Friends raise a glass together
Campus honors many at 2017 dinner
Before the holidays became too chaotic, alumni, students, faculty and staff from UIC Nursing-Quad Cities gathered for an evening of good wine and great conversation. “Wine Down,” the first social networking event of the school year, took place on Nov. 13, 2017, at Grape Life Wine Storage and Lounge in Davenport, IA. Friends gathered to sip, nosh and enjoy rejuvenating chair massages. If you missed it, keep an eye on nursing.uic.edu for details of another “Wine Down” next fall.
UIC Nursing-Quad Cities celebrated its 2017 graduates in April at Stoney Creek Hotel and Conference Center in Moline, IL. Students, alumni, faculty, family members and special guests gathered for an evening of recognition and tribute. In 2017, 12 students graduated with their DNP or MS degrees: Robert Anderson, Amanda Brocksieck, Shawna Fury, Dana Gibson, Catherine Marty, Heather Morden, Teresa Schnitzer, Lori Shwarm, Brooke Smith and Rachel Riedesel. One of the evening’s unforgettable highlights was a tribute to the 2016-17 Director’s Legacy Award recipient, Lynn Kustes. Kustes graduated in 1982 but never really left the program. For decades before her untimely passing, she was an energetic and vocal advocate for the program and a continual presence in support of faculty and students. (See “In Memorium,” p. 30)
Alumni pump new blood into conference Last year, a group of APRNs, all graduates of UIC NursingQuad Cities, brought big changes to the Annual Cardiovascular Interventions and Practice Guidelines Conference of the Midwest Cardiovascular Research Foundation. These dynamic women developed and presented a half-day conference, extending the traditionally one-day event at the Genesis Heart Institute in Davenport, Iowa, Sept 21-22, 2017. Shawna Duske, MS ’05, ACNP, coordinated the new session, at which five of the six featured speakers were graduates of UIC Nursing-Quad Cities. Duske delivered a presentation on DAPT therapy guidelines post coronary intervention. The other four included Heather Dunn, MS ’09, ACNP, current PhD candidate, who presented on interpreting pulmonary diagnostics tests. Wendy Escontrias, MS ’01, BSN ’99, FNP-BC, presented on device therapy for heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Cynthia Burkholder, MS ’10, ACNP, presented on pulmonary embolism treatment and anticoagulation. Judy Deckert, MS ’97, FNP-BC, delivered a session on review of lipid guidelines and the role of PCSK9 inhibitors. The Interventions and Practice Guidelines Conference is one of the region’s premiere events for educating physicians, APRNs, physician assistants, nurses and radiology technicians on a variety of cardiovascular care topics.
Alumnae (l-r) Heather Dunn, Wendy Escontrias, Cynthia Burkholder, Shawna Duske, Judy Deckert
Graduates (l-r) Shawna Fury, Brooke Smith, Lori Shwarm, Teresa Schnitzer, Heather Morden, Rachel Riedesel,Robert Anderson, Amanda Brocksieck, Catherine Marty, Dana Gibson
Flanking Lynn Kustes are (l-r) Kathleen Sparbel and Kustes’ nominators, Pamela Hill and Kathleen Hanson
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