NURSING Magazine | 2022 | Volume 2

Nursing’s Frontier

In rising to the profession’s challenges, Dean Lisa Kitko glimpses the future

Unveiling, Touring Helen Wood Hall's New Addition

In May 2022, the UR School of Nursing unveiled a state-of-the-art addition to Helen Wood Hall. The expansion was designed to meet the increasing need for technologically advanced and synergistic learning opportunities while accommodating the school’s continued growth (see story on p. 16).

Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN

Dean, School of Nursing

Vice President, University of Rochester Medical Center Professor of Nursing

A Message from the Dean

Dear UR Nursing community,

What an honor it is to serve as dean of this wonderful school, and to be welcomed into this community so warmly! Earlier this year, throughout the search process for a new dean, I was constantly in awe of the collaboration, kindness, and commitment to the school displayed by everyone I met. And it was not just a show to impress the candidates—as I quickly learned when I started my role, that is what the University of Rochester School of Nursing is all about.

Our school’s vision is to "lead the national agenda in transforming the discipline of nursing through innovative education, practice, and research to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities." Following in the firm footsteps of five exceptional deans who preceded me, my role is to nurture the outstanding talents of our students, faculty, and staff to continue collective progress toward this vision and make our school ever better.

Four compass points guiding us on this journey are equity, inclusion, innovation, and interprofessional collaboration. In just a few short months—and as you'll see in this issue of NURSING Magazine—I have already seen the School of Nursing excel in these areas.

We are grateful to share stories of the contributions you are all making to our school’s mission and to the nursing profession as a whole. Thank you for making UR Nursing the greatest nursing school in the world.

Meloria!

UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER SCHOOL OF NURSING

NURSING Magazine Credits

University

A Lifelong Impact Nursing grads take next step, ready to do life-changing work

$15M Helen Wood Hall Addition Unveiled

University of Rochester Medical Center B. Chip Partner

Assistant Vice President, URMC Communications University of Rochester Medical Center

Melissa L. Head ’99W (MS) Executive Director for Advancement, URMC Academic Programs

On the Cover…

Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, was selected as the UR School of Nursing’s sixth dean in July 2022.

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

School of Nursing Offers 24-Month Accelerated Program

Extended program provides new opportunity for pursuing a nursing career at the University of Rochester.

Applications are now being accepted for a 24-month option in the Accelerated Bachelor’s Program for Non-Nurses. The new pathway offers students an opportunity to continue working while earning their nursing degree on site.

The 24-month pathway features the same curriculum and clinical experiences as the 12-Month Accelerated Bachelor’s program, a 20-year-old program enabling college graduates to quickly enter the nursing workforce.

“The 12-month option is great for students who are ready to commit to a full-time program and fast-track their career,” said Lydia Rotondo, DNP, RN, CNS, FNAP, associate dean for education and student affairs. "By offering a 24-month option, we can better meet

the needs of students as they balance other commitments while pursuing a new career in nursing."

The first 24-month program cohort will enroll in Summer 2023. During the program, students will:

• Complete 49 nursing credits over six consecutive semesters.

• Complete 700 clinical hours, with rotations in med-surg, obstetrics, pediatrics, and psychiatry.

• Earn a second bachelor’s degree with a major in nursing from the University.

• Be prepared to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam after completing the program to obtain RN licensure. Learn more at urson.us/accelerated. Students with a previous bachelor’s degree can pursue a new career in nursing with the 12- or 24-Month Accelerated Nursing Programs. Photo credit: Matt Wittmeyer

Dean Kitko Delivers State of the School Address

UR School of Nursing Dean Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, delivered her first State of the School address to faculty and staff on Nov. 11. The address provided an overview of additions to faculty and staff, successes in the school's strategic plan, student population demographics, and policy and financial updates.

As the School of Nursing takes on national, state, and local health care challenges such as nurse shortages and the COVID-19 pandemic’s long-term effects, Kitko remains confident that the school will thrive and create innovative solutions.

Upcoming changes that will strengthen the school include the new 24-month accelerated program, increased research funding and recruitment of research faculty, new educational programs, and new revenue opportunities.

“We have lots of levers moving, so I’m hopeful that next year, when we talk about where we are, it’s going to be different,” Kitko said. “I have very few worries about us coming out strong on the far end. Everybody has a part for us to continue our great missions.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Education:

• 170 total faculty

• 696 total student enrollment

• 22% of all students come from underrepresented groups

• 32.5% of accelerated bachelor’s students come from underrepresented groups, and 23% of accelerated students are men, almost twice the national average of men in the nursing workforce

Research:

• Ranked 23 in research funding received from the National Institutes of Health

• 14 tenure-track faculty members with extramural research funding for 31 unique projects

• $5.4 million grants and contract awards in the fiscal year July 2021 through June 2022

Center for Employee Wellness:

• Currently providing services to 75 organizations and 53,000 individuals

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:

• Full-tuition support in 2021-2022 for: 27 recent graduates of the accelerated bachelor’s program and eight current students; three recent graduate alumni and three current graduate students

• Five nominations for Student Diversity Engagement Awards; two awarded

• Received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT into Diversity for a sixth consecutive year

• 10 students and recent graduates in the Rochester Black Nurses Association Mentoring Program, three of whom completed the program in 2021

UR Nursing in the News

What’s new in the School of Nursing?

Here are some recent media reports involving UR Nursing faculty, staff, and alumni.

Local

Ying Xue, DNSc, RN, associate professor and Loretta C. Ford Endowed Professorship in Primary Care Nursing, was mentioned in a Modern Healthcare story: Beyond the Money: Nursing Shortage Hampers Patient Safety.

Mary D. Tantillo, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAED, CGP, professor of clinical nursing, was quoted in an article in Medical News Today about how new guidelines aim to combat the alarming rise in eating disorders post COVID-19. Tantillo said that males represent 25% of individuals with anorexia nervosa, and they can be at a higher risk of dying, in part because they are often diagnosed later.

Susan Groth, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAANP, associate professor, was cited in a New York Times Opinion piece, which included information about Groth’s longitudinal study collecting data from women six, 12, and 36 months postpartum.

Kathi L. Heffner, PhD, professor and associate chief of research for the Division of Geriatrics and Aging in the Department of Medicine, was quoted in a New York Times article about how to boost the immune system during cold and flu season. Heffner shared that research has shown that not getting enough sleep, or sleep of good quality, can reduce the body’s capability for fighting off infections.

The school held a media event in May to unveil its state-ofthe-art $15 million addition to Helen Wood Hall, which will transform nursing education for generations of future health care providers.

Dean Emerita Kathy Rideout said, “This new addition is the physical embodiment of our educational philosophy and commitment to preparing the future health care workforce with the critical thinking and clinical judgment skills necessary for a complex and rapidly evolving health care environment.”

media coverage of the unveiling was featured on 13WHAM ABC Rochester, News10 NBC WHEC, and the Rochester Business Journal

Ying Xue Susan Groth

Mary D. Tantillo Kathi L. Heffner

UR Medicine Employee Wellness Collaborates with MVP Health Care

The UR Medicine Center for Employee Wellness (CEW), created and run by the University of Rochester School of Nursing, signed a contract with MVP Health Care, the second largest insurer in the area, allowing the CEW to offer biometric screenings to companies covered by MVP at no out-of-pocket expense to their employees.

CEW already has a payer relationship with Excellus and, since its creation, has demonstrated that its wellness programs are effective in improving health and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, thereby reducing avoidable health care expenses due to illness and disease.

“It’s really important for us to have contract relationships with all the major payers in the area so that we can provide covered services to employers regardless of which insurance they carry,” said Renu Singh, MS, CEO of the UR Medicine Center for Employee Wellness and senior associate dean for finance and operations at the UR School of Nursing. “The more access we have to employers, the more we will be able to expand our market and better serve our community.”

Since signing the contract with MVP in mid-June, the CEW has contracted with about a dozen new organizations. It now serves 77 employers and organizations in the Greater Rochester area.

UR Medicine Employee Wellness Launches Community-Based Services Through Jordan Health

The UR Medicine Employee Wellness program launched an initiative to bring its successful wellness offerings to the community.

Through the Jordan Health Initiative, the UR Medicine Center for Employee Wellness (CEW) will work collaboratively with the team at Woodward Health Center to provide an array of health and wellness services to the community, making preventive health care more accessible and improving health equity and literacy.

Since 2012, the CEW has offered comprehensive wellness services to organizations in the region ranging from 50 to 25,000 employees. The nurse-driven program consists of an online personal health assessment filled out by the employee; a biometric screening, which gives real-time results of clinical measurements such as blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol levels; and immediate personalized wellness coaching delivered by the nurse during the screening.

The results, with permission, can be shared with the employee’s primary care provider, connecting the workplace program with the employee’s ongoing care plan. The program also offers one-to-one condition management coaching programs for a number of chronic conditions. For the Jordan Health Initiative, UR Employee Wellness will adapt their model

to meet the needs of the community while integrating existing Jordan Health services for the greatest benefit to patients.

Over the years, the CEW has garnered a reputation for its proven clinical outcomes and engagement metrics in its client-centered condition management programs.

UR Nursing Welcomes New Faculty, Announces Leadership Changes

New Full-time Faculty

Program Director Updates

• Marie Flannery, PhD, RN, was named director of the PhD in Nursing & Health Science program

• Julie Gottfried, DNP, RN, CNS, CPNP-PC/AC, assistant professor of clinical nursing, was named Pediatric Nurse Practitioner–Acute Care (PNP-AC Specialty Director

• Linda Migliore, MS, RN, NPDBC, CNL , assistant professor of clinical nursing and specialty director, Leadership in Health Care Systems program, was named specialty director, Clinical Nurse Leader program

• Luis Rosario-McCabe, DNP, RN, CNE, CNL, WHNPBC, associate professor of clinical nursing, was named co-director, Accelerated Program for Non-Nurses (APNN)

Regina McEntee, MNE, BS, RN, instructor of clinical nursing

Natalie Liebert, MS, RN-BC, PEDBC, CPHON, CNEcl, instructor of clinical nursing

Additional full-time faculty members that have joined the school since last spring include: Stephanie M. Richards, MNE, BSN, RN, PMHN-BC, instructor of clinical nursing, Ashley B. Humm, MS, BSN, instructor of clinical nursing, and Courtney N. Sander, MS, RN, CLC, SAFE, senior teaching associate.

New Staff Leadership

• John Eaves, MBA, was named chief financial officer

• Elizabeth A. Bremer ’12W (MS), ’14W (EdD), was named director of student affairs

• Kim Starken, MS, was named director of admissions and enrollment

• Nora Williamson was named director of strategic communications

• Michael T. Rosario-McCabe, EdD, RN, CCM, assistant professor of clinical nursing, was named director of the RN to BS program

• Craig Sellers, PhD, RN, AGPCNPBC, FAANP, professor of clinical nursing and medicine/geriatrics and aging specialty director, AdultGerontology Primary Care NP program, and Lynne Massaro, DNP, RN, FNP-C, ANP-BC, FAANP, assistant professor of clinical nursing and specialty director, Family NP

New Research Faculty

Margot Buschang, MNE, RN, instructor of clinical nursing

April Haberyan PhD, MS, RN, CNE associate professor of clinical nursing

Jennifer Truax, MS, RNC-OB, C-ERM instructor of clinical nursing

Caitlin Dreisbach, PhD, RN, assistant professor

Gamji Rabiu Abu-Ba’are, PhD, MA, assistant professor in nursing and public health

Meredith Kells, PhD, RN, CPNP, assistant professor

Caroline Nestro, PhD, MS, RN, associate professor of clinical nursing

Kathryn Shapiro, MS, RN, CHSE, instructor of clinical nursing

Hannah Griffiths, MS, RN , instructor of clinical nursing

Tina Lambert, MNE, RN, CMSRN, CBN, CCRN , instructor of clinical nursing

Laura M. Paytash, MS, RN, FNP-BC, instructor of clinical nursing

Rachel Ngo-Oum, MNE, RN , instructor of clinical nursing

Kaleigh E. Sullivan, MSN, RN, instructor of clinical nursing

UR Nursing Alum Wins American Heart Association Award

Ann Leonhardt-Caprio, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, FAHA , program coordinator of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at Strong Memorial Hospital and an assistant professor at the School of Nursing, has been named the recipient of the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing’s 2022 Stroke Article of the Year Award.

Leonhardt-Caprio’s award-winning article, “A Multi-Component Transition of Care Improvement Project to Reduce Hospital Readmissions Following Ischemic Stroke,” was originally published in the April 2022 issue of The Neurohospitalist.

“I’m so honored to have been chosen for the Article of the Year award,” said Leonhardt-Caprio. “The fact that this work is being recognized on a national level is really special.”

Co-authors of the article include School of Nursing faculty members Craig Sellers, PhD, RN, AGPCNP-BC, GNP-BC, FAANP; Elizabeth Palermo, DNP, RN, ANPBC, ACNP-BC; Thomas Caprio, MD, Chief Medical Officer for UR Medicine Home Care; and Robert Holloway, MD, MPH, chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Leonhardt-Caprio accepted the award at the AHA’s Scientific Sessions in Chicago and will speak at the State of the Science Stroke Nursing Symposium in February.

Leonhardt-Caprio, who has attended the Nursing Symposium in past years and watched previous Article of the Year award winners speak about their work, described the recognition as a full-circle moment.

“For years, I sat there and wondered, ‘How do you get to

be up there? I want to do that.’ And now I will have the honor of being part of this group of nurses I have admired,” she recalled.

The award-winning article shares the outcomes of Leonhardt-Caprio’s DNP scholarly project, in which she implemented a multi-component improvement intervention to bridge the transition from hospital to home for patients who have had an ischemic stroke. Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, the 2019 project led to a significant decrease in 30-day readmission rates and improved patient satisfaction.

“This project showed that by evaluating what is already in place in your system or practice, and making improvements to that, you can make positive change that impacts patients,” she said. “We didn’t need to go out, spend a lot of money, or hire new people.”

Leonhardt-Caprio, a 2020 graduate of the DNP program, credited the School of Nursing for preparing her to evaluate and redesign the delivery of stroke care in her workplace.

“Doctorally prepared nurses are in a unique and strong position to evaluate systems of care, and where the needs are for patients within systems of care, in order to make improvements that benefit both the patients and the health care system,” she said.

Leonhardt-Caprio also offered words of encouragement for current DNP students who are about to begin their scholarly projects.

“Don’t be intimidated, and don’t hesitate to put your work out there,” she said. “No one can recognize your work if you don’t get it out there.”

Mary G. Carey Selected as Honoree of 2022

International Nurse Researcher

Hall of Fame

Mary G. Carey, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, professor at the UR School of Nursing and director of the Clinical Nursing Research Center at Strong Memorial Hospital, was selected as an honoree of the Sigma Theta Tau’s 2022 International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.

Carey was recognized for her significant achievements in nursing research, specifically electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring to help better detect disease conditions. She was formally inducted into the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame at Sigma’s 33rd International Nursing Research Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland in July.

Since 2010, Sigma has selected researchers whose work has produced a measurable and sustained impact in widespread clinical practice, changes in nursing science through the development of new methods, and a distinguished record of publications in nursing and non-nursing peer-reviewed journals.

A critical care nurse by training, Carey is a highly respected researcher, educator, and mentor whose work has made significant contributions to the understanding of ECG monitoring to help detect cardiac arrhythmias and myocardial ischemia and infarction, and on the ECG's use in predicting cardiac events and sudden cardiac death.

Carey has earned numerous honors in her career, including being named a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (2014), Nurse of the Year, Education and Research by the March of Dimes (2012), and receiving the Dean’s Excellence in Research Award (2008) from the University at Buffalo.

UR Nursing Alumni, Faculty Win Local, National Black Nurses Association Awards

URMC and School of Nursing students, alumni, and faculty recently earned awards from both the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) and its Rochester chapter (RBNA).

At the national level, Assistant Professor Natalie Leblanc, PhD, MPH, RN, BSN, received the NBNA’s 2022 Nurse Researcher of the Year Award, which honors a researcher who has completed an outstanding research study and who has excellent potential to develop and implement a program of research that contributes to the well-being and health care of minorities. Leblanc’s research aims to improve sexual health and HIV-related outcomes with a focus on marginal -

ized and vulnerable populations.

URMC Nursing Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and UR Nursing alumna Sheniece Griffin, DNP, RN, CNL , and Family Nurse Practitioner student Bryanna Patterson, RN, BSN, were named 2022 Under 40 Award winners by the NBNA, selected for “rocking the nursing world through professional and educational achievement, leadership, and civic involvement in their NBNA chapters and in the communities they serve,” said NBNA President Dr. Martha A. Dawson. Patterson and two more members of the UR Nursing community also won RBNA scholarships: Faith Lambert, MS, RN, FNP-BC, a student in the combined MS-PhD program; and Mary Starks, DNP, RN, an alumna of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program who is also a founding member of the RBNA.

RBNA Award recipients from URMC and the School of Nursing included the following:

• Alumna Yvette Conyers ’07N, DNP, MS, RN, FNPC, CTN-B, received the Spirit of Nursing Leadership Award.

• Sheniece Griffin received the RBNA’s Community of Rochester Nurse Pioneer Award.

• Kathy Rideout was named the Spirit of Rochester Distinguished Nurse Leader.

• Wilhelmina Sizer ’15N (MS), NP, who earned her Post-Master’s certificate in 2015, received the RBNA’s Unsung Hero Award and a certificate scholarship.

The UR School of Nursing is a sponsor of the RBNA.

Ann Leonhardt-Caprio

A Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) alumna who led an initiative to improve the transition of ischemic stroke care from hospital to home is now being recognized nationally for her work.

Mary G. Carey

Award winners Natalie Leblanc, Mitchell Wharton, Mary Starks, Yvette Conyers, Kathy Rideout, Sheniece Griffin, Kristin Hocker, Laverne Sleugh-Sharpe, Faith Lambert, and Jose Perpignan Jr. at the Rochester Black Nurses Association's Annual Awards Luncheon.

UR Nursing Receives Sixth Consecutive Excellence in Diversity Award

For the sixth year in a row, the UR School of Nursing has received the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. At the forefront of diversity, inclusion, and equity issues for nearly two decades, the UR School of Nursing was one of 16 nursing schools to receive the award this year. “We are proud that our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion has been recognized for six consecutive years,” said Lisa A. Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, dean of the School of Nursing. “However, our work is not done. Inclusion is part of our guiding philosophy, and the School of Nursing remains committed to increasing diversity among faculty, staff, and students.”

UR Nursing Researchers Earn National, International Awards

Yang Yu, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor, has been selected to receive the Every Woman, Every Baby Novice Researcher Award from the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN).

Sukardi Suba, PhD, RN, CNS, a postdoctoral research associate, was recently recognized with the 2022 Distinguished Dissertation Award in Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing.

Jinjiao Wang, PhD, RN, assistant professor, was selected as recipient of the University of Rochester Division of Geriatrics & Aging Research Award.

Blaakman Selected as American Academy of Nursing Fellow

Susan Blaakman, PhD, RN, PMHNPBC, FNAP, a nationally-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and longtime faculty member at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, was selected to join the American Academy of Nursing’s 2022 class of fellows.

A professor of clinical nursing and specialty director of the Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (FPMHNP) program, Blaakman is among 250 distinguished nurse leaders representing 35 states and 17 countries chosen for the academy’s largest cohort to date.

The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) comprises nearly 3,000 nursing leaders who are experts in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia who champion health and wellness, locally and globally.

Blaakman has been a member of the psychiatric nursing faculty at the UR School of Nursing since 1999. She has co-authored many publications and was honored with the 2013 Rochester Academy of Medicine Nursing Award for her clinical research. She was named a fellow of the National Academies of Practice in Nursing in 2020.

Meghan Underhill-Blazey, PhD, APRN, FAAN, an assistant professor, was recently selected to receive the Valerie and Frank Furth Fund Award.

Dillon J. Dzikowicz ’17N, ’21N (MS), an instructor and PhD student, has been named a recipient of the University of Rochester 2022 Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student.

UR Nursing Celebrates Faculty and Staff with Year-End Awards

The School of Nursing held its annual year-end celebration, presenting awards to highlight faculty and staff contributions. Among this year’s awardees were:

Most Promising New Investigator Award

Yingzi Zhang, PhD, RN, assistant professor

Professional Advancement Award

Lauren Lee, MS, RN, senior associate

Outstanding Scholarly Practitioner

Amy Vierhile, DNP, RN, PNP-BC

Outstanding Faculty Colleague

The SON Educational Innovation (EdIT) team of Tara Serwetnyk, EdD, RN, NPD-BC; Joseph Gomulak-Cavicchio, EdD, MSEd; Kathryn Shapiro, MS, RN, CHSE; Julie Waite, MS, RN; Nadine Taylor; Kaitlyn Burke, MS, RN, CCRN, CNE-cl; Rebekah Greene, PhD; Jennifer Truax, MS, RNC-OB, C-EFM; and Lisa Brigandi.

Outstanding Staff Colleague Award

Nadine Taylor, instructional designer, academic innovation

Mary Dombeck Diversity Enhancement Faculty Award

Maria Quiñones-Cordero, PhD, assistant professor of clinical nursing

Mary Dombeck Diversity Enhancement Staff Award

Vestina (Tina) Turner, project nurse

Outstanding Staff Member of the Year

Anne Woodruff, assistant, Center for Research Support; Ann Delario, administrative assistant, APNN Program; Larry Palumbos, ITS service manager/ analyst

2022 Special Recognitions included

Josephine Craytor Nursing Faculty Award

Michael Rosario-McCabe, EdD, MS, RN, assistant professor of clinical nursing; Susan Stanek, PhD, MSN/Ed, RN, assistant professor of clinical nursing; and Chen Zhang, PhD, MPH, assistant professor

Dr. Jeremy A. Klainer Entrepreneurship Fund recipients

Meghan Underhill-Blazey, PhD, APRN, AOCNS, FAAN; Ann Leonhardt Caprio, DNP, RN; Larry Palumbos; Kimberly Buholtz, EdD, MS, RN; and Erin Baylor, DNP, RN, PNP-BC, ONP

The Dean’s Appreciation Award

Sandy Gasserlick , SON building operations specialist

The school also acknowledged two retiring faculty members

Marianne Chiafery, DNP, PNP-BC, associate professor of clinical nursing, and Bethel Powers, PhD, RN, FSAA, FGSA , professor and director of the PhD program

Mitchell Wharton, Susan Blaakman, and Dean Lisa Kitko at the conference.

With More Attendees Than Ever, 7th Annual DNP Summit Leads National Conversations

The UR School of Nursing continued what is now a 7-year-old tradition of hosting a national conversation on emerging topics in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) education and leadership at its 2022 DNP Summit in October.

The series has continued to make a national impact and expand its reach, with a record of 461 registrations from across the country and more than 170 participants in each of the three sessions. More than half of the attendees were from outside of New York. The growing DNP Summit positions the School of Nursing as a leader in national conversations about the DNP role.

“The Summit serves as a platform to discuss emerging challenges and opportunities for DNP-prepared nurses,” said Associate Dean for Education & Student Affairs Lydia D. Rotondo, DNP, RN, CNS, FNAP

This year’s theme was “Looking Ahead: Challenges and Opportunities.” The conference featured five nationally-recognized nursing leaders, who shared diverse perspectives on DNP education, practice, and leadership:

• Danielle McCamey, DNP, CRNP, ACNP-BC, FCCP, assistant dean for clinical practice and relationships at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, started the three-day series with her presentation, "DNPs of Color: Changing the Game and Forging New Paths.” McCamey is the founder of DNPs of Color, Inc., a national organization focused on building community for nurses of color and increasing diversity in doctoral studies, leadership and clinical practice.

• Week two featured a panel discussion on the findings of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s The State of Doctor of Nursing Practice Education in 2022 report by Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, dean of the University of Rochester School of Nursing, Karen G. Keady, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, vice president and chief nursing executive at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and Shannon Idzik, DNP, CRNP, FAANP, FAAN, associate dean of the DNP program at University of Maryland School of Nursing.

• Pam Jones, DNP, RN, FAAN, associate vice chancellor for Health and Wellness at Vanderbilt University, delivered the final DNP Summit presentation, "Building Organizational Resilience in Turbulent Times,” on Oct. 28. Over the past two years, Jones served as co-commander of the Public Health Central Command Center that leads all aspects of Vanderbilt’s COVID-19 response. The annual DNP Summit is free and open to all nurses and health care professionals.

School of Nursing Celebrates Students, New Dean at Opening Convocation Ceremony

New and returning School of Nursing students were welcomed and leading scholars recognized at the annual convocation ceremony on Sept. 6, 2022. This year’s ceremony also served as a welcome for the School of Nursing’s sixth dean, Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN

“I am honored to be part of this community,” Kitko said to more than 150 students, faculty and staff in attendance. I look forward to seeing how each of you in the room will grow as we begin a new academic year, and how you will continue to make important contributions not only to the School of Nursing, but to our profession.”

Students were also greeted with welcome speeches from University of Rochester President Sarah Mangelsdorf, Medical Center CEO and Dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry Mark B. Taubman, MD, and the university’s new provost, David Figlio

The fall semester marked the first full academic year in which students were able to utilize the new, state-of-theart Helen Wood Hall expansion, which was unveiled in May.

Mangelsdorf praised the new facility as a “cutting-edge space” that will transform the future of nursing education.

“This is an exciting time to be a student, faculty or staff member,” Mangelsdorf told students in her address.

Taubman told students that now is an important time to pursue a career in health care, noting that health institutions across the country are facing staff shortages that have only grown worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. “You have picked a challenging but exciting time to work in the field of health care,” Taubman said. “The School of Nursing will teach you strategies to address these challenges, while maintaining the self-care and work-life balance that help you sustain a rewarding career.”

Student Awards

Lydia Rotondo, DNP, RN, CNS, FNP, associate dean for education and student affairs in the School of Nursing, and Mitchell Wharton, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CNS, ACRN, associate dean for equity and inclusion, presented awards to the following eight undergraduate and graduate students:

• Michelle Copolo-Ziemer, an accelerated bachelor’s (APNN) student, received the Clare Dennison Prize for outstanding proficiency in general nursing care.

• Bryanna Patterson, BSN, RN, a student in the Family Nurse Practitioner program, was honored with the Eleanor Hall Award as an outstanding master’s degree student.

• Dwight Hettler, MS, RN, OCN, NE-BC, a DNP student and the director of nursing at Wilmot Cancer Institute, received the George Spencer Terry Jr. B’49 Endowed Fund in Nursing, given to a DNP student who is developing innovative solutions to challenges facing nurses, health care providers, and students.

• Yu-Ching (Katie) Yang, RN, a PhD student and recipient of the Jill Thayer Award. This award is presented to a doctoral student whose research demonstrates a commitment to personalizing or enhancing health care encounters and access to health care.

• Lindsay Batek, ND, BSN, RN, a student in the MS-PhD combined program, was awarded the Katharine Donohoe Scholarly Practitioner Award, given to a doctoral student prepared as a nurse practitioner who has undertaken research focused on improving the well-being of the population served.

• Joseph Escobar, a student in the Leadership in Health Care Systems master’s program, was honored with the Michele Unger Leadership Award, given to a leadership student who exemplifies the life character of Michele Unger, a beloved nurse leader at Strong Memorial Hospital and assistant professor of clinical nursing at the School of Nursing who died in 2013.

• MS-PhD student Wonkyung Chang (Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specialty) and Family Nurse Practitioner student Bryanna Patterson, BSN, RN, were the two recipients of the Student Diversity Engagement Award which recognizes any student who demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion through work within URMC, the university at large, or the community.

Shannon Idzik

Lisa Kitko

Clockwise: Lisa Kitko, Shannon Idzik, Karen Keady, and Lydia Rotondo discuss the state of DNP education during week two of the annual DNP Summit on Oct. 21, 2022.

Bryanna Patterson, BSN, RN, one of two recipients of the Student Diversity Engagement Award.

Danielle McCamey

Pam Jones

Karen G. Keady

Nursing grads take next step, ready A LIFELONG

Resilient. Innovative. Empathetic. Knowledgeable. Those are just a few of the words Class of 2022 Speaker Mary Starks, DNP, RN, used to describe her colleagues at the School of Nursing’s Commencement.

Starks, who earned a dual Doctor of Nursing Practice and Family Nurse Practitioner master’s degree in May, said that the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the challenges it has presented for health care workers, has taught her about nurses’ most positive qualities.

“In times of trouble and devastation, we stand strong,” Starks said. “We don’t run or shy away.”

At May and August graduation ceremonies, the School of Nursing celebrated hundreds of nurses who were either entering the profession for the first time or advancing their nursing careers.

“As nurses, you will almost always see the immediate impact you have on your patient’s life. Your interventions may stabilize their vital signs, decrease their anxiety, heal their wounds, help them to breathe or ambulate better, improve their health status in a multitude of ways – even save their life.”

- Dean Emerita Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP

“Maya Angelou had a great saying about nurses: ‘They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.’ I can remember how nurses made me feel. When my father passed away in the hospital at University of Rochester Medical Center, it was the nurses who held his hand. You have a power you may not even realize.”

- Rochester Mayor Malik

IMPACT

to do life-changing work

Even though 25 years had passed since she was treated in the hospital, the artist remembered the impact each member of her care team had made in her life, and recalled feeling sad when her treatments ended because she was going to miss seeing her “second family,” Rideout said.

Evans ’02

Rochester Mayor Malik Evans ’02, the commencement guest speaker, spoke of how nurses have affected him and his family personally.

“Maya Angelou had a great saying about nurses: ‘They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.’ I can remember how nurses made me feel. When my father passed away in the hospital at University of Rochester Medical Center, it was the nurses who held his hand. You have a power you may not even realize.”

At the August pinning ceremony for accelerated bachelor’s graduates, the school celebrated the newest members of the nursing workforce.

Student speaker Christian Tarantola ‘22N, a former business analyst at Xerox, expressed that pursuing a nursing career is a transformative experience.

“As nurses, you will almost always see the immediate impact you have on your patient’s life,” Rideout said. “Your interventions may stabilize their vital signs, decrease their anxiety, heal their wounds, help them to breathe or ambulate better, improve their health status in a multitude of ways – even save their life.

“What you might not always or ever see is the long-term impact that you will have. My advice to you and what was reaffirmed through my conversa tion with this artist is to never underestimate your role, your impact, or your influence.”

The May ceremony also included the presentation of the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching to two faculty members: Lauren Lee, MS, RN and Michael T. Rosario-McCabe, EdD, RN, CCM.

Charlene Outinen ‘22N, a former attorney who graduated from the Accelerated Bachelor’s in Nursing program, delivered the undergraduate commencement speech, which she described as “a love letter” to her classmates and future co-workers.

“The friendships we made here feel different because we earned them,” Outinen said. “You all inspire me to do better and work harder.”

“We came into this program thinking we would change the lives of the people we care for,” he said. “Throughout this process, we realized we were also changing our own.”

Dean Emerita Kathy Rideout, EdD, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, who celebrated her final pinning ceremony as dean before stepping down at the end of August, reminded graduates of the potential they have to make lifelong impacts on their patients.

While Rideout was walking around the Canandaigua Arts Festival with her husband over the summer, one booth in particular caught her attention because of its bright-colored paintings.

Rideout struck up a conversation with the artist and found out that when she was 13, she was treated at Golisano Children’s Hospital for a rare form of childhood cancer. By name, the artist went through a list of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, and child life specialists who provided her care.

UR Nursing Unveils $15M Vertical Expansion

others, it’s also a day that we add brickand-mortar to the University of Rochester’s School of Nursing,” said President Mangelsdorf. “This new facility will serve as a hub for experiential learning and simulation—the cornerstones of the school’s innovative approach to educating the nurses of tomorrow.”

“I’m extremely grateful for the donors and countless faculty, staff, students, University administrators and elected officials who helped to make this expansion project a reality,” said Rideout.

A state-of-the-art $15 million addition to Helen Wood Hall, unveiled in May, will transform nursing education for generations of future health care providers. The three-story, 26,000-square-foot vertical expansion—above the Loretta Ford Education Wing—was designed to meet the increasing need for technologically advanced and synergistic learning opportunities while accommodating the school’s continued growth.

The expansion includes dozens of dynamic and flexible spaces optimized for collaborative and active learning. Among them: a 20-bed skills lab furnished with the same equipment students will find in a hospital setting, four simulation labs with high-fidelity human simulation mannequins, two extended reality rooms featuring alternate and virtual reality technology, customizable experiential and clinical learning rooms, and expanded student lounge and study spaces. The new addition provides students with more opportunities to

collaborate in small- and large-group settings, as well as simulate clinical experiences and apply their knowledge in a low-stakes, high-impact learning environment.

University of Rochester President Sarah Mangelsdorf, UR Medical Center CEO Mark B. Taubman and School of Nursing Dean Emerita Kathy Rideout delivered welcoming remarks at the formal ribbon cutting ceremony for the addition. They were joined by donors, University leadership, and elected officials, including NYS Senator Jeremy Cooney, Assemblymember Harry Bronson, and Gov. Kathy Hochul's Finger Lakes regional representative Elizabeth Morabito. Tours and demonstrations of the cutting-edge technology built into the new facility followed the ribbon cutting.

“Today is a momentous day. Not only is it the start of National Nurses Week recognizing, acknowledging, and thanking nurses for the work they do for

Built in 1925, Helen Wood Hall is the original home of the University of Rochester's nursing program. The building served as a dormitory in its early years, with its residential space later converted to classrooms, clinical learning spaces, and private offices. The Loretta Ford Education Wing, named for the school's founding dean and co-creator of the nurse practitioner role, was added in 2006.

First Male Graduates Recall Early Days in Nursing

The year was 1966. John Lovett arrived in Rochester from Key West, Florida. At the airport he asked a cab driver to take him to his new home at Helen Wood Hall at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. The cab driver thought he must be mistaken. Wasn’t nursing school for women? So, when he dropped John off, he followed him into the building – just in case John was confused. The receptionist at the desk assured the cab driver that John was in the right place.

He was going to be one of the first males to graduate from the school along with John Zarola and James “Jay” Jones.

 The expansion includes three new floors above the Loretta Ford Education wing. See more photos of the expansion by visiting: urson.us/tour  Dean Emerita Kathy Rideout shows President Sarah Mangelsdorf a new classroom on the fourth floor of the expansion  Jennifer Arnold, MD, a nationally-recognized expert in health care simulation education, toured the expansion during a visit to Rochester in May 2022. Arnold is program director of Boston Children’s Hospital simulator program.

John Lovett, LCDR, NC, USN (Retired), BSN, CNOR , was already a naval hospital corpsman, an equivalent of an army medic, and had been involved in patient care in a naval hospital.

“I enlisted in the Navy, but I wanted to get a commission as an officer,” he said. “The Navy offered that incentive to corpsmen who graduated from nursing school, so I jumped at the chance.”

The Navy paid his tuition plus salary as second-class hospital corpsman. He was attached to naval ROTC at the University of Rochester River campus for administrative purposes, but he was acting like a civilian for the two years he was in school.

Lovett is now 82 years old and looks back on his days at the school remembering those who helped him on his journey. “I arrived in the summer before the semester started because I had to take a few prerequisites,” he said. “So, I was pretty much alone in my part of the dormitory. The receptionists Mrs. Button and Barb Kennedy adopted me and even called a chair at the front desk John’s chair.”

The male students were housed on the fourth floor of the building in the on-call wing where residents and physicians often stayed.

“The elevator was on the women’s side of the building,” he said. “So, I did a lot of walking!”

John Lovett The First to Arrive

Lovett was born in Mississippi and raised in Arkansas.

“Rochester weather was a shock to me,” he said. But he soon embraced the weather and even went tobogganing at Durand Eastman Park with his classmates.

“When we weren’t studying or caring for patients we had a lot of fun,” he said. “We would ride around to places like Letchworth in my ’67 Mustang convertible, have pumpkin carving contests, and rewrite words to popular songs spoofing our professors and doctors and put on shows for them.”

In the fall Lovett was joined in the class by Zarola and Jones who also attended the school in Navy programs.

“Rochester was good to me,” said Lovett. "I am grateful to the Navy for selecting me to go to the University of Rochester.” Lovett even proposed to his wife of 54 years on the first

floor of Helen Wood Hall where she had to stay when she visited him.

After graduation, the Navy sent him to officer indoctrination school. He took his boards in Rhode Island and became an officer in the Navy. His career took him to Pensacola, Guam, Memphis, Taipei, Taiwan, Long Beach, California, and Okinawa. “I worked in pediatrics, med surg, ortho, and more,” said Lovett. “At one point in Memphis I cared for military prisoners of war returning from Vietnam.” After retiring from the Navy after 22 years, Lovett and his family settled in Memphis and he worked in home health nursing, adolescent behavioral psych and as a school nurse prior to his civilian retirement.

In high school John Zarola, LT, USNR, BSN, CRNA , spent his summers as an orderly (now called nursing assistant) at Newark Wayne Community Hospital.

“I enjoyed caring for patients so I thought I would give nursing a try,” he said.

He completed two years of junior college and enrolled in a three-year program at Willard State Hospital for a semester where he accumulated more college credit. Then he was accepted at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, enrolled in the naval program, and after graduation went on active duty in the Navy. His career took him to naval hospitals in Philadelphia, Long Beach, and Vietnam.

After serving six years in the Navy, he traveled to the Mayo Clinic to become certified as a nurse anesthetist, spent the rest of his career in that field, and eventually settled in northern New Mexico. He retired 12 years ago and currently teaches home composting.

“Nursing was a challenging field for me and most of my time was spent in rural community hospitals where I had a high level of responsibility,” he said. “But that kept me sharp, and I kept up with current trends in the nursing anesthesia field and had a wonderful career,” he said.

John has many fond memories of his time at the SON. “I can remember getting together in small groups watching television in the lounge or eating in the little kitchen at Helen Wood Hall talking about our futures,” he said. “As the first male nursing students we helped pave the way for those who followed us,” he said. “But it was really a natural process.”

James “Jay” Jones – A Fortunate Twist of Fate

James “Jay” Jones A Fortunate Twist of Fate

James Edward “Jay” Jones, NC, USN (Retired), BSN, MSN, ANA, CAANP, took an unusual path to the School of Nursing but one with memories that he cherishes. Jones came from a family in rural Missouri and was born a few miles from the west bank of the Mississippi River. He always knew he wanted to be in health care and hoped to be a doctor, so he pursued pre-med at Southern Iowa and then enrolled in the University of Illinois.

“I quickly realized that I was going to run out of time and money,” he said. “I was working 15-20 hours a week at the student union to pay for college and having trouble keeping up with my classes.”

So, in 1963, right after the assassination of President Kennedy, he dropped out of school without telling his family because he was ashamed. He took a train to Chicago to find a job and stayed at the local YMCA. It was only then that he wrote a letter to his family apologizing for what he thought would disappoint them. He became a manager trainee at SS Kresge in Columbus during Christmas time. When his manager asked Jones to come to his office, the 20-year-old thought he was going to be fired. Instead, his family was waiting there for him to tell him they loved him and take him home.

This all happened during the time of the Vietnam War and when he was home for a few months Jones was notified by Selective Service that he would be drafted soon. Instead, he enrolled in the Navy and was stationed in the Great Lakes. While there he met a young woman on a train who wanted to share her birthday cake with him. The woman eventually became his wife, but not before fate took him to other Navy assignments and to the School of Nursing.

His first assignment was officer corps school at a naval hospital in Philadelphia. There he would meet another woman who would change his life, Miss Cornelius, an assistant director of nursing. She encouraged him to apply for the Navy program at the University of Rochester, the first year the Navy was opening the program to males.

“This was an exciting idea to me,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be in health care, and I knew I had the personality and the drive to be a nurse and be responsible for patient care.”

When he didn’t hear back about the program, he volunteered for another assignment. But when Miss Cornelius heard that news, she took his name off the new assignment list and insisted he keep trying for nursing school. A little while later he was accepted into the School of Nursing.

Jones’ journey as a nurse has taken him to Rhode Island, Pensacola, and to Guam where he cared for those with casu -

alties from the war. He retired from the Navy at the age of 62 after 20 years, took a job with the Veteran’s Administration and continued working as nurse for the federal government for 26 years.

“My 79 years have had many mountaintop and valley experiences,” said Jones. “I consider my time in Rochester to be one of the peak experiences. I learned a lot about the emotional side of nursing there, as well as academics. It is so important that nurses care. It’s a trademark of our profession.”

Today Jones lives in Memphis on the east bank of the Mississippi and is still employed as a contract worker in the medical department of a local prison. If he should ever decide to retire he has the goal of writing an informal autobiography titled: “An Average American Citizen’s Life on the Mississippi: Borned on the West Bank, Dying on the East Bank.” He considers himself the first male graduate of the University of Rochester School of Nursing. “That’s thanks to alphabetical order,” he said with a smile.

Jones is pictured with his late sister, Lorene, to his left and his late brother, George, to his right.

John Zarola A Local Student

Nursing’s Frontier

Ten years ago, when UR School of Nursing Dean Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, was researching the experiences of people living with advanced heart failure and their caregivers, conversations with patients about end-of-life illness were still rare outside of oncology. The qualitative study exposed a severe and crippling lack of palliative care.

“Because of the way it was treated so aggressively, up until death, persons living with advanced heart failure really didn't have access to any services at the end of life, including palliative care,” Kitko said. “They were treated acutely right up until that final admission when nothing else could be done, even though they had been chronically ill for years.”

Over 30 years as a researcher, scholar, educator, and clinician, Kitko has focused on how to improve outcomes for

older and, often, rural persons living with life-limiting illnesses and their family caregivers. Her work has helped open doors for better care for persons living with heart failure, along with better support for family caregivers.

“I’ve always loved fixing issues and thinking about how we do that,” she said.

From a nurse shortage to rising chronic illness to rapid changes in health care, the nursing profession is in flux. Challenges are opportunities to innovate, she insists, through new models of patient care and nursing education.

Kitko was named the School of Nursing’s sixth dean this summer. She is excited about building on the school’s renewed prominence and growth achieved during the 11-year tenure of her predecessor, Dean Emerita Kathy Rideout. The

school now ranks among the top 25 master’s degree programs, according to US News & World Report, and No. 23 for research funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Rural roots

Kitko previously was associate dean for graduate education and director of the PhD program at the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Pennsylvania State University. The road there began in her small hometown in Central Pennsylvania. It was not a place where big life dreams were typically cultivated, but her family was supportive when Kitko announced she would be going to the University of Pittsburgh. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and set her eyes on the ICU.

After graduation she completed a competitive six-month internship in critical care at Hershey Medical Center. There she met her lifelong mentor, Judith Hupcey EdD, CRNP, FAAN, who encouraged her to earn advanced degrees at Penn State. Hupcey is professor and associate dean for research and innovation in Penn State’s College of Nursing.

“Her mentoring and support of me were really transformative,” Kitko said. “I don't know that I would be here otherwise because there were lots of times when life gets in the way and you kind of fall off the radar a little bit. She never gave up on me.”

After her internship, Kitko married her high school sweetheart, Mark, and took a job at Altoona Hospital, not far from her hometown. Starting out as a nurse in the ICU, she moved up to charge nurse and then launched one of the first stroke programs outside of an academic medical center. She enjoyed the interdisciplinary nature of the work, leading and working with different groups to serve community needs.

While at Altoona, she completed her master’s degree. With encouragement from Hupcey, Kitko decided to earn a PhD at Penn State. She had two young sons, Nicholas and Alex, and a 45-minute commute to the university, where she also began a new full-time job as an instructor. With such a packed schedule, she and her husband relied on help from nearby family. Kitko remembers it as a “very energizing” time.

“I’m Eastern European by descent. And my grandmother always said, you just do it. If you want to proceed with something, go, but give it your all and do it,” Kitko said.

Next-level research

As her PhD chair, Hupcey pulled Kitko into her research team focused on persons living with advanced heart failure and their caregivers. The work opened her eyes to next-level opportunities not only for treatment but policy impact, and research became her passion.

Hupcey said Kitko’s holistic background as a clinician, academic and hospital administrator, and researcher have prepared her well for her new role. The research piece, in particular, will help the school grow its research enterprise “and is going to make her a very strong leader,” she said.

Kitko has extensive clinical research experience with the palliative care needs of persons living with complex chronic conditions and their family caregivers, especially in the context of advanced heart failure. She has disseminated her work in

“I don't know that I would be here otherwise because there were lots of times when life gets in the way and you kind of fall off the radar a little bit. She never gave up on me.”

In rising to the profession’s challenges, Dean Lisa Kitko glimpses the future

•

The Kitko File

•

• Board Member, Eastern Nursing Research Society, 2022-24

• Nurse Investigator Awards Abstract Finalist, European Society of Cardiology, 2019

• Faculty Scholar, The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, 2017

• Fellow, American Academy of Nursing, 2017

• Fellow, American Heart Association, 2015

• PhD in Nursing, Minor in Gerontology, The Pennsylvania State University School of Nursing

• Master's in Nursing in Clinical Nurse Specialist and Adult Health and bachelor’s degree in Nursing, The Pennsylvania State University School of Nursing

leading journals and presentations and has received numerous national and international awards for her work. Research funding has come from the National Institutes of Health (NINR and NHLBI), the American Heart Association, and foundations.

Kitko’s penchant for fixing things and building interdisciplinary teams drew her back into administration, first as director of the nursing PhD program. In January 2020, she was named associate dean of graduate education. During the pandemic, “fixing things” meant accelerating a move to more online courses—a silver lining for rural nurse practitioners who couldn’t attend in-person programs.

Kitko also oversaw the transition of the master’s-level nurse practitioner degree to a doctorate of nurse practice to bolster the leadership skills and knowledge of students.

“Advanced education at the DNP level is critically important for all practitioners—especially those in rural areas, as many of them are practicing without the support of larger urban health centers,” she said.

Kitko’s small-town roots have made her attuned to rural disparities in health outcomes. “I think it always comes full circle,” she said. “Those baseline experiences really do inform a lot of what you do.”

An eye on the future

Nursing’s most pressing issue—the labor shortage—won’t be solved solely by admitting more students, Kitko says. (Entry-level BSN and DNP enrollment in schools nationwide has grown continuously for over 20 years.) And though retirements were on the rise before the pandemic and have only accelerated, the biggest exodus is happening among nurses in the 35-and- younger age group. Kitko calls this the leak in the

middle of the pipeline. The solution will require finding ways to make bedside nursing more attractive for those already in the job, she says.

UR School of Nursing and the University of Rochester Medical Center are working closely to that end at the highest levels; Kitko and URMC’s Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive Karen Keady, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, attend each other’s leadership team meetings.

Future innovations will involve more interdisciplinary research and education. The new experiential learning spaces in Helen Wood Hall, from simulation to virtual reality technology, are a good example. The experiences students gain there mirror the clinical activities and interactions they will encounter on the job, no matter where they work, Kitko said. “This is one of the most exciting things about my position, being across the street and having collaborators at one of the leading health care systems in the world.”

Kitko is passionate about mentoring, too. She hopes to recreate an NIH training grant in which she was Principal Investigator at Penn State to introduce underrepresented students to research careers. She’s excited about future clinical and research partnerships with the Aging Institute and other URMC efforts.

As at-home care and telemedicine evolve, Kitko's mindful of the leading role nursing will play. Through research, practical innovations in patient care, and old-fashioned problem solving, nursing professionals are helping patients and their caregivers manage the tremendous burden of severe chronic illness at home.

“Nursing can really lead the charge in terms of how we’re able to help people live and age in their community setting,” she said.

 Lydia Rotondo, associate dean for education & student affairs, and Kimberly Buholtz, assistant director of simulation, tour Helen Wood Hall with Provost David Figlio, his wife, and his mother-in-law. Figlio is also a newcomer to the University of Rochester, starting as chief academic officer in July 2022.  Dean Kitko welcomes new and returning students to the fall semester at the school’s Convocation ceremony.  Dean Kitko with her husband, Mark, at a reception held in Evarts Lounge.  Dean Kitko presents “What Matters: Age Friendly Care for the Older Adult with CVD and Stroke” at the American Heart Association's 2022 Scientific Sessions in Chicago. She is pictured with Sukardi Suba, postdoctoral research associate, Ann Leonhardt-Caprio, assistant professor of nursing, and Mary Carey, associate professor of nursing.  Dean Kitko speaks with Janet R. De Simone '62 (BS) and Janet Johnson '62 (BS) during Meliora Weekend.

Appointed UR School of Nursing’s sixth dean in September 2022

Former associate dean for graduate education and director of the PhD program at the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Penn State University

Alumni, pictured here with Dean Emerita Kathy Rideout, were honored at the Dean's Diamond Circle dinner (left to right): Kathy Hiltunen, Mary-Therese Dombeck, Sally Ellis Fletcher, Kim Urbach. Not pictured: Jacquelyn Campbell and Elizabeth Marie Nolan.

Alumni, Donors Honored at Dean's Diamond Circle Dinner

Each year, the University of Rochester School of Nursing hosts the Dean’s Diamond Circle dinner, a donor recognition event, and honors those who have made a lasting impact in the community. Award recipients this year were:

Distinguished Alumnus Award

Jacquelyn C. Campbell ’86N (PhD), Anna D. Wolf Chair and professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, and a national leader in research, advocacy, and policy in the field of domestic/intimate partner violence.

Sally Ellis Fletcher ’10N (PhD), associate dean for students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies, where she oversees the diversity committee.

Humanitarian Award

Kathy A. Hiltunen ’78N, ’91S (MBA), assistant professor of nursing at the UR School of Nursing and manager of nursing services at the Monroe County Department of Public Health (MCDPH), where she oversees tuberculosis, immunization, and STD clinics.

Kim Urbach ’98N (MS), a pediatric nurse practitioner and assistant professor of clinical nursing at the School of Nursing. She was director of UR Nursing’s School-Based Health Center clinics for 15 years until her retirement in 2021.

Legacy Award

Elizabeth Marie Nolan ’78N (MS), who has almost 50 years of experience serving in clinical, educational, administrative, and leadership roles.

Dean’s Medal

Mary-Therese B. Dombeck ’78N (MS), ’84 (MA), ’89 (PhD), who has more than 40 years of experience serving in clinical, educational, administrative, and leadership roles.

Celebrating the Impact of OUR Nurses

Earlier this year, a University-wide campaign launched to raise awareness about the incredible impact nurses have in the greater Rochester region, but also to fund scholarships for nursing students and support continuing education for nurses at the Medical Center.

The Honor Our Nurses campaign raised more than $61,000 from over 185 local businesses and donors who share mutual, deep respect and gratitude for the nursing profession including corporate sponsors O'Connell Electric Co., the University of Rochester Medical Center, DGA Builders, LLC, Rochester Management, Inc., M&T Charitable Foundation, and LaBella Associates. Supporters were also encouraged to leave notes on the online message board to thank nurses who have made a difference in their lives.

In May, the School of Nursing hosted the Honor Our Nurses reception to celebrate and recognize the contributions of nurses. Nurses from the University of Rochester Medical Center and nursing students gathered in Evarts Lounge to join the festivities and snap photos with friends.

Nurses from the University of Rochester Medical Center and students at the School of Nursing celebrated during the Honor Our Nurses reception in Evarts Lounge in May 2022.

Laughs from Years Past

This photo from the University archives features nursing students in Evarts Lounge. Do you recognize anyone in the photo? Let us know your thoughts by commenting on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/UofRSchoolofNursing ).

2022 Volume 1 Photo Update

Sherry Gartner Reilly ’79N was the first to comment on our Facebook post and identify one of the students in this photo from our 2022 Vol. 1 issue. She correctly identified the student on the right as Celine Womack ’79N Jennifer Shea Mott ’79N identified herself as the student on the left. “Hello! Imagine my surprise to find my photo in the U of R Nursing magazine! This is me now! Retired after almost 40 years of ER nursing!!” she wrote.

If you have additional information or memories sparked by either photo, please reach out and let us know!

Meliora 2022 Welcomes Familiar Faces to New Spaces

In a return to tradition, the University’s annual celebration welcomed thousands of alumni, students, family members, and guests to campus.

For the School of Nursing, Meliora Weekend provided opportunities to reconnect, learn, and create new memories. Some highlights included a luncheon with Dean Lisa Kitko, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, a research poster session featuring current students and alumni, and the annual Clare Dennison Lecture, where Jinjiao Wang, PhD, RN, presented “Caring for Older Adults at Home: Using Big Data and Interventions to Innovate Home Health Care.” The School of Nursing Class of 1972 celebrated their 50th reunion and received university medallions.

During the luncheon, Connie Lynn Leary ‘59N presented the Class of 1959 Nursing Endowment Scholarship and Award to Lea A. Borrego ’18, a graduate of the University of Rochester’s brain and cognitive science program who is now pursuing her second bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Over the weekend, alumni also saw the newly opened Helen Wood Hall expansion for the first time on a guided tour with current faculty.

“It sure didn’t look like this 70 years ago," said Mary Jane Casbeer '53N. "But even 70 years ago, with the little equipment we had, this school was considered top notch.”

  

 Helen Wood Hall was “ever better” during Meliora Weekend.  Lea Borrego, named the 2022-2023 Class of 1959 Nursing Endowment Scholarship and Award recipient, speaks with alumni from the Class of 1959 at the Dean’s Lunch.  Jane I. Tuttle ‘79N, ’84N (MS) spends time with current doctoral student, Lindsay Batek, learning about her research.  Class of 1962 nursing alumni Sally Mann, Sharon C. Nazarian, Janet Johnson, and Janet R. DeSimone reunite at the School of Nursing breakfast.  Connie Leary ’59 and Jennifer Schmidt ’72 catch up at the Dean’s Lunch.





Cheryl Lustik, DNP, RN, MS, APN-C, has been named chief advanced practice officer of the Margaret D. Sovie Center for Advanced Practice, an office that supports more than 1,000 advanced practice providers (APPs) at the University of Rochester Medical Center.

In her new role, she will work in conjunction with clinical areas regarding models of care that allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to work to the fullest scope of practice allowed by law. She will foster professional development through APP advancement models, fellowships, publications, and research.

Lustik is a three-time School of Nursing alumna. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 2000, her master’s degree in the Adult Nurse Practitioner specialty in 2003, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2020.

As an undergraduate and master’s student, she found the School of Nursing’s clinical partnerships to be one of its greatest strengths. Now, she’s in a position where she will help foster those relationships.

“When I was getting my master’s, it was clinically focused, and I knew I wanted to take care of patients at the bedside several years ago. They did a great job finding preceptors and clinical rotations, and ensuring that you come out with a well-rounded experience. That is also something the Sovie Center, along with the School of Nursing, has tried to foster.”

As part of her new role at the Sovie Center, Lustik is looking forward to having a strong partnership with the School of Nursing. It’s a meaningful opportunity for Lustik, who has benefited firsthand from that

relationship. When she started her DNP degree in 2017, she was part of the School of Nursing’s inaugural class of DNP fellows.

Lustik will now ensure the continued success of the fellowship program as part of her role.

“I’m a big proponent of people going back for their education,” she added. “We still have that fellowship program in line, and I’m looking forward to continuing that partnership. Advancing in school and working full time is a hard thing to do, but they make it as easy as they can.”

Professional growth is a high priority for APPs, Lustik said. She hopes to create more opportunities for APPs to advance their work.

“A piece I would like to develop is another form of advancement that is more in line with leadership,” Lustik said. “I’m very interested in promoting APPs in the clinical fashion, but also through leadership and professional growth.”

Lustik’s time in the DNP program

was formative for her as a nurse leader.

“The DNP program taught me to look at things more programmatically and strategically. The School of Nursing gives you guidance, but it also makes you own it, make the mistakes, recover, and keep whatever project you have moving forward.”

“Though I didn’t realize it at the time, the doctoral program was part of the trajectory to further my career,” she said.

“I’m a big proponent of people going back for their education. We still have that fellowship program in line, and I’m looking forward to continuing that partnership. Advancing in school and working full time is a hard thing to do, but they make it as easy as they can.”

In New Leadership Position, Alumna Aims to Support Growth for APPs

Lustik

1960s

Jeanne (Tuel) Grace ’67N, ’83N (MS), ’89N (PhD) contributed a chapter titled “Supporting the Sidelines: Encounters with Stress and Loss Related to Military Service” in the book Caring for Veterans and their Families: A Guide for Nurses and Health Care Professionals.

1970s

Kathy (Mulholland) Parrinello ’75N, ’83N (MS) was awarded the Susan B. Anthony Lifetime Achievement Award in April 2022 from the Susan B. Anthony Center at the University of Rochester. Parrinello is executive vice president and chief operating officer of Strong Memorial Hospital.

Kathleen “Kathie” Insel ’76N (MS) was appointed interim dean of the University of Arizona College of Nursing, effective June 1. A professor of nursing, she holds leadership positions at both the College of Nursing and UArizona Health Sciences. She is chair of the College of Nursing’s Biobehavioral Health Science Division, and leads the Innovations in Health Aging initiative.

1990s

Christa Heinsler ’92N (MS), a nurse practitioner at St. Ann’s Wound Health Center, has been named to the board of HCR Cares, which focuses on addressing barriers to independent living and nursing workforce shortages.

Bernadette Melnyk ’92N (PhD), ’02N (PMC), who serves as vice president for health promotion, university chief wellness officer and College of Nursing dean at the Ohio State University, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree during Commencement ceremonies at the State University of New York’s (SUNY) Upstate Medical University in Syracuse on May 1. The honorary doctorate degree is the highest form of recognition offered by the SUNY Board of Trustees to individuals of exceptional distinction. Melnyk became the nation’s first chief wellness officer at an institution of higher education in 2011. She is a global leader and expert in evidence-based practice, intervention research, child/teen/young adult mental health, clinician well-being, and health and wellness who has received more than $33 million in funding from federal agencies (including the National Institutes of Health), penned more than 470 publications and serves as co-editor of seven books. One of her recent studies on working parent burnout during COVID was shared by more than 200 media outlets across the U.S. and as far away as Australia.

Mamta Shah ’92N was featured in a Denver Post story in April 2022 for her two decades of service to Operation Smile. Shah is an RN house manager at St. Anthony Summit Medical Center and has volunteered as a nurse and clinical coordinator for Operation Smile, traveling to Paraguay on several occasions.

Constance Visovsky ’93N, ’95N (MS) is a professor and senior researcher at the University of South Florida Health College of Nursing. She leads a National Center Institute funded grant to improve chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, a pain and numbness usually experienced in the feet and hands.

Sandra Mitchell ’94N (PMC) has been promoted to senior scientist at the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. She also serves as program director in the outcomes research branch in the health care deliver research program at the National Cancer Institute. Her primary research focuses on the measurement and management of symptom distress and impairments in physical function, pediatric and adult cancer survivorship, and the testing and implementation of novel approaches to cancer care delivery.

Brian Graves ’96N, ’01N (MS), ’12N (PhD) has been promoted to senior director of advanced practice at Tampa General Hospital.

Eileen Fry-Bowers ’97N (MS) has been appointed dean of the University of San Francisco School of Nursing and Health Professions. Fry-Bowers previously served as associate provost for research administration and professor at the University of San Diego Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science. An academic leader with extensive clinical and administrative experience in nursing and higher education, she is a certified nurse practitioner, a Navy veteran, and a member of the State Bar of California.

Marcia Johansson ’98N, ’99N (MS) was honored by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) with the Preceptor Gold Star award at NONPF’s 48 th annual conference in 2022. Johansson is a faculty member at the University of South Florida Health College of Nursing.

2010s

Kamila Barnes ’11N (MS), ’13N (DNP) has been appointed director of the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Long Island University. She is an assistant professor of nursing at LIU.

Joanne Quait ’13N was named director of the Holroyd Intensive Care Unit at Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville, N.Y.

Kshiti Manek ’14N, family nurse practitioner, joined Riverside Healthcare’s team of cardiovascular specialists in Bourbonnais, Ill.

Robin Sidari ’14N (MS), a board certified family nurse practitioner, has opened a virtual urgent care, offering telemedicine to patients

Marissa Cascio ’16N is operating a new Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Clinic at Applied Innovative Psychiatry for low-income families in the Los Angeles area.

Patricia James ’20N (MS) has been named director of perioperative services at F.F. Thompson Hospital. James has nearly 40 years of experience in nursing. She first joined Thompson in 2021 as a nurse educator for the Registered Nurse Residency Program. Prior to that, she worked at Strong Memorial Hospital as a nurse manager in the operating room. She is a member of the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses and the New York Organization of Nurse Executives and Leaders.

2020s

Thomas Bonfiglio '20N and a Clinical Nurse Leader graduate student, has been named the new Stroke/ STEMI/Sepsis Coordinator for UR Thompson Health. He spent the past year working as an RN in Thompson's emergency department.

Cassie Weis ’20N (MS), a pediatric nurse practitioner, joined UR Medicine Thompson Health’s Canandaigua Medical Group.

Kathleen Utter King ’07N (PhD)

Kathleen Utter King ’07N (PhD) was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Nurse-Midwives in May 2022. Fellowship in the American College of Nurse-Midwives is an honor bestowed upon those midwives whose demonstrated leadership within ACNM, clinical excellence, outstanding scholarship, and professional achievement have merited special recognition both within and outside of the midwifery profession. An advocate for vulnerable women and families, King initiated a Syracuse birth-center-based midwifery practice, confronting mainstream narratives of uninsured women traditionally viewed as too high risk for physiologic birth. After serving as Midwifery Education Program Director at University of Rochester, King was awarded a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. This fellowship provided the opportunity to design and ultimately conduct research exploring genetic links between type 2 diabetes & gestational diabetes. She served on the ACNM National Program Committee and as chair of the ACNM Upstate NY Midwifery Chapter.

Catherine A. Lyons, RN, MS, NEA-BC, FNAP

Catherine Lyons, of Orchard Park, New York, passed away Nov. 21, 2021. She was a proud alum of Holy Angels Academy, Niagara University, and SUNY at Buffalo. She held a series of health care leadership positions ranging from the National Cancer Institute, three major academic cancer research institutions (Roswell Park Cancer Institute, James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester, Smilow Cancer Center at Yale University), and community cancer center in Salisbury, Maryland.

In 2022, her nursing peers in the Oncology Nursing Society awarded her their highest honor, the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes ONS members who make outstanding contributions to the field of oncology nursing and to the Society. She was also instrumental in forming community cancer networks capable of offering care comparable to the best cancer centers. She served on the faculties of SUNY at Buffalo School of Nursing, University of Rochester School of Nursing, and Yale University School of Nursing.

Lyons was as comfortable at the bedside of an ailing patient as she was in meetings with nationally prominent cancer research scientists. She leaves behind a trail of significant contributions to improved cancer care and clinical cancer research.

Lyons held prestigious awards and honors, including the Connecticut Nurses Association’s Doris Armstrong Award for

Nursing Administration, Niagara University’s Saint Louise De Marillac Award for Outstanding Service, National Academy of Practice’s Distinguished Practitioner, and the U.S. Army Achievement Medal. She was a Major in the U.S. Army Reserves, Army Nurse Corps.

Barbara "Buzzy" (Bizilia) Vallone ’71N

Barbara "Buzzy” Vallone died March 17, 2022, at the age of 83.

A graduate of Binghamton City Hospital School of Nursing with coursework completed at the University of Rochester School of Nursing beginning in 1960, she devoted herself for over 50 years to her passion for nursing.

She was very respected for her professionalism, expertise, and caring by physicians, administrative staff, and nursing peers. Most importantly to Barbara, she was appreciated for the total dedication, care, and support she provided to every patient she was privileged to serve.

A tangible expression of her appreciation for her rewarding career as a nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital and in recognition of the importance of a nursing education, she established the Barbara & Romanio Vallone Endowed Scholarships for bachelor's degree students and master's degree students at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. Barbara was the 2017 recipient of UR School of Nursing's John N. Wilder Award.

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

Catherine (Bavolack) Amato ’66N Aug. 12, 2021, Edina, MN

Winifred Arnold ’47N Feb. 18, 2022, Ogden, NY

Barbara Barrett Best ’52N Sept. 28, 2021, Colerain, OH

Reba (Pfaff) Beyer ’50N Jan. 22, 2022, Broomfield, CO

Barbara (Millman) Cattell ’57N Nov. 10, 2021, Montrose, CO

Helen (Jansch) Crandall ’53N Oct. 9, 2021, Big Spring, TX

Mary Curtis ’40N Sept. 29, 2021, Greece, NY

Marjorie (Dawley) Davenport ’50, ’51N Dec. 30, 2021, Madison, WI

Sally J. Lynch, Ofs September 29, 2022, Rochester, NY

Ruth (Kaebnick) McInnes ’51N Jan. 30, 2022, Lancaster, PA

Margaret (Jensen) McIrvine ’50N, ’73 Oct. 24, 2021, Rochester, NY

Beth Morgan ’62N July 14, 2021, Endwell, NY

Angela Nazzaro ’71N March 31, 2022, Jamestown, NY

Ethel Nelson ’50, ’53N Jan. 31, 2022, San Antonio, TX

Doris (Sherrill) O’Connor ’51, ’52N Oct. 8, 2021, Palm City, FL

Rebecca (Smith) Olsen ’80N June 29, 2022, Pittsford, NY

John C. Schottmiller '53 August 5, 2022, Rochester, NY

Jane (Wolcott) Steinhausen ’38, ’39N Jan. 7, 2022, Rochester, NY

Carol Cornwell Strickland, ’99N (PhD), ’83N, ’85N (MS) Oct. 22, 2022, Swainsboro, GA

Rita (Sheridan) Studley ’46N July 10, 2022, Greece, NY

Joan Torpie ’55N June 28, 2022, Dallas, TX

Carol Joyce (Shempp) Vitolins ’78N, ’91N (MS) June 17, 2022, Williamsport, PA

Elizabeth Hanna Weiss ’43, ’44N Jan. 26, 2022, Chesterland, OH

Nahren-gherel “Naya” Ubushin, Student in the Fall ‘21 Accelerated Cohort

Naya Ubushin passed away at the age of 25 on March 30, 2022. She was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey and was raised in Short Hills, New Jersey and had lived in Vermont before moving to Rochester to further her education.

Ubushin was a 2015 graduate of Millburn High School in Millburn, New Jersey and went on to obtain her bachelor's degree in health science from the University of Vermont. She was attending the University of Rochester and was pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing at the time of her passing. While attending Millburn High School she was on the Varsity Fencing Team and was a member of the Medeo Fencing Club in Bridgewater. Naya was a talented pianist who once played in Carnegie Hall.

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Joyce (Seip) Debell ’53N Jan. 6, 2022, Rochester, NY

V. Joyce (Pearson) Gibson ’74N Feb. 16, 2022, Oil City, PA

Judith (Foote) Harrigan ’77N, ‘83N (MS) Oct. 5, 2021, Rochester, NY

Mary Jo Korfhage-Poret ’78N Feb. 8, 2022, Leverett, MA

Janet (Ward) Lincoln ’52N Jan. 18, 2022, Rochester, NY

Genevieve (Porter) Lotz ’50N July 19, 2022, Burlington, VT

Barbara Pasley ’76N May 15, 2022, Pittsford, NY

Kyle Welch ’99N Aug. 10, 2021, Philadelphia, PA

During the August 2022 pinning ceremony, Naya was recognized posthumously for her accom

plishments and honored with a memorial plaque that will be placed in Helen Wood Hall. One of her friends, Alexandra Willett, accepted the plaque in her honor during the ceremony.

Parting Shot

UR School of Nursing Dean Emerita Kathy Rideout (middle) at her farewell reception. Rideout stepped down as dean in August 2022.

Photo by Patrick Broadwater