Printer FriendlyAlice Bonner, PhD, RN, (MS GNP 1989), is featured in a Boston Globe article about her new role at the bureau of health care safety and quality at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. A higher level of care.
Mary M. Ardua, RN, PhD, PNP-BC, an assistant professor at Boston College William F. Connell School of Nursing, was the 2009 recipient of the Distinguished Nurse Practitioner Award from the Massachusetts Coalition of Nurse Practitioners. Mary is a PhD Alumna from UML and a also a former Nursing Advisory Board member.
In the Nursing Spectrum, November 2009 (p.12) one of our UML (MS GNP) Graduates Anne Marie Bourque, MS, GNP-BC, Inspiris; was recognized by The Massachusetts Coalition of Nurse Practitioners as having received an Exceptional Preceptor Award.
Psychiatric nurse practitioner, Peter Amari, (MS 2005) has teamed up with Representative Miceli and Nurses United for Responsible Services (NURS) to introduce a bill allowing NPs and psychiatric CNS's (Clinical Nurse Specialists) to have section 35 authority - the right to petition the court for civil commitment of an alcoholic or substance abuser.
The bill was heard by the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse on June 10, 2009. The bill remains in committee and has not yet been released to the House floor for a vote.
Of note, currently, psychiatric CNS's have section 12 authority for involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility, while NPs do not. Please let MCNP know if this issue is important to you and whether or not MCNP should join with NURS to change the section 12 language to include NPs.
You may use the provided sample letters (pdf) or create your own to show your support for the bill. Since it is still in committee, please target your letters to the two co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Pauline Albrecht, RN, BSN,
Pauline Albrecht, a UMass Lowell graduate (1983), is a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In her spare time she makes films. She recently put together a short video that urges the hospital staff to do more thorough and frequent hand washing. Why is hand washing important? Because almost 2 million hospital-acquired infections occur each year. There is a move on in Boston and around the country to press for better hand-washing regimens among hospital staff. Here is the hand-washing video along with a story on the subject by WBUR-FM.
Lisa Brown featured - Lawrence Eagle Tribune
Woman's placemats designed to bring families together (pdf)
Donna Jenkins, MS, RN, CNA, BC
1978 University of Lowell School of Nursing Graduate Earns AONE Fellowship (pdf)
University of Massachusetts Lowell Alum (BSN and MSN) Susan Gordon, APRN-BC, nursing director of a general medical unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, is creating an innovative program designed to advance the care of older adults. The initiative is part of an 18-month Geriatric Nursing Leadership Academy offered by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.
Alice Bonner (MS 1989)
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has announced Alice Bonner, PhD, RN, as the new Director of the Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality effective 10/13/09. From 1997-2005 she was the Clinical Director of Long Term Care and Geriatrics at the Fallon Clinic in Worcester, Massachusetts, and served as the Director of Clinical Quality at the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation from 2005 - 2007. She is the co-chair of the Statewide Falls Prevention Coalition, serves as a member of the HCQCC Patient Safety Committee, and is a board member of the MA Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, to name just a few of her professional contributions.
Alice has been a gerontological nurse practitioner for the past 19 years and has maintained a geriatric clinical practice in Central Massachusetts. She is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Nursing, University of Massachusetts in Worcester, MA. Her research interests include the prevention and management of falls in long term care, medication safety and collaborative practice models in long term care utilizing nurse practitioner/physician teams. She earned a BA from Cornell University, a BSN from Columbia University, an MSN from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Worcester.
2007 GERIATRIC NURSING FACULTY CHAMPION AWARD
Laurie Kennedy-Malone, PhD, APRN, BC, FAANP, FAGHE/UMass Lowell GNP MS 1982
Dr. Laurie Kennedy-Malone, an ANCC certified gerontological nurse practitioner since 1982 and a nurse educator at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) since 1990, serves as the Program Director of the Adult/gerontological nurse practitioner concentration since she first received the federal funding in 1992. Dr. Kennedy-Malone has been successful in obtaining HRSA funding for over 12 years. There have been over 200 gerontological nurse practitioner graduates from the nurse practitioner program and she is being nominated by her peers for her consistent dedication and expertise as a geriatric nursing faculty champion.
Congratulations to Kevin Whitney who has been recently named the new Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Emerson Hospital (pdf), Concord, MA. Kevin is an alumnus of the University of Massachusetts Lowell and on the Nursing Advisory Board for the Department of Nursing.
Congratulations to Ann Marie Bourque, Chapter President, and Peggy Dorson, Treasurer, both UMass Lowell GNP MS graduates who serve as officers in the National Organization (NCGNP) New Hampshire and New England Chapter.
Laura Olisky-Kostura (BS, 2006) is serving our country as an Army nurse in Iraq. She has kept in touch with Dr. Mary Ellen Doherty in the Department of Nursing since she has been there. An article recently appeared in eNews outlining their efforts to bring the comforts of home to nurses in Iraq. If you are interested in helping U.S. nurses, you can contact Dr. Doherty or Jenny Ruiz for more information.
Congratulations to Flo Calore, MS, APRN, BC, (BS, 1972) (MS, 1978) who was recently acknowledged with the 2006 Sage of Clinical Services Award from UMass Lowell. This national Sages of Clinical Services Award recognizes Ovations employees who have demonstrated consistency and excellence in the leadership, innovation, practice and execution of our care delivery models. The award acknowledges excellence and behaviors that promote high levels of practice, cultivate and support the development of others, and advance our clinical mission.
Julia Zelixon (BS, 2004) was featured in a four-part Boston Globe series, titled "The Making of an ICU Nurse," in October 2005. The four parts include:
- A crash course in saving lives (pdf)
- As a_patients needs multiply the lessons become intense (pdf)
- Trauma case puts her capacity for clear headedness to the test (pdf)
- Time comes to perform on her own (pdf)
Alice Bonner (MS, 1989) a GNP graduate, was recently awarded the 2005 Annual Clinical Practice Award from the National Conference of Gerontological Nurse Practitioners. This award is given by the conference to a member who has done outstanding work in clinical practice.
Nancy Lake (BS, MS) was honored by the Boston Globe in the third annual "Salute to Nursing" awards.