Penn Nursing UPfront: Spring 2015

spring 2015

ADVANCING EDUCATION AND POLICY 4 Also: On the Front Lines Caring for Ebola Patients 10 Giving First-year Students a Real-world Nursing Experience 14 The Power of the Past in Shaping the Future 20

Board of Overseers Dean C. Kehler, W’79, Chair Rosemarie Morrissey Greco, Immediate Past Chair Carolyn E. Bennett, Nu’91 Carol Lefkowitz Boas, Nu’77 Cornelius C. Bond, Jr. (emeritus) Lillian S. Brunner, HUP’40, ED’45, HON’85 (emerita) Gilbert F. Casellas, L’77 Eleanor L. Davis, Nu’82 Kim R. Dickstein, W’87 William R. Floyd, Jr., C’67, WG’69 Seth Ginns, C’00 Terri Cox Glassen, Nu’91 (ex-officio) Stephen J. Heyman, W’59 Daniel J. Hilferty Gail Kass Eunice S. King, Nu’71

Wendy Hurst Levine Patricia Martín, M’85 Barbara L. Nichols Melanie Franco Nussdorf, CW’71 Vivian W. Piasecki (chair emerita) Krista M. Pinola, Nu’86 Marjorie O. Rendell, CW’69 Jean Renfield-Miller Ralph F. Reynolds, W’84 Robert D. Roy, W’59 Sandra Beeber Samberg, Nu’94, GNu’95 Marie A. Savard, HUP’70, Nu’72, M’76 Martin J. Silverstein, GL’08 Patricia B. Silverstein, C’81 Susan Drossman Sokoloff, C’84 Carol Elizabeth Ware, Nu’73

University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Dean Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN Vice Dean of Institutional Advancement Wylie A. Thomas Editor Cathy Greenland Assistant Editor Monica Salvia Contributors Megan Bailey, Barbara McAleese, Katie Siegmann Photography Michael Ahearn, I. George Bilyk, Alyson Cole, Abby Greenawalt, Michelle Holshue, Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing Content Development and Creation The LightStream Group Design Dale Parenti Design Printing CRW Graphics Advisory Board Christina Costanzo Clark, Patricia D’Antonio, Cathy Greenland, Carol Ladden, Barbara McAleese, Matt McHugh, Yvonne Paterson, Julie Sochalski www.nursing.upenn.edu Admissions 215.898.4271 | admissions@nursing.upenn.edu Institutional Advancement 215.898.4841 | nursalum@pobox.upenn.edu Communications 215.746.3562 | media@nursing.upenn.edu UPfront is a biannual publication of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. The magazine chronicles the research and leadership of Penn Nursing faculty, students and alumni.

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contents care to change the world

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Dean’s Message

f e at u r e s 4

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Advancing Education and Policy Dramatic changes in healthcare are resulting in a need for new ways of delivering cost-effective care and more qualified practitioners. Penn Nursing faculty are developing new educational models and driving innovative healthcare policy to meet those needs.

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Changing Public Perception About Hand Sanitizer and Germ Transmission In the inaugural Health Leaders, Innovators and Entrepreneurs lecture, Joe Kanfer, W’68, shared how evidence and patience were keys to one of his successes.

On the Front Lines Caring for Ebola Patients Michelle Holshue, RN, C’07, Nu’09, traveled to West Africa to work at a field hospital for healthcare workers infected with Ebola.

12 Patients Inspire Research: Advancing the Science of

Understanding and Treating Pain At the 2014 Norma Lang Award lecture, Rosemary Polomano remembered a patient who inspired her research and discussed the impact of that research on the understanding and management of pain.

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Giving First-year Students a Real-world Nursing Experience Each year Penn Nursing undergraduate students spend a day shadowing an alum as part of the Alumni Liaison program.

Three participants share their recent experiences.

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The Power of the Past in Shaping the Future The Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing’s blog explores how lessons of history can be used to understand current health issues and shape future healthcare policy.

d e pa rt m e n t s 17

Faculty News

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Alumni Connections

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Alumni Notes

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In Memoriam

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32 Calendar

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Dean’s Message Preparing for the future presents challenges and no more so than in the dynamic healthcare arena. The rapidly shifting balance between acute and chronic health conditions is placing new and different demands upon nurses. Along with evidence-based and ethical care, we must now expand our knowledge of chronic conditions and therapies, understand how to lead in an interprofessional care environment, competently use innovative technologies, and take on a leadership role in the advocacy and care of patients in an array of settings – home, communities and hospitals. In fact, we are tasked with leading the change in healthcare delivery.

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education and collaborative learning, and Penn Nursing is in the lead.

Celebrating trailblazer scientists and pioneering practitioners We are committed to not only matching our programs and curriculum to the healthcare needs of our society, but to being the change leaders in health and healthcare. I am always pleased to celebrate the accomplishments of nurses and take special pride in the magnitude of impact our Penn faculty and alumni have on our profession. In this issue you will read about some of our many innovators, trailblazers and pioneers who are transforming health, including: • Faculty members Rosemary Polomano, our 2014 Norma M. Lang Award honoree, for her distinguished and scholarly practice in pain research; and Kathy Brown, whose life-long career has been spent helping at-risk populations including sexual-assault survivors, prison inmates and prostitutes, and who has recently initiated a program to help break the cycle of prostitution in Philadelphia.

Healthcare has become more complex in ways that those of us who have been in the field couldn’t have imagined decades ago. But as it always has been, nursing is a career for those who are intellectually curious and who want to be at the front lines of healthcare. We have known, all along, that a changing world is one of more possibilities and more opportunities. This issue of UPfront delves into this changing landscape and focuses on some of our colleagues who are making the most of opportunities to be agents of innovation and change.

• Alumni Lorie Reilly, one of many of our alumni who take time to mentor our students in our Alumni Liaison Program; and Michelle Holshue, who was a first responder in Liberia to care for healthcare workers with Ebola.

Advancing care

Preserving our future

To meet the health needs of individuals, families and communities – now and for the future – it is imperative to rise to the challenge of delivering nursing education in new ways. In this issue you can read about how Penn Nursing is leading a national collaboration to redefine clinical education and transform curriculum in order to better prepare more nursing administrators, nursing educators and practicing APNs to confidently meet the demands of tomorrow’s healthcare system. We’re demonstrating how to enhance clinical education and attract and graduate more nurses from advanced practice programs. In addition, we’re bringing students from nursing, dental medicine and medicine to learn in the classroom and in simulation exercises together. It’s a new age of nursing

In this issue we also share the voice of our Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing.

The Bates Center is the preeminent nursing history archive and research center in the world. It provides researchers from all disciplines with the needed resources and historical evidence to understand current health topics, inform and influence health policy, and improve patient care strategies and education.

UPfront | Spring 2015

To celebrate this anniversary, we have launched a national fundraising campaign to support Center initiatives to sustain this scholarship and expand the archives. I encourage you to go online to the Bates Center to learn more about the important work that the Center supports, and about the campaign that will help us expand that sphere of influence.

Penn Nursing joins the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Nurse Practitioner (NP) degree program in the United States. In the 1960s, lack of access to health services was a major factor that supported the development and evolution of the NP role. For more than 50 years, NPs have provided services in acute, chronic and community settings. Today, there are more than 200,000 nurse practitioners licensed in the United States who play critical roles as providers, educators and leaders.

Since joining the school as dean this past summer, I’ve been inspired by the support and engagement of our students, faculty and alumni, and your commitment to help us continue our legacy of developing the scientific knowledge that drives nursing practice, improves the health of individuals, families and communities, and influences healthcare around the world. Your support – through attendance at our events, serving as mentors, participation on

School committees and boards, and in giving – is vital in helping us lead the way in nursing education and research, and in continuing to build our rich heritage. Thank you for your commitment.

ANTONIA M. VILLARRUEL, PhD, RN, FAAN The Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing www.nursing.upenn.edu

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Advancing Education and Policy

Dramatic changes in the delivery of healthcare are resulting in a need for new ways of delivering cost-effective care and more qualified practitioners. At the same time, the patient population is becoming more diverse and with more complex needs. At the nexus are nurses, who are being relied on more and more to not only develop these new models, but to synthesize evidence-based practice in order to provide the care.

With these changes comes a new challenge in nursing education: Deliver knowledge and practical learning in advanced critical decision making and collaborative care.

Innovative approaches to clinical education and curricular transformation are the foundational elements that will enhance healthcare delivery, by preparing more nursing administrators, nursing educators and practitioners to confidently meet the demands of tomorrow’s healthcare system.

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care to change the world

Advancing graduate nurse education to meet the need for primary care providers Making preventive care more accessible is a key driver behind the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). And driving that transformation of the American healthcare system has been the rapidly growing aging population, estimated to compose 19 percent of the total United States population by the year 2030. Because this population plays a large role in healthcare spending, the ACA includes increased preventive services for seniors.

But who will be able to provide these preventive service to this large and growing demographic?

“Building a highly skilled, effectively deployed and fully-resourced nursing workforce was included in the design of the ACA,” says Julie Sochalski, PhD, RN, FAAN,

Associate Professor of Nursing.

Dr. Sochalski would know; She served as the Director of the Division of Nursing at the Health Resources and Services Administration during those pivotal years when the ACA was being enacted.

“I was able to use my experience in policy development and health workforce research to guide federal efforts in nursing workforce development to meet Medicare’s needs for practitioners highly skilled in chronic care management and care coordination,” she says.

Key to getting more advanced practice nurses (APNs) ready to meet the healthcare needs of the Medicare population was funding, and a unique Graduate Nurse Education Demonstration was included in the ACA. In its simplest form, the program apportions $200 million to select nursing schools to enhance clinical education of and attract and graduate more nurses from advanced practice programs.

“It covers all nine nursing schools in the Greater Philadelphia area that have graduate programs to prepare APNs and has placed APN students from these nine schools for clinical precepting in 600 different clinical sites,” explains Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN, an architect of Penn’s demonstration proposal and director of Penn Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research. “The clinical sites include inpatient hospitals, long-term care settings and hospices, as well as a variety of primary care sites including physicians’ offices, large ambulatory care group practices, retail clinics, nurse-managed primary care clinics, and city and federally qualified community health centers.”

The demonstration’s primary goal of rapidly increasing the supply of APNs to ameliorate shortages, especially in primary care, has been demonstrated to be a success.

“In the first two years of the program, the five demonstration sites as a group, as well as the Penn site, increased graduation of APNs by 100 percent,” says Dr. Aiken. “Results show that this model, which has long been used by Medicare to support graduate medical education, also works for graduate nurse education.”

One of the major barriers to expanding APN production has been the difficulty nursing schools face in obtaining sufficient numbers of practicing physicians and APNs to supervise and train APN students. The availability of funds for preceptors helps to offset the loss of productivity experienced by full-time clinicians who teach APN students, and

Now, Penn Nursing, in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Health System, is in the third year of the demonstration. It includes five partner hospitals, with Penn’s demonstration program – the Greater Philadelphia Graduate Nurse Education Network – the largest of the five.

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B R E A K I NG N EWS : At press time, Penn helped gain CMS approval of a 5th year of funding for the ACA Graduate Nurse Education Demonstration that now extends through summer of 2017. This will result in approximately $12 million more for APN graduate education in Greater Philadelphia.

thus more preceptors have been recruited allowing the schools to increase APN enrollments and graduations.

“The demonstration has shown that APNs can be produced at a fraction of the cost and time to train a primary care physician, thus providing a timely and affordable approach to the shortage of primary care,” says Dr. Aiken. “Employers in the Greater Philadelphia region are clamoring to hire our APN graduates.”

With its fourth year ahead, the demonstration program has shown this new model of nursing education is a success. It is intended that the results from the program should inform policy decisions that will support a national rollout of this program in order to support graduate nurse education.

“We will be reaching out to a wide range of stakeholders nationally and locally as well as to the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation to educate them about the value of public support to train more nurse practitioners to make primary care and chronic illness management more accessible and affordable,” says Dr. Aiken.

The demonstration project is underway while important discussions about the federal role in health professions education have again been at the forefront. “There is urgency to thoughtfully examine how we structure and provide nursing education, and how that education should be funded,” says Dr. Sochalski.

In January, Dr. Linda Aiken traveled to the Russell Senate Building in Washington, D.C. to present the outcomes of Penn’s Graduate Nurse Education Demonstration as part of the Alliance for Health Care Reform’s briefing, “Preparing the Nursing Workforce for a Changing Health System: The Role of Graduate Nursing Education.”

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care to change the world

Learning in a team environment

It is generally accepted that the delivery of excellent healthcare is a team effort: physicians, nurses, dentists, social workers and other allied health professionals working in tandem to efficiently and effectively care for and meet the patient’s healthcare needs. Yet health profession education has traditionally focused on preparing students for their expected role within the team, and provided only limited opportunities for interactions with students of different disciplines.

The issue of collaborative healthcare is so important that the World Health Organization, Institute of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation have all identified interprofessional education (IPE) as an effective way to enhance the preparation of the healthcare workforce and optimize care delivery.

At Penn Nursing, students have had the benefit of IPE for years, learning first-hand about the roles and responsibilities of various health professionals, as well as learning how to work in interprofessional teams and communicate effectively across disciplines to deliver enhanced healthcare.

“We implemented IPE early on for our nursing students, giving them the opportunity to learn together with medical, anesthesiology and pharmacy students,” says Patricia D’Antonio, PhD, RN, FAAN, Killebrew-Censits Endowed Term Chair in Undergraduate Education, and Chair of the Department of Family and Community Health. “We have been creative in providing IPE for the sole purpose of preparing students to practice in coordinated, well-functioning healthcare teams, which will help meet increasing, and increasingly complex, patient needs.”

Education and collaborative learning at Penn Nursing is demonstrated in one of the University’s first large interprofessional courses, Pain Science and Practice.

Directed by Rosemary Polomano, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor of pain practice, the course brings together students from Penn’s Schools of Nursing, Dental Medicine and Medicine and the pharmacy students from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) to promote interprofessional learning to address the challenges in pain care, including how to prevent or minimize acute and chronic pain for patients. Course co-directors are John Farrar, MD, PhD (Perelman School of

In HUP’s Medical Intensive Care Unit, patient rounds include physicians, nurse practitioners, residents, other providers and even family members (not pictured) to support clear and open communication.

Medicine); Elliot V. Hersh, DMD, MS, PhD (School of Dental Medicine); and Lisa Davis, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, BCOP (USP).

During the course, expert pain faculty from the four schools present interactive sessions on general pain topics such as the pathophysiology of pain, pharmacology of analgesics, acute pain, pain treatment disparities and chronic pain syndromes.

They also tackle the mounting problem of substance abuse among patients with pain care coordination, spiritual care and ethical issues in pain care.

“Giving students the opportunity to learn from faculty from multiple disciplines gives them a stronger scientific background about pain and an enhanced perspective about team-based pain care,” says Dr. Polomano.

The course also provides students with unique interprofessional learning-in-action opportunities through Collaborative Learning Groups (CLGs) or teams. On the final day of the class, students deliver team-based presentations and participate in simulation exercises that enable them to demonstrate interprofessional education competencies in real-life patient care situations.

“In this way, our students not only learn about the roles of colleagues and how to best deliver teambased pain care, but gain important experience in helping establish and effectively be part of an interprofessional healthcare team,” she says. www.nursing.upenn.edu

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Mentored training in critical care

The Penn Presbyterian Trauma Center fellows make patient rounds in the new unit.

When the February transition of Penn Medicine’s Level 1 Trauma Center from HUP to Penn Presbyterian was first planned several years ago, much thought was given to how to enhance staff levels of those skilled in trauma and surgical care, critical care and neurocritical care. Penn Nursing worked with both hospitals to design a 10-month fellowship that would build an internal pipeline of Advanced Practitioners (APs) – including both nurse practitioners and physician assistants – to meet that demand.

“It takes six months to a year for new graduates from a nurse practitioner program to be competent in their role. We needed to hire and have the staff trained and competent before the trauma transition.

The fellowship allowed us to train new-to-practice nurse practitioners and physician assistants and helped meet our hiring goals,” said Tara Collins, MSN, ACNP, lead nurse practitioner for the Surgical Critical Care Service at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and director of the fellowship program.

The comprehensive critical care fellowship provided nine new-to-practice APs with mentored clinical expertise in the broad area of critical care with specific foci in areas of need: trauma and surgical critical care (all one service), neuro critical care and cardiothoracic surgery. They worked 60 hours a week, which included clinical immersion and academic classroom work.

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UPfront | Spring 2015

“Additional academic rigor included coursework and simulation that specifically addressed the advanced clinical judgment skillset. In addition, fellows were offered the opportunity to take courses through the School of Nursing that could be used for future academic endeavors, such as doctoral education,” explains Deborah Becker, PhD, ACNP, BC, FAAN, Practice Associate Professor of Nursing Director, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner program.

As fast-tracked as the program was, it also included intense evaluation of participants’ skillsets during each clinical rotation and quarterly throughout the program. “In addition, fellows were responsible for an evidence-based project that allowed them to learn about process improvement and quality improvement,” explains Collins.

Fellows were also closely mentored by faculty from the School of Nursing, nurse practitioners and physician assistants from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and administration from Penn Medicine.

“Once they were nine months into the 10-month program, they were considered for employment,” says Dr. Becker. “All of the fellows were hired for positions in the University of Pennsylvania Health System.”

H E A LT H L E A D E R S L E C T U R E

C HA NGING PUBLI C P ER C EP TI O N A B O U T HA N D SANIT IZER A N D G ER M TR A N S M I S SI O N a doctor defied the board’s wishes and brought Purell into his units. When infection rates plummeted, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took notice and made Purell a mandatory resource in the hospital industry.

“Public policy can be a significant trigger for action.

Prior to that, we faced real challenges in changing human behavior in order to get our product into the market,” said Kanfer, adding that – as a private company – GOJO had more of an opportunity to push forward despite financial and regulatory obstacles than researchers would have in a large, public company.

Hand sanitizer is ubiquitous in the healthcare environment, prominently installed in exam rooms, nurses stations, nursing home lobbies and hospital hallways. Yet its adoption by the healthcare industry was a long and winding road.

“People have known alcohol was a disinfectant for such a long time; we put it in a bottle and changed the industry,” says Joe Kanfer, W’68, Chairman and CEO of GOJO Industries – producer of Purell hand sanitizer. “This was a pretty simple product, but the challenge was in opening eyes that something so simple could make a very big difference.”

Kanfer was the inaugural lecturer at Penn Nursing’s Health Leaders, Innovators & Entrepreneurs Lecture Series this fall. The lecture series offers an opportunity to learn from leaders in the field about their efforts to drive change and innovation in the health industry and beyond.

While Kanfer’s company began marketing the product in 1989, primarily to the food service industry, no one would buy it because hand washing was ingrained in people’s minds as the only way to sanitize.

Early adopters, like Wegmans in 1992, were forced to pull the product because health inspection guidelines still required hand washing as the only way to ensure sanitation. And, though samples were hugely popular among nurses and associates of GOJO employees, the product was not taken seriously until Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston faced a huge infection outbreak in 2001, and

Kanfer addressed concerns about hand sanitizer, namely that it might be over-sanitizing, killing people’s good bacteria and making them more susceptible to disease. He explained that while sanitizer does wipe out surface germs, the body’s natural bacteria are present in countless numbers within the skin and repopulate quickly. In fact, Kanfer is moving GOJO away from antimicrobial soaps, because they remain on the skin and continuously kill all bacteria, in favor of these healthier methods.

And, despite current fears of Ebola, Enterovirus D68 and other widelypublicized pathogens, Kanfer said the most concerning issue, and significant threat to public health – in his eyes – is antibiotic resistance.

With some providers overprescribing antibiotics for non-bacterial infections or giving in to patient demands, the prevalence of antibiotics in the nation’s meat supply, and the fact that pharmaceutical companies aren’t regularly developing new antibiotics because they’re not big money-makers; he said an overhaul of the nation’s food and medical industries is necessary to prevent a major public health crisis.

And, Kanfer said, it is innovators on the front lines of the healthcare system – like nurses – and entrepreneurs who will drive these changes, rather than large corporations.

“If you want to change human behavior, you’d better be willing to stick it out and have good facts and good science behind you,” said Kanfer. www.nursing.upenn.edu

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IN THE FIELD OF SERVICE

On the Front Lines Caring for Ebola Patients When President Obama announced that the United States would support efforts to fight Ebola in West Africa, that offer included an unprecedented assignment for the United States Public Health Service (USPHS): Run a field hospital in Liberia to provide care for healthcare workers infected with the disease. Typically, the USPHS and it staff deploy to respond to public health emergencies in the United States. But for Michelle Holshue, RN, C’07, Nu‘09, an infectious disease nurse and commissioned officer with the USPHS, it was an opportunity of a lifetime.

“As soon as I found out about the mission, I immediately knew I wanted to help,” says Holshue.

“I’ve worked in Africa before when I went to Botswana in 2008 with the Penn-Botswana partnership while I was working on my BSN, so I was so thrilled when I was selected to be a part of the first team in Liberia.”

One intensive week of training prepared Holshue and her team to care for patients with Ebola – and gave them practice in donning and doffing personal protective equipment. Then they were off to Monrovia for a 60-day healthcare odyssey where they not only cared for patients but designed and wrote protocols for patient and staff safety and helped build and repair the field hospital.

“We nurses worked 12-13 hour shifts, five or six days a week, though schedules changed based on our patient census,” she explained. “Nurses always worked in pairs, and we had to be very methodical and precise when planning our day and providing the hands-on care.”

To start their shifts, Holshue and her fellow nurses would help each other don their protective gear, including scrubs and rubber boots followed by a full suit made out of tyvek, two pair of gloves, a nearly floor-length apron, and a hood, goggles and a respirator. The process normally took 20 to 30 minutes, and was complicated by the typically high-80s temperature in Liberia at the time.

“While wearing the head-to-toe gear, we would sweat, a lot, so there was a limit to the amount of time you could spend each time the teams of nurses

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and providers went into the high-risk patient care zone,” she states. “It was always challenging to get all of the patient-care tasks completed.”

When taking care of Ebola patients, almost every activity is high-risk – even a simple blood draw or performing patient hygiene. So Holshue had to be incredibly careful, and work very slowly.

“If you forgot alcohol swabs or IV tubing, you couldn’t just run back into the supply room and go get it. Once you entered the high-risk zone you couldn’t exit without someone spraying you with chlorine and walking you through the undressing process, which also took 20 to 30 minutes,” she says.

Holshue was in Liberia for 60 days, a challenging experience that concluded with a quarantine when she got back home.

“I had my temperature monitored twice daily by the state health department and couldn’t take public or commercial transportation or go to mass gatherings like concerts or sporting events,” she adds. “But I didn’t mind the quarantine at all, really. I got to catch up on my sleep!”

Some of the intense cultural experiences Holshue had carried over when she came home. “People in Liberia stopped touching each other during the outbreak. So there was no hugging, no handshaking. We took up the Ebola-elbow greeting. It’s like a high-five, but with a bent elbow. It was weird at first, but I got so used to doing it that I had a hard time getting out of the habit when I came back to the United States,” she laughs.

Back at her lab at the National Institutes of Health, Holshue continues her clinical research in infectious diseases and managing care for research participants on studies related to HIV, hepatitis C, influenza, malaria and Ebola. But her days are colored by memories of her time spent in Liberia.

“It was very challenging, but I am very grateful for every part of the experience,” she states.

“I worked with an amazing group of nurses,

care to change the world “As soon as I found out about the mission, I immediately knew I

wanted to help …

I was so thrilled when I was selected to be a part of the first team in Liberia.”

MICHELLE HOLSHUE

providers, administrative and logistical staff. But the most incredible part was meeting, and taking care of, the brave nurses and healthcare workers who were admitted to our unit. Having the opportunity to care for people who were not just patients, but also colleagues, and heroes is an experience for which I will always be grateful.”

Michelle Holshue is pictured in front of the Survivor Wall sign she painted, that was part of her Ebola care unit in Liberia. “Releasing a patient was always a cause for celebration,” she says. “Every time we released a patient who survived Ebola, they would put their handprint on the wall. All of the staff would come outside the gate to greet the patient, and as soon as they stepped out of the exit we would all cheer and clap. Those days made it all worthwhile.”

Michelle Holsue’s efforts were spotlighted in ‘Penn’s Ebola Fighters,’ a feature article in the February 2015 issue of the Penn Gazette.

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LANG LECTURE

Patients Inspire Research: Advancing the Science of Understanding and Treating Pain A bedside request and a promise made in the mid-90s has had everything to do with inspiring a program of research.

It was then that

A course to keep patients safe by improving medication safety

Rosemary Polomano, PhD, RN, FAAN,

“It was at that time we were seeing a number of deaths from potassium chlorate being administered without dilution,” she explains. “Unlabeled vials of potassium chlorate looked similar to saline, which is used to dilute medications. Mistakenly administered potassium chlorate caused deaths, particularly in infants. At that time, there was no warning label, no indication that the drug needed to be diluted before administration.”

Professor of Pain Practice, who was ramping up her investigations into the physiology of pain, promised a cancer patient that she would do all she could to look into the woman’s complaints of burning hands and feet.

“Almost all of my research is inspired by patients and I think of this particular woman often,” says Dr. Polomano, who also credits that interaction to her finding her mentor, Gary J. Bennett, PhD, who supported her laboratory research on paclitaxelinduced peripheral neuropathy in rats. Today, Dr. Polomano’s rat model for paclitaxel, a chemotherapeutic agent to treat cancer, is used throughout the world to test analgesics and elucidate the mechanisms for neurotoxicity from this drug.

The path to understanding diseaserelated pain Dr. Polomano was a nurse at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and in the late1980s and 1990s, she was conducting interprofessional research in chronic cancer and noncancer pain.

In particular, she investigated how to improve care for patients with sickle cell disease-related pain.

Her research showed the value of intravenous and oral controlled-released morphine for pain management. “This gave patients the ability to self-manage their pain. We made world news for that!” she exclaims. Her research also set her on a national stage in pain research, particularly in disease-related progressive pain.

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In 1990, Dr. Polomano assumed the chair for the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) Nursing Advisory Panel, and the organization’s members had little knowledge about her research and her driving ambition.

As the newly-elected chair of the USP Nursing Advisory Panel, Dr. Polomano was determined that her five-year term would result in a policy change in medication safety. That determination resulted in new policies for medication safety, stricter packaging and labeling criteria for drugs, as well as improved safety in drug administration.

Busy as she was in her leadership capacity, Dr. Polomano continued her research, ever inspired by her patients and determined to keep her promise to that one cancer patient. She designed a rat model for paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy that was translatable to the human experience, and this work was funded by a Career Development Award from the National Institute of Nursing Research.

Taking her research to the bedside and the battlefield Dr. Polomano’s research focus has expanded to include pain measurement to find better ways to help patients communicate aspects of their pain experiences. She has developed several patientreported outcomes instruments and scales, including the American Pain Society Patient Outcomes Questionnaire – Revised, that has since been translated into several languages and adapted for an international pain registry.

“To better treat patients with pain, we need to be able to carefully measure and gain feedback about their pain. By using a specific system of

care to change the world

measurement and standardized reporting about pain, we can make more informed decisions about how to best treat our patients,” she explains.

As a renowned expert on pain management, Dr. Polomano was tapped by the U.S. military for several military-related pain studies in 2006 with the Defense and Veterans Center for Integrative Pain Management (DVCIPM), directed by Col. Chester C. Buckenmaier, MD. Her work has helped move research in pain science to the battlefield to design and test new pain outcome measures for use in battlefield hospitals and U.S. military facilities.

“Dr. Polomano has been tremendously important in helping our service people manage pain and in raising the bar for improved medical practice,” says Col. Buckenmaier.

to gather the data and pinpoint specific themes: fear, communication issues, trust issues and futurist visions. We learned that these injured service members wanted more immediate information to ease their uncertainty about their care.”

While Dr. Polomano has a career’s worth of research accolades to her name, her main focus continues to be patient care. “I never actively thought about the research life when I started my career,” she says. “I just knew my patients struggled with pain and I had to do something about that. To have the opportunity to solve those problems by working with scientific professionals across multiple practices is exciting, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Her research collaboration with military pain leaders focuses on short- and long-term pain associated with major extremity injuries sustained in combat.

“We are trying to establish the effectiveness of regional anesthesia, used early, to determine if this technique for treating pain could improve pain and mental health outcomes in later years,” she says. In one study, findings by Dr. Polomano and colleagues signaled that acute pain services at combat hospitals can improve the delivery of effective pain care, and the management of combat casualties in modern warfare.

“We were among few investigators to delve into the pain and related experiences of combat-injured service members during air evacuation from the combat support hospital,” she says. “We were able Dr. Polomano helped develop and test the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale with a goal of standardizing pain assessment practices throughout military and veteran healthcare settings.

Dr. Polomano Receives 2014 Norma M. Lang Award Pain is the world’s oldest health problem. And while much of what modern science knows about its physiology is relatively recent, newer yet is the understanding of the physical and mental aspects of pain and the safe use of pain interventions. Rosemary Polomano, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor of Pain Practice, is on the forefront of that science, and was awarded the 2014 Norma M. Lang Award for her distinguished and scholarly practice in pain research.

“I am most proud of my ability to be able to inform pain practice and particularly honored to work with patients with cancer and wounded combat military service members and Veterans to effectively manage their pain,” she says.

Dr. Polomano is the third recipient of the Lang Award, given annually to a University of Pennsylvania nursing faculty member or a graduate from the School’s doctoral program, who has made a distinguished contribution to nursing through scholarly practice. This award was established to honor the distinguished practice and policy work achieved by Norma M. Lang, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN, the School of

Nursing’s fourth dean, throughout her exemplary career. Previous recipients include Terri H. Lipman, PhD, CRNP, FAAN and Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN.

“Dr. Polomano’s career-long work in advancing pain science has influenced medical practice, pain management policy and technology innovation,” said Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dean of the School of Nursing.

“She has always been a pioneer and a nursing leader, and it is an honor to celebrate her accomplishments.”

Dr. Polomano is also a Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care (Secondary) at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, a research consultant for the DVCIPM at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and a frequent national advisor on pain science and pain management. www.nursing.upenn.edu

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ALUMNI LIAISON

Giving First-year Students a Real-world Nursing Experience There was a lot of tension in the patient’s room the day first-year nursing student Janice James observed her alumni mentor on the job.

“The patient was a little child who needed to be sedated for a procedure. The child was crying and the parents were asking lots of questions about the procedure. I thought that I would have no idea how to communicate with all these people,” remembers James. “My nurse mentor, Lorie Reilly, spoke to the patient in a playful, relaxed manner as she assessed the child and at the same time, answered the parents’ questions and put them at ease.”

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UPfront | Spring 2015

care to change the world “Allowing a student into your work/clinical environment is so important. It allows them to see

what you do in a typical day versus just talking about nursing in a classroom.”

LORIE REILLY, RN, MSN, CRNP

That early introduction to bedside manner and effective communication is likely to influence the rest of James’ career in a very positive manner.

“I had no idea how to communicate with those patients, but my initial insecurity disappeared as Lorie help me realize that this critical skill is one that I will acquire through my nursing education,” says James.

James and her mentor, Lorie Reilly, GNu’86, RN, MSN, CRNP, a nurse practitioner at the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, are part of the Alumni Liaison Program. The program is designed to increase student awareness of the many roles a clinical nurse can have, to reinforce their identification with the nursing profession and to help them build their professional network.

“Allowing a student into your work/clinical environment is so important. It allows them to see what you do in a typical day versus just talking about nursing in a classroom,” says Reilly, who is also an Advanced Senior Lecturer for the Pediatric Acute

Care Nurse Practitioner Program. She has been part of the Alumni Liaison Program for more than five years. “This is something I look forward to doing, sharing how my career evolved and how nursing enabled me to explore so many different roles and subspecialties within nursing.”

For close to 25 years, the Alumni Liaison Program has provided nursing students their first exploration into the depth of nursing careers available to them, and helped them envision what nursing in a realworld setting is like.

“For many, it solidifies their decision to pursue a nursing career,” says Ann M. Kutney-Lee, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor of Nursing. She and J. Margo Brooks Carthon, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor of Nursing, teach the NURS 101 course “The Nature of Nursing Practice,” which includes the liaison program. The classroom work prepares the students for their mentor experience, which includes a reflective journal-type paper and an in-class presentation.

Lorie Reilly, GNu’86, RN, MSN, CRNP and Janice James, Penn Nursing freshman. www.nursing.upenn.edu

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ALUMNI LIAISON (continued)

“This program has a long-standing history of being popular with students,” says Dr. Kutney-Lee. “Graduates will often cite it as one of the highlights of their experience at Penn Nursing.”

That was certainly the case for alumna Angela Nguyen, RN, Nu’12, who works on the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

“In my first year at Penn Nursing, I was paired with a nurse who worked in the operating room at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. I got to go into the OR and observe a cholecystectomy, which is the surgical removal of the gallbladder,” she says. “I had such a memorable experience that I wanted to give back and share my experience with others, so I signed up to be a liaison mentor the year that I graduated.”

Nguyen has mentored four students in the two years she has participated in the program. “I love their excitement and optimism for their future in nursing. Everything is so new and exciting for them and I love to share my passion for nursing,” she says.

That passion goes a long way in inspiring an undergraduate to commit to the rigorous nursing program at Penn Nursing.

“Hearing Lorie talk about her role as a nurse, the experiences she has had and her passion for what she does moved me very much,” says James.

“Seeing her do her job reaffirmed to me just how able nurses are and how instrumental they are as healthcare providers. She has made me more proud to aspire to be a nurse.”

James is on the right track, according to Reilly.

“After spending just a few hours with me, Janice was so articulate about all of the facets of my role.

She has tremendous insight about nursing already,” says Reilly. “I see a great future nurse here, one that will make a significant contribution to the profession.”

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UPfront | Spring 2015

Angela Nguyen, RN, Nu’12

“Students crave contact with alumni,” says Nguyen.

“They are eager to learn from alumni and there is always a need for alumni to match with each new student. I found that a few hours of time can really make a memorable impact that lasts a lifetime.”

To learn more about the Alumni Liaison Program, go online to www.nursing.upenn.edu/alumni and click on Volunteer Opportunities.

F A C UcLTa rYe tNoE Wc hSa n g e

the world

From bench to bedside to behind the scenes in influencing policy and practice, Penn Nursing faculty members’ work continues to have positive and resounding effect on how healthcare is provided and how nurses are educated and mentored. There are plenty of additional examples of this transcending work for you to read: go online to Penn Nursing and our Science in Action page to learn more.

Martha Curley’s Study Results Published on Protocolized Sedation in Critically Ill Children Protocolized sedation improves clinical outcomes in critically ill adults, but its effect in children is unknown. A ground-breaking study has investigated how critically ill children managed with a nurse-implemented, goal-directed sedation protocol.

Martha A.Q. Curley, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the principal investigator of the research, “Protocolized Sedation vs Usual Care in Pediatric Patients Mechanically Ventilated for Acute Respiratory Failure,” which has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The randomized evaluation of sedation titration for respiratory failure (RESTORE) in children found that the use of a sedation protocol compared with usual care did not reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation. However, exploratory analyses of secondary outcomes suggest a complex relationship among wakefulness, pain and agitation.

Permission of Philadelphia Daily News ©2015. All rights reserved.

Kathleen Brown’s Initiative to Break the Cycle of Prostitution Profiled in Local Media Many prostitutes grapple with addiction, mental illness, poverty, unemployment and other social problems that keep them stuck on the street. Kathleen Brown, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, Practice Associate Professor of Nursing, established “Breaking the Cycle,” a new program in Philadelphia to make a positive difference with this vulnerable population.

The Breaking the Cycle program has recently been featured in local media. The program helps former prostitutes sustain sobriety and sort out their health, housing, legal, educational, career and other needs. Dr. Brown runs the program in the Why Not Prosper transitional housing program in Germantown, where reformed ex-prostitutes and ex-addicts run the day-to-day operation of the home. Students from the School of Nursing and the Wharton School provide counseling and treatment to the program’s residents.

The program has also garnered a well-known philanthropist: Doris Buffett, billionaire Warren Buffett’s sister, has agreed to pay the participants’ $400 monthly rent, through her Sunshine Lady Foundation.

www.nursing.upenn.edu

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F A C U LT Y N E W S ( c o n t i n u e d ) Pam Cacchione Teams with Engineers and LIFE Members to Develop Robotic Support for Independent Living As we age, our physical, perceptual and cognitive abilities change, making it difficult to perform tasks of daily living that we learn in childhood and often take for granted. These changes often lead to the inability to live as independently as desired.

Pamela Z. Cacchione, PhD, CRNP, BC, FAAN, the Ralston House Endowed Term Chair in Gerontological

Nursing, is one of the investigators in a unique research partnership between nursing and engineering researchers, in collaboration with older adults, to develop a low-cost robotic support for independent living.

The “Affordable and Mobile Assistance Robot for Elderly Care” project, underwritten by an NSF grant of close to $800,000, already has the mobile base of the robotic arm under development.

The research team is now gathering data from focus groups of caregivers and older adults about how the robotic arm can be designed to help older adults with specific daily living tasks, such as picking up a dropped item or filling a water glass.

Key to the robot’s development are a series of focus groups with members of Living Independently For Elders (LIFE), the School of Nursing’s Program of All-Inclusive Care (PACE) that serves more than 400 older adults from the local community. Development and testing is expected to take two years. The robotic arm will also be programmed to analyze use over time to monitor elder health via service requests and proactively offer assistance as needed.

Therese Richmond Appointed to the State Advisory Board for the Violent Death Reporting System Violence is recognized as an important public health issue around the world, and is the leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 44, according to the World Health Organization. Violencerelated deaths and injuries cost the United States an estimated $107 billion a year in medical care and lost productivity.

Data are a key foundation for the practice of violence prevention. In 2014, Pennsylvania joined the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), which links data from law enforcement, coroners and medical examiners, vital statistics and crime laboratories to obtain the most comprehensive data available on homicides and suicides, as well as unintentional firearm injuries.

Therese Richmond, PhD, FAAN, CRNP, Andrea B. Laporte Endowed Professor of Nursing, has been appointed to the Pennsylvania Department of Health advisory board for the Pennsylvania Violent Death Reporting System. She, along with a number of Penn colleagues, have spent more than a decade working with national and state legislators to help design and test the NDVRS and have it implemented in Pennsylvania.

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UPfront | Spring 2015

care to change the world

Connie Ulrich Leads New Investigation Into How to Make Cancer Trials More Effective A new research study from Penn Nursing will focus on understanding the concerns and motivations of patients who participate in cancer research studies, and results are expected to improve the research infrastructure of cancer clinical trials.

Connie M. Ulrich, PhD, RN, FAAN, Associate Professor of Nursing, is lead investigator of the

study, and has be awarded more than $2 million in funding from the National Cancer Institute for the five-year project titled “Retention in Cancer Clinical Trials: Modeling Patients’ Risk Benefit Assessments.” Dr. Ulrich’s study will use an innovative mixedmethods approach and mathematical 3-D perceptual mapping (multidimensional scaling) to examine how patient-participants conceptualize the risks and benefits involved in cancer clinical trials across age, gender and race-ethnicity.

The study is important because a critical gap exists between the theoretical ideal of informed consent and how people, particularly those with serious illnesses, make research participation decisions. When patient-participants do not weigh the risks and benefits of trial participation, it may lead to compromised study outcomes, participant withdrawal and sub-optimal patient and investigator experiences. By undertaking the study, Dr. Ulrich intends to advance theoretical, empirical and clinical understanding of risk-benefit assessment in cancer clinical trials as well as enhance ethical conduct of those trials in order to promote the translation of science into effective treatment for those who are seriously ill.

Margo Brooks Carthon’s Research Links Heart Failure Readmissions to Hospital Work Environment and Missed Nursing Care More than 5 million Americans have heart failure, with 10 per 1,000 new cases being reported each year after age 65, according to the American Heart Association. Despite advances in heart failure-related medical care, frequent readmission is of particular concern when treating these patients. Results of a new cross-sectional study of hospitals in the United States link the quality of hospital work environments and missed nursing care to heart failure readmissions.

J. Margo Brooks Carthon, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor of Nursing, was the primary

investigator in the study, which has been published in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety.

Results indicate that missed care is an independent predictor of heart failure readmissions. However, once adjusting for the quality of the nurse work environment, this relationship is attenuated. Improvements in nurses’ working conditions may be one strategy to reduce care omissions and improve patient outcomes.

www.nursing.upenn.edu

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RESEARCH

The Power of the Past in Shaping the Future Nurses have long been on the front lines of natural disasters, epidemics or other world crises. In the early 20th century, this often meant putting themselves at direct risk for exposure to scarlet fever, typhoid and tuberculosis.

Stella Goostray, a highly regarded director of nursing at Boston Children’s Hospital, developed typhoid fever when, as a new student nurse, she was ordered to clean an overflowed toilet in a typhoid room before she had been instructed in safe handling of excretions. She returned to nursing only after many weeks of lonely recovery and isolation.

The plight of Stella Goostray is similar to that facing today’s healthcare workers addressing the Ebola crisis.

Today we have better tools and resources to protect these workers, but there is much to learn from the past about how we can better educate and reduce the risk for our front line practitioners.

For more than 25 years, the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing has done just that – illuminating nursing history on topics directly linked to emerging health issues.

The Center recently launched a blog, Nursing History and Health Policy: Echoes and Evidence, where faculty and students can share scholarship and discuss ways in which the lessons of history can be used to shape today’s healthcare system and future policy.

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By Elisa Stro

Children’s Health and W elfare: Rhetoric vs Reality

By Cynthia Connolly

…many of the problems chi ldren face that stymied our predecessors through the early and middle decades of the 20th century endure. For example, despite the fact tha t major federal programs suc h as Medicaid, Supplemental Soc ial Security, and the Childre n’s Health Insurance Program were des igned, at least in part, to ma ke sure that all children could benefit from new scientific knowledge and technological advances, ma ny still do not. According to the United States Census Bureau, 8.9% (6.6 million) of children lack health insurance.

What is the right approach?

And who should decide? Nu rsing, the United States’ largest group of health professionals, nee ds to be engaged in these debates.

And when we do, consider that this “new” idea in 2014 of presch ool for all American childre n reflects a contemporary political and social context shaped by his tory.

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UPfront | Spring 2015

care to change the world

Echoes and Evidence explores hidden treasures from nursing and healthcare’s rich history and their policy implications, provoking dialogue and fostering collaborative scholarly growth. Knowing what has gone before and how that affects the creation, design and implementation of public policy is essential for enacting policies that improve the public’s health.

The blog also highlights the instrumental role that nurses and the nursing profession have played within the wide scope of healthcare history and health policy, and nurses’ continued importance in the delivery of modern healthcare services.

Recognizing the power of the past in influencing the future, Philly.com’s public health blog now features content from the Center’s blog – such as the selected excerpts shown opposite. As these blog posts demonstrate, the history of nursing and healthcare continues to inform its future, making the mission of the Bates Center more timely and relevant than ever.

To read more from the Center’s blog, please visit: http://historian.nursing.upenn.edu/

P R E S E RV IN G OUR FUTURE… Since its inception more than 25 years ago, Penn Nursing’s Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing has become the preeminent destination for scholarship in nursing history, dedicated to fostering a nuanced understanding of the history of healthcare as seen through the lens of nursing. Last fall, the Bates Center launched its “Preserving Our Future” campaign to ensure its ongoing impact on shaping future policy, research, practice and education. Your support of the Bates Center will enable future generations of nursing scientists and scholars at Penn Nursing to analyze our extensive archival collection in order to create and foster new innovations that will shape the future of healthcare.

Make a gift to the Bates Center with the enclosed envelope or at: www.nursing.upenn.edu/history/Pages/Preserving-Our-Future.aspx For more information on how you can support the Bates Center, contact Wylie Thomas at 215.898.4841 or wthomas@nursing.upenn.edu.

www.nursing.upenn.edu

21

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS From the Penn Nursing Alumni Board President

Dear Fellow Alumni and Friends, As I prepare to leave my position as president of the Penn Nursing Alumni Board, I want to personally thank all of you for your insight and support over the past three years. This has been an extremely rewarding experience.

Together we have celebrated the culmination of the Making History: The Campaign for Penn. The generosity of alumni and friends of the school who responded to the campaign resulted in an unprecedented $4.3 billion for the university and $109 million for the School of Nursing. We raised visibility and initiated discussions about the impact of the urban environment on a woman’s ability to live a healthy life and protect the health of her family via the Healthy Cities: Healthy Women conference series in key cities including Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and London. We witnessed Penn Nursing award its inaugural Renfield Award for Global Women’s Health to Edna Adan. We celebrated the legendary impact of Afaf Meleis as dean and welcomed Dean Antonia Villarruel as the school’s sixth dean (and second alumna dean). In addition, we welcomed more than a thousand freshly minted graduates into the Penn Nursing alumni family.

As an alumni board, we experienced success together as we planned memory-filled Homecoming and Alumni Weekend events; revamped our alumni awards; converted from an elected to appointed board structure; instilled in students a stronger understanding of alumni benefits; built more connections with faculty; partnered and leveraged the many resources of the university alumni office; strengthened our relationship with the HUP Alumni; hosted nursing alumni networking events in several cities; and celebrated our fifth year of graduate alumni reunions to acknowledge the unique experience and sense of affiliation for graduate alumni.

Because I was extremely grateful for my education, I initially sought to connect with Penn Nursing and the Alumni Board as a way to give back to the school. Little did I know how much my connection would support my own personal and professional growth.

I am grateful to a number of people who have made my tenure as president so positive. Thank you Monica Salvia for all you do for so many, so often! Thank you to everyone with the Office of Institutional Advancement for your willingness to think out of the box and for your guidance. Thank you Dean Kehler and the Board of Overseers for the opportunity to represent the alumni community perspective. Thank you Julie Platt and Trina Middleton and the University Alumni Office for your partnership and support.

Finally, I ask you to welcome and support the very capable Ashley Z. Ritter, Nu’07, GNu’10, our new Penn Nursing Alumni Board president, along with all of the Alumni Board members. It has truly been a privilege to learn, grow and serve with you. I look forward to staying connected. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve Penn Nursing!

Warm Regards, Terri Cox Glassen, Nu’91 President, Penn Nursing Alumni Board

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UPfront | Spring 2015

From the HUP Nursing Alumni Association President

Dear Fellow Alumni, This is my last president’s message in UPfront as my term ends in May. I am very glad to announce that Elaine Nuss Dreisbaugh, HUP class of 1960, will be our next president. Many readers may recall that Elaine has already served in this position and is accomplished in its duties. Elaine has also served on the HUP Board of Directors and is currently chairperson of the Scholarship Committee.

For me, working with HUP Association Board members, members of the Penn School of Nursing Alumni Board, and two distinguished deans has been a uniquely valuable experience. I have been particularly enriched by my close interactions with all these remarkable and dedicated nurses. But then, nursing itself is a valuable, fulfilling profession with an expansive reach that encompasses all aspects of human life and healthcare while enfolding all ages and peoples.

HUP alumni are valued and active members of the Penn Nursing Alumni body. Both HUP and Penn Association Board members had the pleasure of speaking with Dean Antonia Villarruel at a delightful luncheon this fall, where we got to know her and each other. We look forward to continued collaboration on our shared interests and activities, which has already made a significant impact on our mutual goals.

One of these shared goals is the support of future nurses. The HUP Association graciously offers scholarship money to Penn Nursing students in any year or field of endeavor. The application deadline is May 15, 2015.

To find out more, please click on the HUP section of the alumni website at www.nursing.upenn.edu/alumni.

In the near future, our members look forward to welcoming Dean Villarruel as we gather with all our usual camaraderie at our Annual Spring Luncheon on April 25, 2015. We already have much respect and admiration for the Dean and are confident in her leadership of the School. We will enjoy hearing about what is to come.

In the distant future, we eagerly anticipate and are working toward our next HUP reunion in the fall of 2016, when we will celebrate our alumni with much joy and fellowship.

Please accept my heartfelt thanks to each of you, and may God bless us all.

Best Regards, Cleo Wolfe Libonati, HUP’68, Nu’72 President, Alumni Association of the School of Nursing of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

www.nursing.upenn.edu

23

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS No email? You’re missing out

Log in and learn

We rely on email to notify alumni about events in their local area, share job opportunities and faculty news.

If we don’t have your email address, we’re missing you! Send your email address to nursalum@pobox. upenn.edu or log on to QuakerNet (see below) to update your information.

Free Penn Nursing Alumni webinars offer direct access to the Penn Nursing Science and professors you trust. Content has included the Future of Nursing report, Breastfeeding, the Transitional Care Model, Vaccination Acceptance, Exercise and Heart Disease, and an upcoming Town Hall with Dean Villarruel on March 24.

Where are your classmates?

Find them – and check your alumni profile – in QuakerNet, a database of Penn graduates, searchable by industry, employer name, major, degree, student clubs and more. Use the protected, Penn-only site to update your contact information and set preferences, manage lifelong email forwarding, or search for contacts at a hospital or organization where you’d like to work. Make a connection at: quakernet.alumni.upenn.edu/nursing.

Make a difference in five minutes Penn Nursing volunteers can make a difference in as little as five minutes. Join our LinkedIn page and offer your professional expertise to a student. Update your alumni record using QuakerNet. Host a student at your clinical workplace. Use skype to interview a potential Penn Nursing student. Make a gift online. For more information on these and other ways you can give back, email nursalum@pobox.upenn.edu or see www.nursing.upenn.edu/alumni and click on the “Volunteer” link.

It’s easy to participate: Most sessions are one hour and take place at lunchtime. If you can’t attend live, you can find a recorded session on our website www.nursing.upenn.edu/alumni under Resources & Benefits. Recent recordings are also available on Penn Nursing’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/PennNursingScience.

Want to know more?

Contact Penn Nursing Alumni Relations Monica Salvia Associate Director of Alumni Relations 215.898.9773 Email: nursalum@pobox.upenn.edu Web: www.nursing.upenn.edu/alumni

Search QuakerNet, Penn’s online alumni community to find classmates and make connections by location, job title, employer, degree level and more.

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UPfront | Spring 2015

C L AS S N O TES 1950s Eleanor Crowder Bjoring, HUP’50, completed the endowment of the University of Virginia’s nursing history center, which is now named in her honor: The Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry (ECBCNHI) at the University of Virginia. The Bjoring Center is dedicated to the preservation, research and dissemination of nursing history and is open to students, historians and scholars from around the world. The Center sponsors fellowships supporting nursing historical research, hosts conferences and seminars and a series of history forums each semester.

1960s Roberta D. Pinchini, HUP’68,

an attorney at Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock & Dodig LLP, was recently chosen for the highest honor bestowed by the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, the Justice Musmanno Award. She was also named to the 2015 Best Lawyers in America® list by U.S. News & World Report for her efforts in the area of medical malpractice and personal injury litigation.

1970s Ruth Miller Correnti, Nu’75, is a pediatric nurse at the Love and Care Agency.

1980s Anna Humber Rolen, Nu’59, shared the photo below of the Class of 1959, one of the first graduating classes from the School of Nursing’s BSN program.

Editor’s note: Were you a member of the Class of 1959? Send us your own Alumni Note sharing any personal and professional updates! And come meet our new Dean at the Legacy Breakfast on Alumni Weekend (more details on page 33).

Kathryn Kallas, GNu’80, is now Vice President of Care Redesign at Optum United Healthcare.

Kathryn D. Kallas, GNu’81, received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Minnesota in 2011 and recently published her research in the September 2014 issue of Nursing Administration Quarterly. Her article “Profile of an Excellent Nurse Manager: Identifying and Developing Health Care Team Leaders,” identifies the leadership attributes and competencies that characterize an excellent nurse manager. She currently serves as the vice president for Care Redesign at Optum UnitedHealthcare.

Loretta Sweet-Jemmott, GNu’82, GR’87, is retiring from

her position as Penn Nursing’s van Ameringen Professor of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusivity to join the Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professionals as the vice president for Health and Health Equity and professor of Nursing. Dr. Jemmott will work with Drexel’s President John Fry to engage the residents of West Philadelphia’s Mantua, Powelton and Millcreek communities in an ongoing and collaborative process to promote its own community’s health and health equity.

In addition, Dr. Jemmott will assist with the creation of a Center for Nursing Research.

Carolyn Weaver, Nu’83, is now an Oncology Clinical Nurse Educator at Quintiles.

Robin Snowden, GNu’84, writes that she is “happily married to Saul Hinden, enjoying being a wife, and singing with the Monmouth Civic Chorus and Makhelat Hamercaz. We live in Monmouth County, N.J.” She recently underwent bilateral total hip replacement and has been recovering at home under the care and watchfulness of her husband; she is grateful to him “for his natural sense of healing abilities and TLC” and, if she could, would “nominate him for an honorary RN, NP.” Kathleen Brewer-Smyth, GNu’85, GR’01, was

selected to be inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in the fall of 2014 and also received the 2013 Association of Rehabilitation Nurses Doctorate-Prepared Researcher Role Award, which recognizes a rehabilitation nurse who is committed to the advancement of rehabilitation through research. Dr. Brewer-Smyth is an associate professor at the University of Delaware.

Diane Spatz, Nu’86, GNu’89, GR’95, was selected as an

Edge Runner of the American Academy of Nursing for her innovative and path-breaking work protecting human milk and promoting the breastfeeding of our most vulnerable infants.

Dr. Spatz is professor of Perinatal Nursing and the Helen M. Shearer Term Professor of Nutrition at the Penn School of Nursing.

www.nursing.upenn.edu

25

C LA S S NOT E S (c o n ti n u e d ) Robert Hess, GR’88, is the executive vice

president of education content/credentialing for ContinuingEducation.com, Gannett Healthcare Group, and was recently appointed trustee for the Foundation of the National Student Nursing Association and elected as director of the Board of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing. In addition, the third edition of his book coauthored with Dr. Diana Swihart, Shared Governance: A Practical Approach to Transforming Interprofessional Healthcare was published.

Christian Burchill, GNu’89, Cleveland Clinic

nurse researcher, has been elected presidentelect of the Cleveland chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association. He is also completing psychometric testing of a survey instrument that he developed that identifies factors that make emergency nurses feel safe from patient/visitor violence. The research is supported by a grant jointly sponsored by the Emergency Nurses Association and Sigma Theta Tau International.

1990s Terri Cox Glassen, Nu’91, co-authored an

article published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. The article “Mobile-Web App to Self-Manage Low Back Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial,” evaluates the efficacy of a mobile-Web intervention called “FitBack” to help users implement self-tailored strategies to manage and prevent lower back pain.

Fedricker D. Barber, GNu’95,

received the 2013 Ethel Fleming Arceneaux Outstanding Nurse-Oncologist Award from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This is the institution’s highest nursing honor. Dr. Barber works in investigational cancer therapeutics, phase I clinical trials program.

Jennifer Kershaw Jensen, C’95, GNu’98,

writes, “I have been living in Chicago for the past 13 years and working as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Lurie Children’s Hospital. I have a challenging, yet rewarding, position caring for HIV+ adolescents. In May 2010, I married a fellow Chicagoan, Michael Jensen. We have twin daughters, Kenna and Sierra, who were born on June 16. Here’s to having our twins become graduates of the Penn Class of 2032!”

Jeannette Stankiewicz Kates, Nu’95, GNu’97, joined the staff of Samaritan

Healthcare and Hospice as a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner.

Allison Squires, Nu’95, is an assistant

professor and deputy director of international education at NYU College of Nursing and a research assistant professor at NYU School of Medicine. The World Bank recently hired her as a health-professions education consultant for health labor markets analyses in low and middle-income countries. She is based at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

Sigrid Ladores, Nu’97, GNu’02 competed in a fundraising ballroom-dance competition in May to benefit student scholarships for the University of Central Florida nursing school, where she has been a faculty member since 2003. With the help of her professional dance instructor, her waltz and singing earned her the first-place finish, and she raised over $10,000.

Maria Coutretsis Magliacano, Nu’98 and Marc Magliacano, W’96, write, “We are thrilled to announce the birth of our fourth daughter, Mia Grace Magliacano, on May 10 in Greenwich, Conn. Big sisters Lily (8), Ava (5), and Chloe (2) are very excited to add another girl to our household!”

Kristen Bomboy, GNu’99, took a position with

Mental Health Services of Southern Oklahoma as a Family Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner.

2000s Lin Lin, GNu’00, is an associate professor at the University of California-San Francisco.

Christina R. Theriault, Nu’00, is now a Nurse Practitioner with Maine Family Planning.

Courtney Cassidy, Nu’03, WEV’11, GNu’11,

is now the Magnet Program Director for Pennsylvania Hospital.

Kara Gasiorowski, Nu’05, GNu’11, is now the Director of Nursing at Jefferson Surgical Center at the Navy Yard.

Anna (Slavinsky) Zimmerman, Nu‘07, GNu‘11,

is now a lieutenant in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service.

1990s Margaret C. Wilmoth, Gr’93, was recently promoted to the rank of major general in the United States Army Reserve.

Margaret has spent more than 30 years in the armed services. She was promoted to brigadier general in 2005 with assignment as the commanding general of the 332nd Medical Brigade, making her the first nurse and first woman to command a medical brigade as a general officer.

Most recently in her concurrent civilian career, Margaret served as the first Dean of the Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions at Georgia State University. Prior to this position, she was a professor in the School of Nursing, College of Health and Human Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Margaret is co-chair of the American Academy of Nursing’s Military/Veterans Expert Panel and currently serves on the HRSA National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, and the Georgia Nurse Leaders Coalition, the Georgia Action Coalition on the Future of Nursing. She is also a former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, having served her fellowship in 2009-2010 with then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

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UPfront | Spring 2015

2010s Maura Holt Aaberg, Nu’09, GNu’10, writes, “My husband Jonas Aaberg and I are excited to announce the birth of our son, Axel Brian Aaberg, on Aug. 14. We live in Connecticut, where I practice as a certified nurse-midwife.

Jonas is a software engineer.”

Claire Reilly-Shapiro, Nu’09, GNu’12, joined

the staff of Seattle Children’s Hospital as an advanced registered nurse practitioner.

Kristen A. Schmidt, Nu’09, is a senior quality

analyst for Penn Medicine.

Ashley Darcy Mahoney, GNu’09, GR’10,

presented at the July 2014 Sigma Theta Tau conference in Hong Kong, where she had the chance to visit fellow alumna Jun Zhang, GR’07, who is an associate professor at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China.

Abby McDowell, Nu’11, is now a staff nurse

for Pennsylvania Hospital.

Kathryn L. Severson, Nu’11, GNu’14, is now a

women’s health nurse practitioner for West Side Family Health Care.

Brianna Morgan, C’08, Nu’12, is now the

cognitive research coordinator for the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center.

Natalie B. Negro, Nu’12, is now a clinical doctor of medical documentation at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ryan Pryor, Nu’12, GNu’13, took a position with Baystate Medical Practices as a family nurse practitioner.

Skyler R. Cohen, Nu’13, GNu’14, is now a

registered nurse at South Nassau Dermatology.

2010s

Julia Golden, GNu’13,

Augastin Kozhimala, Nu’10, W’10, is now a

welcomed baby James on October 20.

sales consultant for Proficient Surgical.

Susie Strzelczyk, Nu’10, W’10, married

Dr. Reid Fletcher, EAS’10, on June 7 in Lake Oswego, Ore. Attending were Sarah Doherty, EAS’10; Julia Luscombe, C’10, W’10; Julia Holup, C’10; Sara Mead, C’10; Molly Seltzer, C’10; Orly May, C’10; Caitlin Jones, C’10; Nicole Harris, C’10; Julia Ritchie, C’10; Mark Perelis, C’10; Elliot Woods EAS’09; Michael Rieche, C’10; Dan Mingle, C’10; Patrick Bradley, C’10; Samir Sonti, C’09, W’09; Alex Standen, C’10; Andrew Sweet, C’10; Andrew Totman, C’10; Allison Freedman, C’10; Susanna Shuman, Nu’11, W’11; and Julia Enyart, C’10. Reid and Susie live in Chicago, where he is a general-surgery resident at Rush University Medical Center and she is a healthcare consultant at Sg2 in Skokie.

Julia Tracey, GNu’13, is

now a CRNP Fellow at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Jacqueline E. Harper, Nu’14, is now a DONA

international trained doula with the Philadelphia Alliance for Labor Support.

Olajumoke O. Odunuyi, Nu’14, is now a

registered nurse with Alden Wentworth in Chicago, Ill. Jill Marie Vanak, GR’14, joined the staff of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a healthcare outcomes consultant.

Wendy J. Zhang, Nu’14, W’14, is a registered

nurse with the Georgetown University Hospital.

Jesus Manuel Crespo-Diaz, GNu’11, is now a

clinic manager for the U.S. Navy.

Alexandra Drewicz, Nu’11, took a position

with New York-Presbyterian Hospital as a staff nurse.

Annemarie Marrou, Nu’11 and Jeffrey Yenor, Nu’11,

will celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary on March 8.

They met in the accelerated BSN program and are now living in Miami, Fla., where Jeff is working as a PICU and pediatric CICU RN, and Annemarie is a nurse practitioner.

Zia Zaidi, Nu’14, GNu’17, spent two months post-graduation on a service trip to Pakistan, where he volunteered at two orphanages. He spent three weeks at Saba Homes, an orphanage for girls, and two weeks at SOS Children’s Village Lahore, a mixed orphanage. While there, he provided healthcare maintenance education, first aid and emergency care education, professional counseling, and donation dispersion to more than 200 orphans, 1,000 impoverished children, as well as numerous orphanage staff mothers.

Correction: The fall 2014 issue of UPfront

misprinted the name of the alumna who took a position with La Comunidad Hispana; the alumna is Catherine Domanska, Nu’10, GNu’12, not Cynthia.

We want to hear from you!

We welcome your input and encourage your participation at nursalum@pobox.upenn.edu or 215.898.9773.

Zia wrote a few short articles on his experiences and created a Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ziazaidivolunteer.

Writing about his experience at Saba Homes, an orphanage started by Saghir and Bushra Aslam, Zia shared: Throughout my time there I was met with nothing less than the love of a parent from the Aslams and the love of sisters from the girls. The chorus of “As-salamu alaykum Zia Bhai (Peace be upon you Brother Zia)! that greeted me every day as I walked through the front door is a sound that lifted my spirit to heights previously unfounded. I gave lectures on resumé and portfolio building in order to give the girls an edge as far as how to apply to colleges/universities both in Pakistan and abroad. After reading their resumés I saw that I was looking at future policewomen, politicans, doctors and even one girl whose dream it was to start her own Saba Homes. In order to give the girls interested in healthcare some experience and confidence in their field of choice, I also held workshops that taught them how to take vital signs and give emergency care to drowning and choking victims, victims on fire, and to those in need of CPR. In terms of healthcare promotion, I thought it was prudent to get the girls active so I taught them how to play volleyball, badminton, basketball and 4 square.

Read more about Zia’s experiences and other alumni profiles on the Meet Our Alumni section of the website. www.nursing.upenn.edu

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I N M E MORI A M 1930s Monica Conover, HUP’34, passed away on

September 3, 2011. She was the beloved wife of the late George Conover, a proud WWII Navy nurse and longtime private secretary at the Philadelphia Electric Company.

Mary Doan, HUP’38, passed away on July 1, 2014. Born in Ashland, Oct. 28, 1917, she was a daughter of the late Charles and Ann Hause Graeber. She was the beloved wife of the late James Doan. Mary was a registered nurse at the Scheie Eye Institute for more than 40 years.

Nadine Landis, HUP’46, Ed’50, GNu’65, of St. Marys, Pa., passed away on January 31,

2015. She served the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for more than 40 years in a capacity of professional leadership, beginning with her position as head nurse in the Neuro-Surgical Operating Room to her eventual appointment as director of nursing administration. She was the president of the HUP Nursing Alumni Association in 1956 and in 1985 joined the advisory board of the Center for the Study of the History of Nursing as a charter member. Nadine received the 2001 HUP Distinguished Alumnus Award honoring graduates who have made outstanding and significant contributions. In 2002, she received the Legacy Award from the School of Nursing Society of the Alumni and she received Penn’s highest recognition, the Alumni Award of Merit, in 2003, for collecting and sharing the history of nursing education at Penn.

She is survived by her brother, Thomas Landis.

1940s Lois Moulton, HUP’41, passed away on

December 25, 2013, in Barre, Vt. Louisa Barry, HUP’43, passed away on July

11, 2014 in Chapel Hill, N.C. Born in Monterey Va. on July 31, 1922, she was the daughter of John Howard Stephenson and Mary Hevener Stephenson. She and her husband William Francis Barry, Jr. raised their children in Durham, N.C., and enjoyed many years vacationing with family and friends at Atlantic Beach, N.C. After her husband’s death in 1984, she moved to Carol Woods Retirement Community, where she lived an active and happy life with good friends and enjoyed travel and joyful times at the beach. She is survived by two daughters, three grandsons and four grandchildren.

Elizabeth Riegel, HUP’45, passed away on

January 23, 2011.

Patricia Fesenmyer, HUP’46, passed away on October 14, 2014. While she was busy raising her family, she also worked in a variety of nursing positions, but her favorite thing to do was to work with new mothers and babies.

After retiring to Hayesville, N.C., Pat and her husband Bob were active at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and volunteered for Meal on Wheels, Clay County Food Pantry and Granny’s Attic. Throughout their lives, they lived in many places and because of that, Pat was always open to new friendships. It was often said of her that she never met a stranger.

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UPfront | Spring 2015

Suzanne Rosenwald Metzner, HUP’46,

of Myersville, Md., passed away on June 28, 2013.

Phyllis Patterson, HUP’46, passed away on

January 30, 2012.

Mildred Strong Schmidt, Ed’46, passed away

on October 8, 2014. She was licensed as a registered nurse in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York and in 2009 was added to the Nursing Hall of Fame. She retired in 1983 from her last position as executive secretary to the State Board of Nursing in the New York State Education Department. She promoted the establishment of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and was elected president of the Council in 1979 and 1980. During the 5th annual convention of the council, she was honored by receiving the first Dr. R. Louise McManus award for her contributions to its establishment and work. In 2014, a room at the National Headquarters in Chicago was named The Mildred Schmidt Room in her honor. Prior to working for the Board, she was a teacher of nursing at Monmouth Memorial Hospital (now Monmouth Medical Center) and from 1951 to 1958 as Director of the School of Nursing and of Nursing Services, and was the first national

consultant for associated degree nursing programs for the National League for Nursing in New York. She was an avid supporter of the NJ Symphony Orchestra and served as president of the NJSO League, Monmouth Chapter. She was an active member of the Red Bank Methodist Church and its music program.

Dolores Kocyan, HUP’47, passed away on

July 27, 2014. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. She was a natural artist and had a love of playing classical piano, especially music by Chopin and Debussy. Dolores was a registered nurse and volunteered at The Historical Society of Moorestown as docent, acquisitions head, and trustee for more than 15 years, and was also a docent for the Camden County Historical Society/Pomona Hall. Her artistic talents were happily lent at Smithville Mansion events as a pastel portrait and silhouette artist. Most beloved to Dolores were raising her family, caring for her home, playing the piano at family gatherings and enjoying her garden.

Dorcas Creek Cox, HUP’48, passed away on January 1, 2014, in Graham, NC.

1950s Denise Androulakis, Nu’51, passed away on May 21, 2014. She was born and raised in Harrisburg, Pa. and was a clinical instructor in nursing at the Polyclinic Hospital. While teaching there, she continued her education, graduating with a master’s degree in education from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. Her teaching career in nursing continued at the Philadelphia General Hospital and at Wilmington Memorial Hospital in Delaware.

After several years devoted to nursing education, Denise made a career change and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. During the 20 years of her service, she was either in teaching or administration in several locations in the United States, Germany and Spain, retiring as a full colonel. Denise, “Andy,” will always be known to her many friends for her lively entertaining conversation and her wonderful sense of humor.

Judith Wills Cooper Eshleman, HUP’52,

passed away on February 2, 2014.

Flora Ronkin, HUP’52, passed away on

December 4, 2014, in Voorhees, NJ. Jean Zeigler Verbeck, Nu’52, passed away

on October 9, 2014.

Norma Reeser Vogt, HUP’52, passed away on

January 31, 2015, in Fort Belvoir Va. While attending HUP she met and then married Donald A. Vogt upon his graduation from the US Naval Academy on June 5, 1953. She finished her nursing career at Mt. Vernon Hospital in Fairfax County, Va. She enjoyed a variety of outdoor sports, water-skiing, hiking, fishing, sailing and particularly caring for and riding the family horses. She will be remembered for her strength and loyal devotion to her family.

Elizabeth H. Flemming, Nu’53, passed away

on December 2, 2013 in Southampton, Pa. Barbara Ann Christman, HUP’54, passed

away on November 19, 2013.

Mary W. Galindo, Nu’54, passed away on

January 29, 2013.

Mary H. Gockley, Nu’54, passed away on December 16, 2014. She practiced nursing and taught in several schools of nursing in Philadelphia for 41 years. During World War II, Mary specialized in contagious disease nursing. Mary was honored on two occasions (1970 and 1974) for “Distinguished service in the education of nursing students” and “the care of pediatric patients” by the Board of Trustees, the medical staff, and the nursing school faculty of the Philadelphia General Hospital.

Nancy Robinson, HUP’54, passed away on

November 7, 2011.

Dorothy B. Amis, Nu’55, G’63, passed away on

November 1, 2014. Dorothy graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Wash. As a student, she enlisted in the United States Cadet Nurse Corp in 1943. After working as a psychiatric nursing instructor in Philadelphia for 15 years, she came back home to the West Coast and taught at the University of Washington and Shoreline Community College. She retired in 1974.

Patricia Marie Bell, HUP’55, passed away on

May 1, 2012. She worked at Lakenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Terrace, and various nursing homes in the greater Philadelphia area. Beloved wife of Robert for 57 years, Patricia is survived by three children, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Florence Brown, GEd’56,

passed away on May 27, 2014. She was the director of nursing at Temple Hospital and School of Nursing for 19 years, was the first director of nursing at Lehigh Valley Hospital Center and was an active member of the National League for Nursing and American Nursing Association.

Florence was also a founding member of the board to form the Hospice at Lehigh Valley Hospital as well as being a member of Northampton Quota Club, holding the office of president twice. In addition, Florence was a board member of the Meals on Wheels for over 25 years, and an avid golfer.

Betty Hummel Greaves, Nu’56, passed away

on October 4, 2014.

S. Mary Gruber, GEd’56, passed away on August 7, 2014. She was a general duty nurse, later serving as director of nursing education at Temple University Hospital, School of Nursing, and retiring as associate professor from City College of N.Y. She held numerous committee and member advisory positions for N.J., N.Y. and Pa. nursing associations. Mary was very active in her community, having served on Beach Haven’s Board of Health until 1971, the Planning Board from 1982 to 1988 and the Land Use Board from 1994 to 2006.

She also served as a volunteer of the LBI Historical Association, an advisory board member for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Ocean County, Ocean County Department of Human Services Committee on Health and Human Services, and volunteer for the Intergenerational Program at Southern Regional High School and Beach Haven Elementary School. Since its construction in 2004, Mary worked diligently as a volunteer and trustee of the Museum of New Jersey Maritime History, spending the past 10 years digitizing the museum’s collection of rare documents, books and maritime artifacts.

Shirley Mae Swartz, HUP’56, passed away on

October 19, 2012.

Mildren Grim Stern, Nu’58, passed away on

January 31, 2013. She was a retired health teacher at Atlantic City High School.

Dorothy Miller Urban, Nu’58, passed away on June 24, 2014. She was a captain in the Nursing Corps of the U.S. Army. She is survived by her husband Bob, her two children and her four grandchildren.

Ruth Lennox Dubois, Nu’59, passed away on

May 8, 2013. She was a retired nurse at Massachusetts Memorial Hospital in Boston.

www.nursing.upenn.edu

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I N M E MORI A M (co n ti n u e d ) 1960s Elenora Reibel, Nu’60, passed away on

November 15, 2014. In 1954 Elenora married Kurt Reibel, the beginning of a 60-year marriage lasting the rest of her life. She worked as a nurse in Philadelphia and Ohio and taught as a lecturer for many years in the Ohio State University School of Nursing and as an analyst consulting with the Ohio Attorney General’s office of crime victim compensation.

She also had a longstanding consulting career with the World Health Organization, as part of a traveling team of nurse educators providing crash courses to quickly train midwives in developing countries. In this role she worked in the Philippines, Egypt, India and Bahrain. She served as deputy director of the Ohio Board of Nursing, which is responsible for accrediting nursing schools and administering the Nurse Practice Act. In her two years at the Board, Elenora inspected every nursing school in the state. She successfully lobbied for major changes to the nurse practice act that gave licensed nurse practitioners the right to prescribe medicine, serve as midwives and otherwise provide healthcare services independently of medical doctors. After their retirement, Elenora and Kurt enjoyed long trips to Australia and South America. She is survived by her husband, three children and five grandchildren.

Marjorie Frey Gibson, Nu’61, passed away on

March 22, 2014.

Arlene M. Hughes, Nu’61, passed away on

June 29, 2014.

Jane Tragus Costanzo, Nu’62, G’65, passed away on November 12, 2012. She was a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve Nursing Corps and worked as a nurse in Philadelphia for various hospitals, including Graduate Hospital, Wills Eye Hospital, and The Institute, part of Pennsylvania Hospital as the first female nursing instructor in a male school of nursing.

In New Jersey, Jane worked as a night supervisor at the former Rahway Hospital. She also taught nursing at St. Elizabeth’s in Elizabeth, N.J., and at St. Michael’s in Newark, N.J., on a government grant. Jane later worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a medical research associate for Schering Plough, and Davis & Geck, a subsidiary of American Cyanamid, working on various drug studies and medical devices. Jane was a

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UPfront | Spring 2015

wonderful and loving woman who will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

She served in various organizations in the area, including the First Mountain Crafters; NJMAUG, a Mac computer club; Handweavers Assoc.; OWL (Oak Leaf Women’s Club) of Livingston, N.J.; AARP No. 3663 Livingston Chapter; the Reeves-Reed Arboretum Store, and the Lithuanian Club of Northern N.J. Jane was the loving wife of 51 years of Sabatino, having met her husband-to-be at a wedding 53 years ago.

Geraldine Weil, HUP’63, passed away on

December 17, 2013.

Evelyn Brennan Baird, GNu’64, passed away

on August 8, 2014. Evelyn was devoted to nursing having worked as a registered nurse for more than 65 years. She was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a member of the U.S. Air Force National Guard, retiring with the rank of major in 1972. She was a member of the Sigma Theta Tau National Honor Society, Philadelphia, Pa. She taught in schools of nursing and worked in rehabilitation hospitals most of her life. She was also active in the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Pittsburgh for more than 20 years. Evelyn was listed in Who’s Who in American Nursing-Rehab Nursing. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 43 years, Charles William Baird, Jr. Virginia “Ginny” Hill Gaumer, Nu’64, passed

away on May 15, 2014. She had a 30-year career in public health nursing in Maryland and in Georgia. She is survived by her husband, daughter, sister and grandson.

Anne J. McGuigan, Nu’64, passed away on

March 25, 2013.

M. Bernice Bucher, GNu’65, passed away on

December 14, 2014. She served honorably in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Among other stations, she was a director at Bethesda Naval Hospital (now Walter Reed Medical Center).

After retiring from the Navy, she was a nursing director at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster. She ended her professional career as a surveyor for The Joint Commission. Bernice is survived by a sister, Carmel Joyce of North Carolina, many nieces, nephews, their children and her faithful caregiver, Lynn. She is preceded in death by three brothers.

Joanne Boucher Griffith, Nu’65, of Lincoln, Calif., passed away on June 1, 2013. She was a retired nurse. At Penn, she was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. Her husband is David L. Griffith, GEE’63, her sister is Sheryl J. Boucher, CW’68, and her daughter is Dr. Caroline L. Merchant, V’92.

Elizabeth M. Foreman, GNu’66, passed away on August 7, 2013. She was a nursing instructor at Mary Fletcher Hospital in Burlington, Vt. Grace S. Hamm, GNu’66, passed away on

April 19, 2013. She had been a nursing instructor at Norristown State Hospital.

Dr. Lydia K. Hebestreit, GNu’68, passed away

on February 1, 2013.

1970s Mary Charlotte “Char” Bilger Walling, HUP’71, passed away on June 5, 2014. After

graduating, she worked briefly at HUP in neurology. She and her husband John were married for 43 years and most recently lived in O’Fallon, Mo. She is also survived by her son Jeff and his wife Michelle and granddaughter Alyssa.

Elise Reed, Nu’77, passed away on March 15, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pa. Ina W. Gershenson, GNu’79, passed away on

June 28, 2014.

1980s Margo P. Leithead, GNu’81, passed away on

June 22, 2014. She enjoyed a very successful career as an instructor for the Geisinger Medical Center School of Nursing, the Pennsylvania State University School of Nursing, as well as the Jefferson University School of Nursing. In addition to her nursing career, Margo was an active volunteer for the U.S. Pony Clubs, a youth organization founded in Europe and devoted to young people under the age of 25 and the care of their horses and ponies. She served as the president of the Pony Club from 2003-2007. She was a parishioner at Christ Episcopal Church in Berwick, Pa., and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is survived by her husband Roger, their five children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Carol “Mickey” Midei, GNu’81, GNC’02,

Agnes L. Kouten, GNu’87, passed away on

passed away on January 16, 2015 in Macungie, Pa. She was a board-certified heart failure nurse practitioner. She worked for 10 years at the Center for Heart Care, Wellspan Ephrate Community Hospital in Ephrata, Pa. She was known for her empathetic patient care and community outreach projects. Mickey dedicated much of her career to teaching; she lectured at Ephrata Community Hospital, Cedar Crest College, St Luke’s School of Nursing, KAPLAN, and Northampton Community College. Other experiences include continuing education coordinator, clinical specialist of cardiovascular nursing, and critical care nurse at Lehigh Valley Hospital and coronary care manager at Sacred Heart Hospital. Patients, students and colleagues knew Mickey to be committed and passionate about her work in every context. Mickey is remembered for her never-ending love for her family, her optimistic spirit and her ability to touch so many people’s lives. She is survived by her husband Evon, a son, two daughters and four grandchildren.

September 22, 2014. She worked as a psychiatric nurse practitioner in several New Jersey hospitals. Agnes was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She was a loving sister and a selfless sponsor to those still suffering. She loved her many grandchildren and relished doting on them. Agnes could always be found watching her beloved Mets.

She also enjoyed watching golf and college basketball. Agnes was an avid reader and loved to travel with her sisters. She is survived

by Joseph W. Kouten, Jr., MD, her husband of 58 years, their six children and nine grandchildren.

Alison Apicella, Nu’83,

passed away on March 17, 2014, in Branford, Conn.

Before her retirement, she was a registered nurse in pediatric research for 26 years at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She is survived by her parents Mary Ellen and Anthony Apicella of Old Saybrook. She is also survived by her sister Suzanne Marello and her husband Anthony, by her brother Douglas Apicella and his wife Nicole, by her nieces Courtney Marello and Margaret Apicella and by her nephew Ian Apicella, all of Guilford.

Alice E. Shuler, GNu’86, passed away on

April 25, 2014. She was a respected ARNP-C in Pinellas County, Fla. and known for her gentle and compassionate nature in the mental health community. She met her life-long goal of owning her own practice, Gateway Counseling Associates, in St. Petersburg. Upon retiring from private practice, she continued to feel the need to bring comfort and healing to the mentally ill, and so continued to see patients on a part-time basis. She continued to do the work she loved until six months prior to her death. Alice leaves behind her loving and devoted partner Avis Bluto, as well as her sister, nephews and nieces.

Robert Brown, GNu’88, passed away on

April 2, 2014.

1990s Lesley Lynn Brandli, GNu’92, passed away on June 23, 2014. After graduating, she worked as a clinical oncology nurse specialist. She is survived by her husband David.

Rebecca Blouch, GNu’93, passed away on October 28, 2014. She was a licensed nurse practitioner for Matrix Medical Network and prior to that a nurse practitioner at the Veterans’ Administration clinic in Ventnor, N.J. She was a probation officer in Lycoming County, a social worker in Souderton and a specialty nurse at Lehigh Valley and Good Shepherd Hospitals. She taught nursing for HACC/Lebanon and volunteered for the Red Cross. Rebecca will be remembered for her generosity and thoughtfulness. She was a Gift of Life donor. She loved nature and animals and volunteered at Hawk Mountain Nature Preserve and the Philadelphia Zoo. A creative and talented artist, she designed jewelry, prepared culinary masterpieces and cultivated a garden of rare perennials among many other interests. She is survived by her brother, sister, nieces and nephews.

2010s Russell Lynn, GR’14, GR’15, passed away on

December 16, 2014. Russ began his career in nurse anesthetist education at Penn in 2002 when he served as clinical coordinator for the Pennsylvania Hospital Anesthesia program while practicing as a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Pennsylvania Hospital. He served as associate program director during the very successful transition of this stellar program from a hospital-based program to a full academic master’s program at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2012, he assumed the role of program director and was instrumental in expanding sites for practice. He was an acknowledged leader in professional nurse anesthesia associations, serving as board member, president, treasurer and program planning advisor for the New Jersey Association of Nurse Anesthetists. His service at the national level for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) was truly extraordinary.

His expertise led him to serve as an item writer for the national certification examination, member of the review team for accreditation of nurse anesthesia programs, member of multiple interprofessional work groups and also of the nomination committee for the Association. Most recently, Russ had been elected to serve on the National Board of Directors for the AANA. Since 2012, he led interprofessional teams, including Penn CRNA students, to provide surgical and post-operative care for patients in Guatemala and Honduras who otherwise would have gone without care. He was a life-long learner and had recently completed all the requirements for a master’s degree in bioethics and was a student in Penn Nursing’s PhD program.

Karen L. Anderson, GNu’98, passed away on May 13, 2013. She was a clinical nurse specialist and project manager at the Olin Neuropathy Research Center.

www.nursing.upenn.edu

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UP C OMI NG E V E N TS C A LEN DA R

Unless otherwise noted, all events will take place on Penn’s campus.

Spring 2015 March 18

Penn Nursing Research Colloquium “Avatars Travel for Free: Increasing Access to Evidence-based Trainings and Capacity Building” March 24

6th Annual Hillman Alumni Nursing Network Roundtable featuring Theresa Brown, clinical nurse, author, and New York Times columnist, will take place on NYU’s campus in NYC. This event is open to the public. RSVP at www.surveymonkey.com/s/TheresaBrownRSVP March 24

April 12-15

Quaker Days Formerly Preview Weekend, an overnight program for admitted students hosted by Penn Admissions April 13-17

Penn Nursing Spirit Week Join students, alumni, faculty and staff with programs, events, contests, daily themes and fun as we celebrate Penn Nursing.

April 18

The Sounds of West Philadelphia at LIFE: Fifth Annual Community Wellness Day April 25

10th Annual Preceptor Recognition Event

HUP Alumni Spring Luncheon

March 25

April 28

Virtual Town Hall with Dean Villarruel (webinar) Get to know our new dean!

13th Annual Claire M. Fagin Distinguished Researcher Award Presented to Therese S. Richmond, PhD, CRNP, FAAN

March 28

May 15-17 Alumni Weekend 2015

Graduate Program Open House March 31

Dean Villarruel On the Road in Royal Oak, Michigan Alumni, parents and friends are invited to meet Dean Villarruel.

See page 33 for a complete listing.

May 18

Penn Nursing Graduation Ceremony May 19-22

Summer Nursing Research Institute

Alumni participate in one of Penn Nursing’s lifelong learning opportunities in a session on Mentorship and Partnership.

Fall 2015 October 20

4th Annual Norma M. Lang Distinguished Award for Scholarly Practice and Policy October 23-25

Nursing Alumni Board President-Elect Ashley Z. Ritter and Dean Antonia Villarruel with young alumni at the annual Nurse Networking event at Homecoming.

Family Weekend at Penn November 7

Homecoming Weekend Featuring Arts and Culture programming and the Penn vs. Princeton football game.

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For more information on any of the Spring-Fall 2015 events, please see our events calendar at www.nursing.upenn.edu, email nursalum@pobox.upenn.edu or call 215.746.8812.

AL UMNI W EEK EN D May 15-17, 2015 Catch up with classmates, friends and faculty, visit campus to see how Penn Nursing has changed and remained the same, and meet your new dean. Bring your family and friends, because there are events for everyone!

Friday, May 15, 2015 12-1:30pm

LDI Panel: Health Care Delivery Innovation Panelists and topics include: Shivan Mehta, MD, MBA – Building a Health System Innovation Center; Zachary Meisel, MD – Crowdsourcing: Harnessing the Masses to Advance Health; Kathryn Bowles, PhD, RN, FAAN – Early Identification of Patients for Post-Acute Care; Evan Fieldston, MD, MBA – Business Model Innovation and Pediatric Health Care; Ian Bennett, MD, PhD – Using Texting to Affordably Improve the Delivery of Health Care. To register, please contact maddene@wharton.upenn.edu. Lunch Provided.

4:00-5:30pm

Celebrating Excellence: Faculty and Alumni Awards Ann L. Roy Auditorium, Claire M. Fagin Hall 5:30-9:00pm

Adult Gerontology Primary Care Reunion Various locations throughout Fagin Hall Join special guests Dean Villarruel, Program Director Valerie Cotter, Neville Strumpf, Mathy Mezey, Joan Lynaugh, Lois Evans, Roger and Zorianna Malseed, and Elizabeth Capezuti.

Saturday, May 16, 2015 8:30-9:30am

Penn Nursing Legacy Breakfast Claire M. Fagin Hall, 4th Floor Exclusively for 25th reunion – 50+, including all HUP alumni 9:30-10:00am

11:45am-12:30pm

Penn Nursing in the Parade Departing from 38th and Locust Walk (near Steinberg-Dietrich), to our tent All nursing alumni, students, parents, faculty and friends are invited to march with Dean Villarruel, Nursing Alumni Board president, and fellow alumni, including the HUP 50th reunion. Wear your red and blue!

12:30-3:30pm

Penn Nursing at the Picnic Nursing Tent on central campus (between Sweeten Alumni House and Cohen Hall, near the 36th Street Walkway) 4:00-6:00pm

Rosalyn J. Watts Diversity Scholars Graduation Celebration Carol Elizabeth Ware Gates Lobby, Claire M. Fagin Hall Alumni are invited to applaud the graduation of Penn Nursing’s Diversity Scholars with students and their families. RSVP and inquiries: diversity@nursing.upenn.edu

Nursing Continental Breakfast and General Registration Carol E. Ware Lobby, Claire M. Fagin Hall

7:00-9:00pm

10:00-11:15am

Current and past program faculty join students and alumni of both the Penn Nursing and Pennsylvania Hospital program for networking opportunities and a catered reception.

Dean’s Lecture: Antonia Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN Claire M. Fagin Hall

Nurse Anesthesia Program Reunion Various locations throughout Fagin Hall

Sunday, May 17, 2015 12:00pm

Sigma Theta Tau Induction Ceremony and Luncheon Ann L. Roy Auditorium, Claire M. Fagin Hall Alumni interested in attending should email Dr. Diane Breckenridge at dbreckenridge@nu.edu to inquire about pricing and RSVP. Reminder:

For Penn’s full weekend agenda or to register for these and other events, visit www.alumni.upenn.edu/alumni

www.nursing.upenn.edu

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Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage P A I D Permit #2563 Phila., PA

Claire M. Fagin Hall 418 Curie Boulevard Philadelphia, PA 19104-4217 www.nursing.upenn.edu

CO MM E NC E M EN T 2015 May 18, 3:00-6:00pm at the Kimmel Center.

For tickets (required) or more information, email graduation@nursing.upenn.edu