School of Nursing: Connections

Briefly

Five of the six inductees into the 1999 Hall of Fame sponsored by the Washington State Nurses Association have degrees from the UW. They are Mary Lee Bell, Shirley Gilford, Elizabeth Thomas, Muriel Softli, and Frances Terry. The Hall of Fame awards honor state registered nurses who have made significant lifetime accomplishments to patient care, leadership, education, public service, nurse advocacy, heroism, patient advocacy, or clinical practice.

Dr. Yvonne Ulrich, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychosocial and Community Health, has been accepted as a faculty scholar at the John Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing.

Dr. Phyllis Schultz from the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems retires June 8 and will be honored with a 4:30 pm reception at the Waterfront Activities Center.

Associate Dean for Research Pamela Mitchell has been invited to serve on the editorial board for The Journal of Advanced Nursing. Mitchell is also on the editorial board for Biological Research in Nursing.

Doctoral student Selina Mohammed has been named a Magnuson Scholar for 2000-2001. The award was one of six made to students in the Health Sciences whose work focuses on diabetes mellitus, and honors her research interest in diabetes mellitus in the Navajo population.

Professor Emeritus Mildred A. Disbrow has been inducted into the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) in recognition of her contributions as a founding member of ACNM and for her distinguished career in maternal child nursing. Disbrow is well known for her research on child abuse and helped to initiate the Ph.D. in Nursing Science degree. The Mildred Disbrow Award honoring a doctoral student was created in her honor.

Dr. Margaret Heitkemper is chair of the Nursing Research Study Section, National Institutes of Health. Heitkemper was also a speaker at the first conference on women’s health in Seoul, Korea, attended by the wife of the President of South Korea and the Minister of Health.

Dr. Susan L. Woods, associate dean for academic programs, has just co-published the fourth edition of Cardiac Nursing, an important nursing textbook that provides the latest perspectives on cardiac disease and its management.

Linda Haas, RN, clinical faculty member in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, received the 1999 Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Nursing from the Veteran’s Administration. Haas is renowned for her work with the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and the Washington Association of Diabetes Educators.

Ekene "Kennie" Amaefule, a trauma orthopedic nurse and non-matriculated student just admitted to the master’s program, received a Martin Luther King Volunteer Recognition Award from the University of Washington. In addition to numerous local volunteer activities she also funds the education of children in her native village in Nigeria and is raising water for a well to decrease water-borne diseases.

Dr. Leona Eggert received a Distinguished Researcher Award from the Western Institute of Nursing at their annual meeting in April. Her "Reconnecting Youth" curriculum was also recognized as an Exemplary Substance Abuse Prevention Program for 1999 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Eleanor Bond was elected to the nominating committee of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Dr.Vivian Wolf-Wilets, professor of Psychosocial and Community Health, retired in February. Wolf-Wilets has been an important part of the School of Nursing since 1969, leading a major curriculum revision in the 1970’s.

Dr. Catherine Lindenberg received funding from the Hershey Family Foundation to develop a bilingual Latino Youth Health Promotion Web site.

Dr. Ellen Mitchell has been elected to the Western Academy of Nursing, honoring her careful integration of practice, teaching, and research over the years. In addition to her work as a professor of family and child nursing, Mitchell has developed a model interdisciplinary practice as a registered advance nurse practitioner and is a co-investigator and project director for the Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study.

Dr. Basia Belza from the Department of Biobehavior Nursing and Health Systems has been elected as a Trustee of the National Arthritis Foundation. She was also elected chair of the Washington/Alaska Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.

Doctoral student Margo Johnson has received a National Service Research Award from the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Nursing Research.

Richard Dandridge has been appointed Media Development Coordinator. Dandridge has been at the UW since 1978 in both Instructional Media Services and Classroom Services. He is replacing John McShane, who is retiring after a long career that began with black & white educational videos and is concluding with "e-learning" technology.

Dr. Janet Primomo from UW Tacoma School of Nursing and the Tacoma Pierce County Asthma Prevention Partnership were recently awarded an $11,000 grant from the Group Health/Kaiser Community Foundation. "Clean Air for Kids" focuses on asthma and other respiratory illnesses with environmental triggers.

Dr. Kristen Swanson has been appointed Chair of the Department of Family and Child Nursing after a national search. Swanson is recognized both nationally and internationally for her research on caring for women who have experienced miscarriage. She has a long history of excellence as a teacher in both undergraduate and graduate programs, and conducted one of the first clinical trails testing a caring model for women who had miscarried. Her theory of caring has been used as the curriculum framework for several schools of nursing. Swanson has also been generous with her time in service to the School and the University for many years, serving as chair of Faculty Council and as a member of the Senate Planning and Budget Committee. Swanson will replace Dr. Sandra Eyres, professor and acting chair, who retires in June.

Chong Porter is the new Director of Development for the School of Nursing. Porter has been in the field of development for close to ten years, serving as Director of Development at Ryther Child Center in Seattle before joining the University of Washington development team. She has also raised funds for the American Cancer Society and the Seattle Symphony. Porter replaces Heather Abernathy, who is now a major gifts officer with central development at the UW.