities of Color Nursing students were not the only ones volunteering their time to serve the Rochester area. In early spring, the Rochester Black Nurses Association (RBNA) teamed up with the Black Physicians Network of Greater Rochester and other public health organizations to form “Community Fighting COVID.” The group was formed to address the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on communities of color in Monroe County.

According to data collected at the end of October from the Emerging Infections Program at the Center for Community Health and Prevention at the UR Medical Center and adjusted for age, Black Rochester residents contracted the virus at three times the rate of white residents. The primary reason for the racial discrepancy is because of deep-rooted social and economic inequalities, reminiscent of the HIV epidemic, according to a paper co-authored by UR Nursing faculty and alumni (alumnus Orlando Harris ’14N [PhD] and assistant professors Mitchell Wharton, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CNS, and Natalie Leblanc, PhD, RN, MPH) and published this summer in the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. The intersections of HIV and COVID-19 disease-related stigmas and the systemic racial inequity (i.e., housing, health care access, employment, education) experienced by marginalized communities in the U.S. are directly related to the health disparities in cases and deaths related to HIV and COVID-19, write the authors.

The Rochester Black Nurses Association, which is sponsored by the UR School of Nursing and counts UR Nursing faculty and students among its members, was particularly active in offering COVID-19 pre-screenings in Black and multicultural communities. It also received a grant from the National Black Nurses Association and the Black Hollywood Education and Resource Center to assist communities affected by COVID-19.

Working with its community partners, the RBNA found that food and medication assistance were major concerns, so the organization purchased and distributed gift cards to local grocery stores, RBNA president Yvette Conyers ‘07N told the Democrat & Chronicle. RBNA nurses also met with families to answer their questions about how the virus could affect individuals with sickle cell disease.

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E R A C H T L

HEA

UR Nursing grad surprised on live TV with $100K award in recognition of his selfless work on COVID front lines Story by Ivy Burruto Photos by Steven Eloiseau

Jose Perpignan ’16N waited in front of his computer for an interview to begin one October morning, completely unaware he was moments away from winning a life-changing amount of money.

On live TV. The popular morning show “Live with Kelly and Ryan” was holding a “Healthcare Hero $100K Giveaway” contest in collaboration with SoFi, a digital finance company, to recognize health care professionals for their work on the front lines during the pandemic. Perpignan knew his friend, Erika Hunt, had nominated him for the prize, but he thought producers were reaching out to clarify some of the information submitted about him.

Then the show’s executive producer, Michael Gelman, got on the line.

“Jose is that you? Can you hear me? Can you see me?” said Gelman, feigning a poor connection over Zoom.

“Yeah, I can hear you,” replied Jose.

“I’m having a little bit of a bad connection. Hold on for one second. Let me try to fix it.”

“Jose?” asked host Ryan Seacrest, “Hey, it’s Ryan and Kelly Ripa!”

“We just thought we’d let you know that you are the winner of our Healthcare Hero $100,000 giveaway!” Ripa said excitedly.

Surprised and nervous, Perpignan thanked the show, Erika, and family members who recognized his deep commitment to the nursing profession and the community.

“I don’t know what to say! I’m so grateful to have this help.

It will put me in a space to focus more on my goals and giving back to the community, which is what I’ve dreamed 34 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

of doing for a very long time. It means so much to my family, my kids, and all of my friends. We’re just so happy!” said Perpignan.

Recognizing that health care workers were among the hardest hit during the COVID-19 crisis, SoFi teamed up with “Live with Kelly and Ryan” to award $100,000 to one doctor, nurse, or physician assistant who has made a major difference in their community. Viewers were asked to submit

my patients and family members. I start with condolences to the family, and I always touch light on the positives that I know of this person. I’ll say, ‘He went out fighting, and I know he did that with his family in his heart.’ I tried to rewrite his ending, ‘He didn’t just die from COVID-19 in the ICU, but he died because he wanted to come back to fight. He’s a hero.’”

Perpignan explained that’s why he likes working at LiveOnNY, “If a 26-year old overdosed, I tell the parents their child didn’t just die from overdosing, they saved eight lives.”

Finding His Niche in Nursing

It’s this innate sense of optimism and positivity that helped Perpignan find his true calling as a caregiver.

A Brooklyn, NY, native, Perpignan grew up in a 39-story building as the oldest of 10 children. He decided on a career in caring when his father, an emergency medical technician, brought an ambulance to his school's career day in first grade.

Perpignan attended Binghamton University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Africana studies. During college, he shadowed a few physicians and fell in love with nursing, specifically the interactions between nurses and their nominations, which were judged on many criteria, including patients and families. the impact that the individual made during the pandemic.

After graduation, he spent several years working as a patient care technician before he was accepted into the Mitigating the Effects of COVID-19 University of Rochester School of Nursing’s Accelerated Perpignan felt the sting of COVID-19 from the start. The Program for Non-Nurses. pandemic put a halt to his full-time job at LiveOnNY, an It was at the UR School of Nursing that Perpignan truly felt organ transplant organization. To continue working full time, at home. He was thankful for the school’s holistic application Perpignan picked up shifts as a care coordinator at the New review process, which identifies an applicant’s academic York-Presbyterian Hospital’s cardiothoracic intensive care unit, strengths, life experiences, and ethical character to deterwhich forced him to quarantine away from his family for 14 mine their ability to contribute to a diverse learning environdays. ment and improve the health of individuals and communities.

In addition to working 12-hour shifts at the hospital, PerThe UR School of Nursing saw Perpignan’s potential when pignan coordinated with the Greater New York City Black other schools might have overlooked him.

Nurses Association (GNYCBNA) chapter he co-founded to As a student, Perpignan always prevent the virus from hitting his Bronx neighborhood. The went out of his way to learn group picked up seniors’ prescriptions and groceries and the name of every stuprovided personal protective equipment (PPE) to those who dent in his cohort, as couldn’t leave their homes. well as the cohorts Perpignan and members of the GNYCBNA also hosted above and below virtual meetings with other Black Nurses Associations in the him. He always surrounding areas to share what to expect when the virus admired Dean hit their hospitals. They discussed how to advocate for PPE, Kathy Rideout, what politicians to contact for resources, and where to go for EdD, PPCNPemotional support.

BC, FNAP, At New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Perpignan, like many for doing the nurses, was the last person some patients saw before they same. succumbed to the virus. He remembered one particular “Dean Ridenurse who eventually tested positive for COVID-19 after he out shaped came out of retirement to work on the front line. Perpignan my mindset held up a tablet while the patient’s wife spoke her last words on what to her husband. leadership is. I When thinking of those emotional moments, Perpignan remember walksaid, “I try to be as genuine and authentic as possible with ing by her in the NURSING 2020 Volume 2 35

hallway and she said, ‘Oh, hey Jose!’ I was amazed. How can she work in the hospital, run a nursing school, and still know everyone’s name? I pride myself on becoming the type of leader Kathy is,” said Perpignan.

doctorate. The exposure of being around them opened my eyes to the resources, access, education, and plans they have. That’s what I want,” he said.

Perpignan shared his plans after he completes the program, “I want to go into education. I’m leaning more toward a cliniBeginning His DNP Journey cal professor because I’m more of a hands-on, tactile learner.

Starting in January, Perpignan will take the next step in It’s easier for me to explain things that I’ve experienced.“ his leadership journey, beginning the UR School of Nurs“When I was in my clinical, all of my preceptors were amazing’s Post-Bachelor of Science to Doctor of Nursing Practice ing and had so much knowledge. They still had to connect (DNP) program. The program is designed for nurses who the didactic aspect of it, and if that wasn’t their strength then wish to earn their DNP degree through an area of nurse prac- their strength was bedside, and I know that’s mine too. I titioner or clinical nurse leader specialty. can transfer that communication and information from the Perpignan will return to Rochester in the spring of 2022 bedside to the students,” he said. with his family to complete the clinical portion of the proPerpignan even dreams of opening a practice geared gram. He looks forward to starting this next chapter with his toward underserved communities. He wants to promote wife and two children in a new home. health and opportunity for young kids that came from neighAccording to Perpignan, it was the GNYCBNA that promptborhoods like his, who may have never seen a nurse, let ed him to advance his nursing career. “A lot of the mentors alone a male nurse. “I want to provide a platform for them within the organization have their doctorates. I’m the only as a mentor to push them in that direction, even if it’s not in one that’s on the board that doesn’t have a master’s or a nursing, but toward education in general.”

Jose Perpignan ’16N felt the sting of COVID-19 from the start, losing his full-time job at LiveOnNY, an organ transplant organization in New York City. In response, Perpignan threw himself into serving his community in other ways, including working 12-hour shifts at New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s cardiothoracic intensive care unit.

36 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

Your Gifts Make an Impact on the School of Nursing Annual Giving Every gift, every year makes an exceptional nursing education possible. Annual Fund gifts from alumni are essential to providing the very best faculty, facilities, and research opportunities.

Gifts directed to the Scholarship Annual Fund enable us to recruit the next class of promising students eager to pursue their passion for nursing at the University of Rochester.

Make your gift online

Visit www.rochester.edu/ annualfunds. To make a secure one-time contribution or set

up an automatic payment plan, click on “Give Now” and choose School of Nursing in the Gift Designation section.

We accept American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa.

Send a gift by mail

Personal checks payable to “University of Rochester School of Nursing” may be mailed to us at: University of Rochester Gift Office P.O. Box 270032 Rochester, NY 14627-0032

Make a gift in honor or memory of a loved one

Visit www.rochester.edu/ annualfunds. Make your gift online and enter the details of your tribute gift. Or select and print the Giving Form PDF, fill it out, and mail to us at the address above. Be sure to indicate your preferred method of payment, as well as the designee of your tribute gift.

Apply for a matching gift

If your business or company has a matching gift program, you can multiply the size of your

gift. Be sure to include your company’s matching gift form with your donation. To find out if your company matches gifts, contact your human resources office or visit www.rochester. edu/annualfunds.

Make a gift with securities or stocks

If you are interested in making a gift of securities, please contact (or have your broker contact) Debra Rossi in Gift and Donor Records at 585-275-3903.

Gift Planning Gift planning enables you to make a current or future gift to the School of Nursing in ways that best meet your financial and philanthropic goals for you and loved ones.

Outright Gifts Appreciated Securities Make a gift of appreciated stock or mutual funds to the school and take advantage of two tax benefits. Transfer securities, avoid capital gains tax, and enjoy a charitable deduction when you itemize on your federal tax return.

IRA Charitable Rollover Individuals 70.5 and older can make a charitable distribution directly from an Individual Retirement Account tax free.

A charitable distribution counts toward your required minimum distribution (RMD) up to $100,000 per person.

Deferred Gifts Bequests and other Testamentary Gifts A bequest to the School of Nursing is simple to accomplish and allows you to have a future

impact. A provision in your will ensures that programs you care most about are supported. You can also name the school as a beneficiary of retirement assets, life insurance, or investment accounts. Already have the school in your plans? Please let us know, so we can thank you!

Life Income Gifts Fund a charitable gift annuity and enjoy a charitable deduction today and fixed income for life for one or two beneficiaries.

Fund a charitable remainder unitrust and enjoy a charitable deduction today and variable

income for life or a term of years, for one, two or possibly more beneficiaries.

For more information about gift planning or to request sample will language or a personal life income gift illustration, contact: University of Rochester Office of Trusts, Estates & Gift Planning; 1-800-MELIORA (800-635-4672) or 585-2758894; giftplanning@rochester. edu; or visit rochester.giftplans. org.

Giving Societies We delight in recognizing our alumni and friends who have made the School of Nursing a philanthropic priority.

Dean’s Diamond Circle

Diamond Circle members play an integral role in sustaining the School of Nursing and paving

the way for its future. With the generous support of dedicated alumni and friends, the school is preparing the next generation of health care providers, educators, researchers, and leaders. Membership starts at $1,000 annually.

George Eastman Circle

The George Eastman Circle is the University of Rochester’s most impactful leadership giving society, recognizing fiveyear Annual Fund commitments of $1,500 and above to many areas of the university, including the School of Nursing.

Wilson Society

The Wilson Society illuminates the philanthropic legacy of Joe ‘31 and Peggy Wilson and celebrates those individuals who have established a gift plan or included the University in their estate.

Questions? Contact us

For more information about making a gift to support the School of Nursing, please contact Andrea J. Allen, director of advancement and alumni relations, at 800-333-4428, 585-613-2650, or andrea.allen@rochester.edu.

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 37

2020 Meliora Weekend Events Postponed Every fall, colleges and universities across the country come alive as thousands of alumni converge on their former campuses for homecoming celebrations. But how do you hold a reunion in a pandemic without encouraging people to travel and gather in close proximity to one another?

That was the dilemma facing organizers of the University of Rochester’s 2020 Meliora Weekend. As COVID-19 cases spiked causing major public health concerns, it became clear by early summer that postponing the event was the safest solution.

The University plans to move its 2020 Reunion celebrations to June 2021, with plans to return to a traditional Meliora Weekend in October 2021.

“This was not an easy decision to make, but it is the responsible one,” said Thomas Farrell ’88, ’90W, senior vice president for university advancement. “We considered several factors before making our decision. First and foremost, our campuses must be safe for our students, faculty, and staff, so that they can do the most important work of a university, which is teaching and learning.”

The University also recognized that even when physical distancing guidelines ease, it may take some time for alumni

Join the more than 7,500 members of The Meliora Collective, our innovative online platform to connect the University of Rochester community for professional and personal exploration.

Featuring advanced tools—including a job board and dozens of groups—networking and making connections has never been easier.

to feel comfortable again traveling or socializing at large gatherings.

“Ultimately, we all want to be able to connect with our classmates, have fun, and celebrate in a responsible, safe manner,” Farrell said. “The health and well being of our alumni, parents, and friends is a priority.”

Although all in-person events were postponed, the University strove to maintain its connection with alumni through virtual events. The School of Nursing hosted a robust Conversation with the Dean event in September and its Clare Dennison Lecture, previously linked to Meliora Weekend, was given during the 2020 virtual DNP Summit series of presentations.

Planning is currently underway for 2021 reunion activities.

Visit www.rochester. edu/melioraweekend for the most up-todate schedule of events.

SPECIAL GROUP: UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER SCHOOL OF NURSING Connecting School of Nursing alumni, students, and faculty—this group—aims to celebrate achievements, develop career paths in health care, and tackle the challenges of the nursing profession.

JOIN THE GROUP TODAY!

SIGN UP: THECOLLECTIVE.ROCHESTER.EDU UofR.School.of.Nursing

38 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

urnursing

UofRSON

DONOR PROFILE

Former Attorney Maintains Affection for Adopted Alma Mater Growing up in the shadow of Hobart College, Richard “Dick” Mulvey developed a healthy respect for the University of Rochester primarily by watching their athletic teams compete against the Statesmen in the fields and on the courts near his childhood home.

It would be many years before the University of Rochester would re-emerge in his life, but when it did, his respect for the place – and its people – quickly turned to affection.

Mulvey was one of six children born to parents who owned and operated a modest grocery store in Geneva. Two of his brothers would eventually take over the family business, but Dick Mulvey knew early on that he would take a different path. He worked for the telephone company while in high school and rejoined the company after he returned from a three-year stint in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. But he resigned from the phone company in protest when he learned that a newly hired college graduate was making the same amount of money as he was with seven years’ experience.

Mulvey had always liked to argue, and the idea of being a lawyer had long appealed to him. He decided to study pre-law at Niagara University and the University at Buffalo, then enrolled at Albany Law School because, he said, all the lawyers in Geneva were Albany grads.

Admitted to the bar in 1961, Mulvey started practicing in Geneva then built a distinguished career as an attorney and judge in Ithaca over the next four decades.

In the meantime, Mulvey married School of Nursing alumna Ann Marshall Gugino ’55N in 1982. She remained involved with the school, and Dick began to accompany her at reunion events. Soon he developed his own appreciation for her classmates, the school, and its mission.

“She was a very loyal graduate,” said Mulvey. “She invited me along on reunions, and she had lovely fellow students.

They were wonderful people. And all the administration and faculty were also wonderful. We really enjoyed the times we spent with them.”

After her graduation, Ann began her nursing career in Buffalo, working first in the emergency room, then in obstetrics. She then became a school nurse in Geneva, where she would stay for many years before marrying Dick and moving to Ithaca. After she retired as a school nurse, she became an office manager for a plastic surgeon.

“She owed it all to the UR School of Nursing,” Mulvey said.

When Ann died of cancer in 2008, Dick set about honoring her memory and her connection with her alma mater, which they both had come to love. He established in her memory the Ann Marshall Mulvey ’55 Nursing Endowed Scholarship to help prospective nurses receive the same educational and career benefits and opportunities that Ann had.

“I felt that some of these kids were talented and worthy

of graduating from the UR School of Nursing, but lacked the funds to afford it. I was hoping the income from the fund would pay for their expenses,” said Mulvey, who was honored with the school’s Legacy Award in 2013. “I know they’ll get a wonderful education here.”

Now 91 and living in Florida, Mulvey has made education the centerpiece of his giving strategy. He supports his old law school as well as colleges as far away as Wyoming, Kentucky, and Virginia. He also continues to invest in the UR School of Nursing. In fact, he recently doubled the size of Ann’s scholarship fund.

“As time goes on, I may be able to increase it even more,” he said. “I don’t have any children. I might as well contribute and see the benefit while I’m alive.”

Dick Mulvey was in his 50s when he married Ann Marshall Gugino ’55N in 1982, but he quickly came to share her affection for her alma mater. After she passed away in 2008, Dick created an endowed scholarship at the UR School of Nursing in her memory.

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 39

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The Road is Waiting Three women pause for a photo before they embark on a bus in this undated file photo labeled “54 & 56 Bus Trip.” Do you recognize these faces or know where they might have been headed? If you think you have the details, let us know by commenting on the post with this photo pinned to the top of our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/UofRSchoolofNursing).

2020 Volume 1 Photo Update Janice Boase ’74N was the first to recognize that these smiling students on the lawn of Helen Wood Hall were members of the Class of 1974, who had just graduated. Elizabeth Clark Greenlee ’74N identified the graduates as (from left to right): herself, Anne Rath, Carol Beth McDonald, Mary Elizabeth Keenan, and Patricia Jackson. Boase also identified the student off to the far right as MaryPat Downey.

40 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

ALUMNI PROFILE

When Preparation Meets Opportunity

Brian Graves ’96N, ’01N (MS), ’12N golden opportunity. In 2016, he (PhD) always had a deep love for the was offered the chance to be University of Rochester. You don’t Tampa General Hospital’s first direcgraduate three times from a school tor of advanced practice. In his four you’re ambivalent about. But when years in that role, he has created an Graves reached a crossroads in his organizational and support structure career, he let fate – and the real estate for more than 500 advanced market – be his guide. practice providers (APPs) employed Graves completed his PhD at the UR by or credentialed to practice at the School of Nursing in 2012. That same hospital. year, he was part of the entire IT team “I’m humbled to have such a honored with the University’s Meliora great team of APPs that I get to Award for his part leading an interprorepresent, support, advocate for, fessional team implementing EPIC, a and provide that organizational new electronic medical record system empowerment that they didn’t have at Strong and Highland hospitals, before,” Graves said. “Having the and he moved his young family into a opportunity to come in to Tampa beautiful new home.

General and build this from scratch, Life was good in Rochester. But, it really was too good to pass up. an offer from the University of South It’s one of the things I’m most Florida (USF) had him seriously considproud of in my career.” ering leaving Graves’ the university connection to “Having the opportunity and his lifelong the Universihome. USF’s ty of Rochesto come in to Tampa nursing school General and build this from ter started as had recruited an undergrad at scratch, it really him to be Hartwick College, was too good to pass up. assistant dean where he maof the master’s jored in biology It’s one of the things I’m program and to with a minor in most proud of in my career. ” help launch the chemistry. He school’s new landed a summer Doctor of Nursing Practice program. internship doing research at the UR Graves had spent the last two decades pediatric oncology program, which led with the University of Rochester as a to his first job as a lab tech in infectious student, educator, and clinician, but he disease in the UR Department of couldn’t see a clear path into leadership Medicine. But then his career took a – at least not in the near future. USF’s sharp turn in another direction. offer would change that immediately.

“I thought that’s what I wanted to do, Still, Graves hesitated. Unsure which but I applied to med school and didn’t direction to take, he decided he would get in,” Graves said. “Then I walked let the market decide. He told USF he across the street one day and was would take the job, but only if he could introduced to Dr. Michael Ackerman. I sell his house without taking a loss. had a great conversation with him that He got his price in five days. day. He asked me if I ever considered “I said to my wife and kids, ‘I guess nursing, and he’s been a mentor to me we’re going to Tampa!’” ever since.”

Graves spent the next four years at In his first course as a nursing student, USF before he came across another Graves soon found another trusted

Photographer: Daniel Wallace

Serendipity, UR education lead alumnus Brian Graves to success in an unlikely place

advisor in Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNPBC, FNAP, who was then an assistant professor of clinical nursing. Graves credits her with being one of the strongest influences on him throughout every step of his career, and to this day, he continues to consult with her and other UR Nursing mentors for guidance.

Graves also continues to call on the lessons he learned in the classroom. In particular, the points to the first course he took as a PhD student – Epistemology, taught by Sally Norton, PhD, RN, FNAP, FPCN, FAAN and Mary Dombeck, PhD, DMin, LMFT, LMHC – as being a game-changer for him.

“It’s the best course I’ve ever taken.

I think differently because of that course,” he said. “They really challenged you to think in different ways.

It hurts your brain to do that, but it definitely made me a better practitioner, leader, and a better person.“

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 41

CLASS NOTES

1950s Jo Anne Duke ’52, ’53N writes, “I am living in a retirement home in Florida. I am sitting here looking out on Wares Creek, which runs into the Manatee River, out into Sarasota Bay and on out to the Gulf of Mexico. I see lots of mullet jumping, and sometimes manatees and dolphins.

With the virus all around, we can’t do all our usual activities, and we have to wear masks when we go out of our rooms.

The worst thing is, we can’t have visitors. Our food gets delivered, and it is not as good as mine, but good. We have a special TV program with all sorts of activities and movies every night. I get to use some of my nursing knowledge occasionally. I am learning a lot about Parkinson’s. I had no idea it came in so many varieties. Sending good wishes to all of you.”

Anna Daniel Bradshaw ’56N has retired and moved to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, with her husband, Alfred.

1960s Marilyn Robinson Cline Whiting ’59, ’60N shares that she and her husband, John K. Whiting, recently moved from their beloved golf community in Hilton Head to a retirement community outside of Atlanta. She writes, “In spite of COVID-19 we are finding lots to do and enjoy being pampered and safe.”

1970s Martha Kleinerman ’73N, a 42 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

women’s health nurse practitioner for more than 40 years, became a full-time COVID-19 contact tracing investigator for the District of Columbia’s Department of Health in June.

She previously served nine years as an NP, associate nurse leader at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Massachusetts.

Carol (Buttenschon) Feeney ’76N retired as an RN at Willows Pediatrics in January 2019, but writes that’s she’s been busier than ever. “Moved to Abington, Pennsylvania, from our home of 33 years in New Canaan, Connecticut.

Older house, so there is lots to do. Try to spend time with my 3-year-old granddaughter Emmet who lives in Norwich, Connecticut, with my daughter Colleen and her husband Ed. Would not miss her growing up.” She invites friends and alumni in the area to visit if they’re in the Philadelphia area.

Andrea Bourquin Ryan ’77N retired after 43 years at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. Ryan shares that she plans to spend more time traveling in the future.

Jennifer (Shea) Mott ’79N writes, “I retired from nursing after a 40-year career, the last 33 years as an Emergency Department RN in a community ER. Over the years I was able to mentor many students, including RN students, PAs, EMTs, and medical students. Currently retired, I serve on my town’s Community Emergency Response Team. My husband John Mott (class of 1979) and I enjoy traveling and time with our family.”

1980s Margo Sinderson Gaylor ’80N recently celebrated 40 years in the Intensive Care Unit at Strong Memorial Hospital. Gaylor informs us that her colleagues threw a party in her honor with lots of gifts, including her old nursing uniform encased in glass.

1990s Jennifer Simpson ’92N (MS) was named president and chief executive officer of Sun BioPharma, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing disruptive therapeutics for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer, in July. She was also named to the board of directors of the Minneapolis-based company. She brings more than two decades of public company executive and fundraising experience in oncology drug development and commercialization to the role. She previously served as CEO of Delcath Systems, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company. Simpson holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University at Buffalo, a master’s degree from the UR School of Nursing, and a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh.

Kimberly Ellis ’93N completed her master’s degree in nursing education from Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus.

John R. Parker ’96N (MS) updates us that he is now the Traveling Nurse CNO/Director at Kirby Bates Associates in Windsor, Connecticut. Parker earned his master’s degree in psychiatric and mental health nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing.

2000s Keith Sutton ’06N (MS) graduated from Chatham University in May 2019 with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. Sutton has owned his own pain practice in Anthem, Arizona, since 2014.

Stephanie Chalupa ’07N has been appointed senior director of certified home health agency services at UR Medicine Home Care (URMHC). She took on the new role in August after compiling years of experience as a clinician, clinical manager, and most recently, as director of certified home health agency services in the Finger Lakes at URMHC. In addition to her bachelor’s in nursing, she has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Concordia University in Montreal and is currently working toward her master’s in health care management and leadership at the UR School of Nursing.

Peggy Compton ’81, ’82N Peggy Compton, PhD, RN, FAAN, the van Ameringen Chair in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing and an associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, was inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.

Compton was one of 19 new members honored by Sigma Theta Tau International at its 31st International Nursing Research Congress in July.

Compton's work is grounded in her neuropsychiatric nursing practice in addiction and pain treatment settings, and involves the testing and refinement of a novel nursing theory that pain and opioid addiction are interrelated phenomena co-expressed in unique human life responses. Compton has established herself as an expert in identifying opioid abuse and addiction in chronic pain patients, opioid-induced hyperalgesia in patients on chronic opioid therapy, and has made significant contributions to the fields of addiction and pain.

Her experience working in several public treatment settings, coupled with her extensive research and publication on pain and opioids, has helped to establish methods to detect alterations in pain responses in patients on opioid therapy and identify substance use disorders and addiction in chronic pain

patients on ongoing analgesic therapy. Determining whether patients are taking their opioid medications appropriately, and aggressively treating addiction should it present, are critical to effective pain care, but often challenging for the primary care clinician. She has been instrumental in developing tools that utilize foundational assessment categories such as family/ personal history of addiction, psychiatric disorders, and opioid use patterns, to assess for the presence of substance use disorders.

“I am honored to receive this most prestigious award, which represents a pinnacle in the career of a nurse scientist,” Compton said. “Not only does it reflect the importance of nursing research in addressing critical public health issues, but also the profession's commitment to meeting the needs of vulnerable, underserved and sometimes stigmatized patient populations, such as those with addiction and pain.”

Compton earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Rochester, an MS from Syracuse University, and a PhD from New York University. She also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in substance use disorders at the University of California at Los Angeles.

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 43

CLASS NOTES Jason Land ’07N (MS) recently accepted the position of safety and security manager for the City of Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities after 12 years of work in Wyoming state government. In September 2018, Land graduated from the Wyoming Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program and became a nationally Certified Public Manager. He and his wife, Rachel, celebrated their third wedding anniversary in July.

2010s Alyssa Jacek ’15N, ’20N (MS) informs us that she and her husband, Bryan Jacek, were recently selected by Adopt Together, an adoption fundraising organization, as a “COVID-19 Frontline Family” for their #GivingTuesdayNow campaign. The Jaceks were highlighted on the organization’s social media accounts and the organization graciously matched $5,000 in donations towards the couple’s domestic newborn adoption journey. “We are so grateful to have been supported in this way and are one step closer to bringing a little one into our family,” said Jacek.

“Nursing and my work in the Highly Infectious Disease Unit helped to make this blessing possible.”

44 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

William Smith ’15N recently joined Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s ExpressCare and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Putnam Physicians.

Smith had previously worked as a gastroenterology nurse at the University of Tennessee Medical Center and as a registered nurse in the pediatric post-anesthesia care unit at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

He earned his master’s degree in nursing from the University of Tennessee in 2018 and is certified by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Amanda (Szczepanski) Welter ’16N and her husband Thomas Welter ’18N welcomed a son, Thomas Henry, on Nov. 23, 2019. The family lives in Rochester, where Amanda and Thomas are nurses at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Kristin Lybarger ’19N is a registered nurse for Modoc County Public Health. She lives in Alturas, California.

2020s Brynne Underhill ’20N (MS) joined the urology department at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, New Hampshire. Underhill previously worked as a registered nurse at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

Yvette Conyers ’07N Yvette Conyers ‘07N, a leading figure in the establishment of the Rochester Black Nurses Association (RBNA), has been recognized by the national organization as a 2020 40 and Under awardee.

She was one of nine nurses to be honored as rising stars by the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) at its virtual annual conference on Sept. 26.

The 40 and Under awards recognize NBNA members who have made significant contributions in the field of nursing.

Conyers was also selected as a 2020 Forty Under 40 honoree by the Rochester Business Journal. The RBJ awards recognize Rochester area residents who have achieved professional success and who have also made significant civic contributions to the community.

Conyers, an assistant professor of nursing at St. John Fisher College, has been a registered nurse since 2003 and a nurse practitioner since 2013.

She earned her doctor of nursing practice degree in 2018. As a faculty member at the UR School of Nursing, Conyers was instrumental in the formation of the Rochester chapter of the Black Nurses Association in 2018. She currently serves as president of the RBNA.

Shari McDonald ’08N Shari McDonald, RN, MS, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, was one of 25 honorees recognized with 2020 Women of Influence Awards presented by Buffalo Business First.

The awards, celebrating the contributions by women to businesses and communities in the Buffalo area, were presented at a virtual ceremony on Sept. 15. McDonald was nominated in the nonprofit leadership category.

McDonald has more than 20 years of experience in the field and joined Mercy as vice president and CNO in 2015. She previously worked as the senior nursing director for emergency services at Rochester General Hospital. She was 2019 chairperson of the American Heart Association Go Red for Women campaign, serves on the boards of the Western New York Professional Nurses Association, HEF/ACHE, Connect Life, and New York Organization for Nurse Executives. McDonald is president of the Western New York Organization for Nurse Executives and past president of the Finger Lakes Organization for Nurse Executives.

She earned her associate degree in nursing from Genesee Community College and earned her bachelor’s degree from the UR School of Nursing. She received a master’s degree in nursing with an emphasis on leadership in health care systems from Grand Canyon University.

Recognize someone outstanding today!

The University of Rochester School of Nursing recognizes the achievements of School of Nursing alumni through the alumni awards program. Awards are presented annually at the School of Nursing’s signature event, the Dean’s Diamond Circle dinner. This year’s virtual celebration will be Wednesday, April 14, 2021. All School of Nursing alumni, faculty, staff, and friends are encouraged to nominate SON graduates for the 2022 awards listed below: •

Established in 1984, the Distinguished Alumna/Alumnus Award recognizes a graduate whose exceptional professional achievements, contributions to one’s chosen field, and service to the School of Nursing have brought honor to the individual and to the University of Rochester.

•

Established in 2013, the Humanitarian Award honors a graduate whose work as a practictioner, administrator, volunteer, or researcher has had a profound impact on those most in need.

son.rochester.edu/alumni/deans-diamond.html NURSING 2020 Volume 2 45

Dean’s Diamond Circle members play an integral role in sustaining the School of Nursing. With leadership-level support from dedicated alumni and friends, the school is preparing the next generation of health care providers, educators, and researchers.

Membership starts at $1,000 annually.

Members of the Dean’s Diamond Circle are recognized annually at the School of Nursing’s signature event, the Dean’s Diamond Circle dinner. This year’s celebration will be held virtually on April 14, 2021.

For information on supporting the School of Nursing through Dean’s Diamond Circle membership, contact Andrea Allen, Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations, at andrea.allen@rochester.edu or 585-276-4336.

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IN MEMORIAM

Word has reached us of the passing of the following alumni and friends. The School of Nursing expresses its sympathy to their loved ones.

Alicia (Parker) Anderson ’46N Aug. 22, 2020, Ontario, NY

Thelma (Smith) Ludwig ’45, ’46N Jan. 28, 2020, Williamson, NY

Leslie Shearing ’62N Nov. 2, 2019, Gainesville, NY

Joan (Brainard) Bacon ’55N April 30, 2020, Guilderland, NY

Evelyn Lutz '55N (DPL), '63N (BS) Nov. 21, 2020, Elmira, NY

Harriet Shulman ’44N Feb. 27, 2020, Rochester, NY

Diane Dee Bennett ’72N (MS) Oct. 21, 2019, Victor, NY

Marilyn McElwee ’52N March 2, 2020, Canandaigua, NY

Elizabeth (Weterrings) Smith ’50N Jan. 9, 2020, Pittsford, NY

Paula (Bollinger) Brown ’61N July 10, 2020, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Carrie Irene Moore LaPiana ’93N Feb. 23, 2020, Naples, FL

Patricia Ann St. Martin ’95N (MS) March 23, 2020, Rochester, NY

Carole (Markley) Morris ’58N Aug. 15, 2020, Farmington, NY

Sandra J. Sundeen ’61, ’66N Oct. 15, 2019, Severna Park, MD

Mary Muscatella ’49N May 25, 2016, Rochester, NY

Suzanne Elizabeth Tatro ’72N (MS) Jan. 23, 2020, Charlotte, NC

Barbara (Longstaff) Outterson ’51N, ’83N (MS) Nov. 28, 2019, Rochester, NY

Janet (Goldsworthy) Upchurch ’46N Nov. 14, 2014, Newburgh, NY

Adrienne (Draper) Brown ’48N Dec. 13, 2019, Phoenix, AZ Jeanette (Marvin) Brown ’57N Nov. 6, 2019, Dade City, FL Margaret (Piper) Bushey ’62N, ’71, ’92N (MS) March 9, 2020, Rochester, NY Ann (Sheppard) Carey Benedict ’53N July 13, 2020, Atlanta, GA Shirley J. (Winfield) Doolittle ’53, ’54N Feb. 29, 2020, Columbus, OH Winifred R. Fenner-Taylor ’71N Jan. 2, 2020, Bluffton, SC

Jean Upton Pelham ’53N Oct. 23, 2019, Delmar, NY Rosalie Rapkin ’56N July 20, 1995, Penfield, NY Cheryl Elizabeth Robinson ’94N (MS) June 22, 2020, Las Vegas, NV

Caroline (Blackwell) Gale ’46N Aug. 12, 2020, Littleton, NH

Patricia Frances (Coniglio) Roche ’88N (MS) July 28, 2020, Rochester, NY

Nancy E. Godshall ’53N March 23, 2020, Rochester, NY

Joan Marie Rossi ’88N (MS) July 31, 2020, Painted Post, NY

Diantha J. (Chesnutt) Granger ’54, ’55N May 25, 2020, Petaluma, CA

Sandra Saturn ’62N Aug. 20, 2020, Tucker, GA

Raleigh Jane Hess Klein ’66N July 4, 2020, Oakland, CA

Janet (Eddy) Scala ’55N Aug. 31, 2020, Willow Street, PA

Jacqueline (Wrzosek) Kuczkowski ’67N (MS) Aug. 26, 2020, Akron, OH

Gail (Robyn) Seeley ’55N March 13, 2020, Andover, MA

Marilyn (Morrow) Shaw ’50, ’51N Berenice (McAusland) Lambie ’46, ’47N June 22, 2020, Wall Township, NJ Dec. 22, 2012, Syracuse, NY

Agnes Veness ’49N Dec. 28, 2019, Greece, NY Ruth Anna (Fischer) Warburton ’59, ’64N Jan. 19, 2020, Elizabethtown, PA Jane (Curtiss) Watkin ’44. ’45N May 14, 2020, Rochester, NY Marilyn Ruth Weissend ’75N (MS) March 10, 2020, Webster, NY Jean Wendell ’43N Dec. 23, 2019, Williamsburg, VA Nancy (Meier) Weymouth ’58N Oct. 5, 2019, Binghamton, NY Wilburetta “Micki” Wilder ’48N Jan. 1, 2020, Syracuse, NY E. Jane (Stevens) Wolfe ’61N June 3, 2020, Seneca Castle, NY Frances (Cordwell) Woods ’48N Dec. 21, 2019, Annapolis, MD Barbara Jane Zalkind ’68, ’68N May 24, 2017, Philadelphia, PA NURSING 2020 Volume 2 47

Your classmates want to know your news!

Did you receive a promotion?

Move to a new city? Publish your research findings?

Email us at sonalumni@admin.rochester.edu or visit urson.us/SONalumninews to share your news and get it published in NURSING magazine.

Information Update Have you moved or changed your email address, or do you have news you want to share with School of Nursing alumni and friends? Fill out the form below and mail it back to us at School of Nursing Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations, Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni and Advancement Center, P.O. Box 278996, Rochester, NY 14627-8996. Or submit your news online at urson.us/SONalumninews Today’s date _ _ /_ _ / 20 _ _  This is new information which I’ve not submitted before.  Please publish my news in NURSING magazine.

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)

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Occupation Employer Family information (Spouse, children names)

Here is my news

48 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

,

Let s do this.

It’s about everyone pitching in.

It’s about helping our students and graduates find internships and jobs. It’s about promoting equity and access. And it’s about communicating how important our network of alumni, volunteers, and friends is to our future. This year, we hope to raise $100 million to fund scholarships, research, faculty projects, and other critical initiatives.

Together for Rochester rochester.edu/together

#TogetherForRochester

Together for Rochester is a one-year campaign to make life better for the University of Rochester community and for the world.

NURSING 2020 Volume 2 49

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Parting Shot Eye in the Sky: What to do when you can’t line up shoulder to shoulder for a class photo?

Call in a drone and spread out on the lawn of the Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni and Advancement Center. Members of the August ABPNN cohort capped off an unexpected year of nursing school by posing for an unusual class pic captured via drone after their physically distant pinning ceremony on Aug. 26.

50 NURSING 2020 Volume 2

Photo by Matt Wittmeyer