Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society Newsletter, Fall 2021

newsletter Fall 2021 • Issue 11

Kristen Abbott-Anderson, PhD, RN, CNE

Sandra Eggenberger, PhD, RN

Hans-Peter de Ruiter RN, PhD

Faculty, students, alumni and partners:

The Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society at Minnesota State University, Mankato is dedicated to providing leadership and expertise in family and societal health at local, state, national and international levels. The Institute, Taylor Visiting Scholars and Becky Taylor Doctoral Fellowships are made possible by a $7 million endowment established by Glen and Becky Taylor.

2021 has been a challenging year for families and communities! The Taylor Institute continues to support our health care and education teams facing the ongoing stresses in the world. In this newsletter I also want to express my appreciation for all the faculty, students, and partners who have been my family at Minnesota State University Mankato since the 1970’s.

You have given me a lifetime of treasured moments as a nurse, educator and scientist. I have valued the opportunities to continue growing and finding new ways to contribute to nursing practice, education and research. While I worked to advance the care of families during health and illness experience, I was supported by a nuclear and extended family that encouraged me to follow my dreams and gave me the impetus to keep moving forward.

In this newsletter, you’ll hear about some of the great work being done by that extended family, including: • Faculty expanding health care options at our pioneering initiative in Bloomington called Health Commons at Pond. We’ve recently added both speech and social work to the services we’re offering to Bloomington K-12 students.

• Department leadership giving back by participating in the Kato Towns Compassionate Charter. Kato Towns is the first official “Compassionate City” in America, affiliated with the Public Health Palliative Care International Compassionate Communities movement.

In both cases, we’re extremely proud of the people in our program who are representing us admirably.

Finally, I’d like to recognize Drs. Kristen Abbott-Anderson and Hans Peter de Ruiter. You’ll read all about them in this issue, but I’ll also add this: Under their leadership, the program is in extremely capable hands, and I have every confidence that their professionalism and dedication to our mission will allow the Taylor Nursing Institute to continue improving lives through quality care and focus on families. I look forward to supporting and applauding their success.

Kind Regards, Sandra Eggenberger

A True Pioneer Sandra Eggenberger exits after four decades of leadership, scholarship and impacting students’ lives To this day, more than 45 years later, Sandra Eggenberger remembers the moment like it was yesterday — the moment she saw her future.

“It was the first time a student asked me a question that first day,” she recalls of her debut as an adjunct instructor at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The student was curious about determining the source of cardiac pain, and how to relay what was happening to the patient to a nervous family waiting in the hallway.

“I thought, ‘This is really quite exciting that I might get to help students think differently or think about the way they’re going to be as nurses,’” she said. “And I was already a charge nurse in Mankato. But I just had that feeling that I could impact more people by being an educator.”

That small-but-epic moment launched an exemplary and, in many ways, unrivaled career in Minnesota State University, Mankato’s nursing program. And it’d be impossible to count the number of people whose lives are better today because of Dr. Sandra Eggenberger.

Because she chose education, thousands of students who went on to rewarding healthcare careers around the globe, dozens of faculty members benefited from her leadership, and countless industry peers witnessed a pioneer in her field. And most importantly, untold numbers of patients — and their loved ones — felt the impact of that decision and her quest to shift healthcare’s focus to the entire family.

Eggenberger retired in August. And while she’ll no longer physically be on campus, her influence and presence will remain.

****

She was a part of the faculty from 1975 until this past August.

Sandra was born and raised in Mazeppa, a town of about 400 people near Rochester.

In 2004 she earned a doctorate from Texas Woman’s University, a move that allowed her to delve deeper into the area of nursing education she loved most — and earned her a lot of frequent flyer miles.

“It was a great place to grow up,” she says. “And I had a great family. A farm family who immigrated here and wanted to make a better life for their children.”

After attending Mazeppa High School she attended Mankato State College, as it was known then. But she didn’t come to Mankato with dreams of becoming a nurse.

“At first I was going to be an author,” she says. “I was going to write novels. And then with my family background of not quite understanding how you would make a career writing novels, I switched to social work and physical education. Then I finally found my way to nursing.”

While Sandra was in a discovery phase in college, she attended a nursing lab class with a friend who’d suggested she might find the class interesting. The instructor was demonstrating injections, but also teaching students about the role communication has in the overall patient experience.

“I was really interested in the body, but I was also very interested in the idea of how people relate to each other,” she says. “Next semester I took more pre-nursing classes and then applied to nursing school.”

After graduating from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a bachelor’s degree, she attended graduate school at the University of California-San Francisco. And shortly after that she began working as a nurse mostly at what was then called Immanuel-St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mankato. She also became an adjunct faculty member at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

“They had a really strong, long-standing nursing program. But they also had a really strong family science program,” she says.

“I just decided, ‘OK, it is time to do this PhD work that I want to do, and my husband was very supportive. So my two children dropped me off in Texas at an apartment and said, ‘Come home when you can!’ So I did commute a great deal. The other day my son laughed and said, ‘Mom, you hardly missed a hockey game.’” **** That student’s first question wasn’t the only reason Sandra has pursued education and investigating how healthcare systems treat families. She’s also lived through several harrowing events that inspired her to improve those systems.

Years ago Sandra’s husband contracted Legionnaires’ disease and spent an extended period of time in the Mankato and Rochester hospitals.

“That was where I got really interested in helping families because my children were very, very young, and it was a tough several months where he was not supposed to live,” she says. “And we all lived through that.”

A second incident involving her husband further strengthened her resolve. When she was in Texas he’d suffered a heart attack.

“While on the phone with him I was telling him and my family what to do”, she recalls.

Those two incidents triggered in her a desire to investigate ways to make the healthcare system work better for families. Being on other side of the healthcare dynamic, she said, gave her a unique perspective. And being the wife of man who nearly lost his life put a sharp focus on the fact that, when someone faces a health crisis, there is very often an entire family in pain.

“For families that go through this, this is really tough,” she says.

“So I knew I was studying families, and I knew that I cared about the research related to families. But living it myself? That made it solid.”

During her husband’s first illness, her daughter’s world was rocked. And after her husband’s heart attack, the same was true for her son.

“They each have their own illness experience that they remember,” she says. “And they understand the reasons why I’ve devoted my life to this. Because they lived it. They’ve always been really supportive of me trying to balance family and work. And they absolutely know that I have been devoted to the career not for money and not for any accolades. That’s not it. It was to influence practice. And they knew that.” **** While Sandra may not have sought accolades, she’s certainly earned them.

Among the most noteworthy was one bestowed just a few months ago: the Excellence in Family Nursing Award from the International Family Nursing Association.

In the nomination letter, family research colleague Dr. Petra Brysiewicz from University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa wrote, “Through all her work, Dr. Eggenberger strives to nurture an intellectual community of scholars focused on education, practice and research to improve family and societal health as well as engaging with scholars to intentionally focus on families and community. She is an inspiring leader for Family Nurse researchers and practitioners, as well as a passionate mentor to students. She clearly articulates and advocates how research can impact policy and clinical care. Her collective body of work on family and community has focused on forming partnerships in research, education and practice in order to bring about change in practice and education. Dr Eggenberger has had a

significant impact on the practice of Family Nursing nationally and internationally.”

Last year, Sandra was named Distinguished Professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. In 2015 she was named Senior Scientist, Family Health Research Section at the Midwest Nursing Research Society. In 2012 she was named Outstanding School of Nursing Alumna at Minnesota State University, Mankato. And in 1998 she received the Minnesota Association of Colleges of Nursing Outstanding Nurse Educator Award.

Sandra is in a unique position. She’s among the few who have watched the Minnesota State University, Mankato’s nursing program evolve, adapt and adjust to the myriad changes in the healthcare industry. Over the years, she says a common thread has been the program’s ability to connect with students in meaningful ways, bringing them into a family of dedicated professionals who truly exist to make people’s lives better.

Having said that, she said she’s also observed the program grow into one that sets a high bar for academic rigor for faculty; standards today are as high as they’ve ever been. She credits the university’s commitment to producing high-quality graduates, and Glen and Becky Taylor for providing funding to take the program to a higher level. **** Her CV is packed with dozens of publications and research experience. No one could possibly question her impeccable scholarship or undying commitment to Minnesota State University, Mankato — or to the Glen Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society.

But if you ask Sandra what she’ll miss most about being a pioneer in her field and blazing a trail of academic excellence at Minnesota State University, Mankato, she won’t tell you about her publications. You won’t hear a word about any awards she’s won or honors she’s received.

What you will hear about is her connections with students and faculty.

“I love teaching and research,” she says. “So that’s hard to leave. But I’m quite satisfied with the idea that I influenced a lot of students. And that’s when I decided, ‘OK, I’ve done what I could do. And now they’re going to take things forward.’”

As One Era Ends, Another Begins.

Dr. Sandra Eggenberger’s departure as Director of the Taylor Nursing Institute within the School of Nursing presented a challenge. But two experienced faculty members have stepped up to assume leadership roles, ensuring the program will remain a steady course of training tomorrow’s nursing professionals.

Kristen Abbott-Anderson and Hans-Peter deRuiter lead the department now, with each bringing unique perspectives and skill sets to the job.

Abbott-Anderson practiced as a registered nurse for 25 years before returning to school for graduate degrees.

“I’ve been a nurse for about 38 years, I have been at Minnesota State University, Mankato for eight years. I have taught in all graduate and undergraduate programs in the program. I’ve been very much involved in family research around Alzheimer’s disease and end-of-life care.”

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Abbott-Anderson came to the Midwest about 14 years ago. She holds a Ph.D in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She says Eggenberger’s shoes will be hard to fill, but she’s learned much from her mentor over the years.

“From the time I started at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Sandra has been a mentor to me. And I think if you asked most faculty, they’d say the same thing,” Abbott-Anderson says. “The way she carried herself professionally and consistently through all the years even in the midst of potentially emotionally stressful times — she was always a calm presence, and just very practical, humble and grounded. I didn’t consciously try to draw those attributes to myself until she retired. Now I’m thinking, ‘What would Sandra do?’ Or, ‘How is it best to proceed here?’ She Students volunteer at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s

really provided that role model of what I think a professional nurse researcher and advocate is.”

Speech Social Work Add Services at Health Commons at Pond

Hans-Peter deRuiter agreed with Abbott-Anderson, saying Students volunteer at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s Eggenberger and her leadership set things up for success.

The facility, called Health Commons at Pond, is located across the street from Kennedy High School, offers health and wellness care to schools, students and families at no cost. Care is provided by Taylor Nursing Institute faculty and Family Nurse Practitioner-level nursing students, in collaboration with other providers as needed. Dr. Patricia Beierwaltes, Associate Professor in the School of Nursing is the clinical coordinator at Health Commons and key provider of nursing care.

She has devoted time and expertise to launching and sustaining services since 2019.

“Sandra really put in a great, great foundation. And, and so I think the institute is well established. She and (Taylor Institute Coordinator) Lynn Kuechle have set something up that will be great to move on to the next generation,” he says. “Of course it’s hard to fill her shoes.” deRuiter was born in the Netherlands and grew up in Thailand and Japan. He’s worked in Thailand as well as Stanford Hospital and the Mayo Clinic. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree from Winona State University.

“I hope to really look at the world from a global perspective,” he says. “I’ve already started with bringing some international projects into the Taylor Institute. That includes every student having an international experience online — connecting with other people, getting context, going and sharing this family and societal thinking as well as helping the mission and the mission and the goals of the institute.

Faculty Helping Kato Grow Compassion Thanks to several members of the nursing faculty, the Mankato area might become even more compassionate than it already is.

On Nov. 1, a group of like-minded stakeholders — including city and school officials and nonprofits — launched an effort called the Kato Towns Compassionate Charter. Kato Towns is the first official “Compassionate City” in America, affiliated with the Public Health Palliative Care International Compassionate Communities movement.

The Kato Towns research team included faculty members Kristen Abbott-Anderson, Diane Witt and Kelly Krumwiede. The group guided community members through conversations from 2019-2021 centered on belonging, loss and resilience. From these circles of care, Kato Towns sector leaders and their organizations have given voice to the Kato Towns Compassionate Charter.

The Charter (which can be found at nicbluecares.com), is a collection of best practices formed as the foundation for the Compassionate Community. Early partners for the Charter include Blue Earth County Community Corrections, City of Mankato, City of North Mankato, Ecumen Pathstone Living, First Presbyterian Church, Greater Mankato Diversity Council, Loyola Catholic School, Mankato Area Public Schools, Messiah Lutheran Church, Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mogwai Collaborative, MRCI, and South Central College.

The group rang a ceremonious bell Nov. 1 to mark the launching of the charter.

“When you hear the bells ring,” a Kato Towns press release said, “you will hear the voice of belonging. It is a sound that gathers us as one to acknowledge our shared humanity and to honor the losses, ordinary and profound, that we all experience. The bells ring to remind us that we are not alone. They are a call for us to take seriously our responsibility to support each other in times of crisis and loss. A Compassionate Community cares for its own throughout the vulnerable stages of life, loss, dying, death, and bereavement.”

The Taylor Nursing Institute for several years has offered family-centered health care services to students in the Bloomington school district.

With two recent additions — speech/language and social work — those offerings have become even more robust.

Patricia Beierwaltes, DNP, C-PNP, Clinical Coordinator, Health Commons at Pond

The facility offers sports physicals, treatment for acute illness such as infections and other minor illnesses, immunizations, health screenings and referrals, vision/hearing/dental/early intervention screenings, and other services.

And now they’ve added two more.

Megan Megan Mahowald, Professor and Department Chair of Speech, Hearing and Rehabilitation Services, said they’re offering a broad range of bilingual services there.

“We provide assessment and intervention to children who have any communication disorder,” she said. “Right now we work with preschoolers and school-aged children who stutter. We work with children who are not yet talking and help them increase the number of words that they’re using. We work on increasing vocabulary as well.”

In addition to speech, social work services have been added recently. Social Work professor Ross Aalgaard said students will be evaluated using a mental health assessment tool. Students flagged by the assessment will then be referred to Aalgaard.

“Then I step into the exam room and do quick assessments like: Are you possibly being harmed at home? Are you thinking of harming yourself or someone else? Do you feel safe when you get home? Do you have safe places to go? Those types of questions,” Aalgaard said. “From there we find out if they need housing, food, if there’s food insecurity, those types of elements. So we have case management that we offer through the social work department. And then I also do therapy, psychotherapy for individuals that want to see me once a week or once a month to deal with their depression or their anxiety or their PTSD.” Aalgaard said that, so far, he’s primarily worked with high school students, but the social services are open to all students.

Call for Manuscripts Creative Nursing Kristen Abbott-Anderson and Hans-Peter de Ruiter, Co directors of the Glen Taylor Nursing institute for family and society will be the Guest Editors of Vol. 28 #4 of the Journal Creative Nursing.

The Theme of the issue will be “Thinking Like a Nurse: Making an Impact on Family and Society, which will be published in November 2022. The deadline for submission is March 1, 2022.

We encourage all to submit a manuscript that you think will work well with this issue. Special consideration will be given to manuscripts with a global or international perspective.

For Journal information please visit: https://www.springerpub.com/creative-nursing.html

For questions regarding this special issue please contact: Kristen Abbott- Anderson: kristen.abbott-anderson@mnsu.edu or Hans-Peter de Ruiter: Hans-Peter.de-ruiter@mnsu.edu

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