The community is invited to celebrate with her and her colleagues for a farewell party from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, May 2 in the Student Union Barnwell Room.

In honor of all of Barb’s international endeavors, we will be having a Dim Sum buffet with: egg rolls, potstickers, sweet and spicy boneless chicken wings, served with assorted dipping sauces, including sweet chile and cucumber vinaigrette, and gourmet dessert bars.

In order to ensure plenty of food, please let Sherepta McLeod (shereptamcleod@boisestate.edu or 6-5313) know that you plan to attend the reception. (more…)

Pam Strohfus, School of Nursing faculty, and Sara Palma, School of Nursing alumnus, won third place for their poster, “Registered Nurse Coordinating Care in Healthy U Co-Partner Program” at the first annual St. Luke’s research symposium, held in February 2013.

Sara Palma graduated in Dec. 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and in Spanish. She will be receiving Boise State’s Top Ten Scholar Award, one of the highest honors available to Boise State students, for her exceptional academic success, service, research and more.

The nursing students in School of Nursing faculty member Cathy Deckys’ Leadership and Community Health course have helped to coordinate the Meningitis Campaign both here at Boise State and across Idaho at several college campuses. They have given more than 400 free vaccines at three different vaccine clinics this semester.

The Idaho Immunization Coalition received 8,000 vaccines from the Idaho Immunization Program at the Idaho state Health and Welfare Department to be given free to all college students.

College students are at a higher than normal risk for contracting meningococcal meningitis, a disease that progresses so rapidly that it can lead to death within 24 hours from the first onset of symptoms. Most of Idaho college students are not vaccinated with the meningitis vaccine because there are no requirements for immunizations upon entry into college.

For more information about the Meningitis Campaign and the Idaho Immunization Coalition, please contact Pam Strohfus at pamstrohfus@boisestate.edu.

More than 25 College of Health Sciences authors, representing all four academic units within the college, were honored at the annual University Author Recognition event. Dean Tim Dunnagan joined the college faculty in celebrating their publication accomplishments for the year at the reception held on Feb. 28.

This year’s University Author Recognition event honored all Boise State University authors who published articles, books, or creative works between Sept. 1, 2011 and Dec. 31, 2012. The event consisted of a bibliography of Boise State authors compiled by Albertsons Library staff, a display of scholarly and creative works, and a reception where the university community could meet authors to recognize their scholarly contributions. (more…)

Max Veltman, faculty in the School of Nursing, attended the multi-day training session and kick-off event of Project Connect in Washington DC in late March. Project Connect is a multi-state initiative to change how health-care providers assess for and respond to sexual coercion and intimate partner violence in teens.

In February, Idaho was one of five states to be accepted into this three-year pilot project that is funded by the Office on Women’s Health. Veltman will be part of the leadership team that implements and evaluates this project and the impact it has on how Idaho primary care providers screen for and assist adolescent victims of intimate partner violence.

For more information on Project Connect, visit http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/content/features/detail/1434/.

Pamela Gehrke, EdD, RN, presented a paper at the International Collaboration for Community Health Nursing Research (ICCHNR) conference, held at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland on March 13 and 14. The theme of the conference was “Transforming Community Health: the Nursing Impact.”

Gehrke’s paper, “A Theory of Political Learning for Nursing Education,” explored how hybrid courses for undergraduate nursing students can help students develop an understanding of how political processes and policy making skills may play a role in nursing practice as a way to create healthier communities and societies. (more…)

On the mornings of March 5 and 6, more than two dozen School of Nursing alumni, friends and faculty gathered for breakfast and a stimulating conversation about “The Changing Role of Nursing in Acute Care.” Dr. Julie Stanik-Hutt, a visiting scholar from Johns Hopkins University, led the discussion.

Stanik-Hutt is a professor of nursing at Johns Hopkins, an acute care nurse practitioner and a critical care clinical nurse specialist. She has received numerous national awards.

Dialogues in Nursing is a forum where alumni and friends can delve deeper into relevant nursing topics through listening, learning and discussion. National Nursing experts present topics of interest and invite  discussion and exploration of the topic with the greater group.

In July 2012, Eldon Walker, faculty in the School of Nursing, traveled to Uganda, with 14 other members of Be the Change Africa – Boise Chapter to volunteer at the Nsumba Orphanage in Uganda. The orphanage is about two hours south of the capital of Kampala. The orphanage has between approximately 350 children ranging in age from two years old to 18 years old.

Walker and his colleagues performed health assessments, HIV tests, and hearing exams, as two audiologists were part of the group. They also taught the children about good health practices and about HIV.

Walker had an incredible time working with the children and adolescents. The official language of Uganda is English; however, most Ugandans’ first language is Luganda, Swahili or many of the other African languages. As can be imagined with kids in any orphanage, the younger kids wanted lots of attention and wanted to be held, while the adolescents wanted to practice English and hear about America.

The Boise Chapter of Be the Change Africa had previously paid for 250 mosquito nets for the dorms where the kids live. Walker excelled in jerry-rigging mosquito nets over double and triple bunk beds. One of the highlights was a trip over scary roads to northern Uganda, by South Sudan, to go on a safari. Being out on the Savannah watching elephants, giraffes, baboons, hyenas, warthogs, herds of a variety of antelopes, and African buffalo was an incredible way to close a trip of humanitarian aid.