First published on July 13, 2015 in observance of the COPH’s 30^th anniversary celebration.

Founded in 1997 by a training grant supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Sunshine Education and Research Center at the USF College of Public Health stemmed from an industrial hygiene training program grant in the late 1980s.

“NIOSH has several charters,” explained Dr. Thomas Bernard, chair and professor in Environmental and Occupational Health and SERC (pronounced SIR-see) program director since 2008.  “One of them is to support and encourage the development of professionals in the field of occupational safety and health.  A mechanism for doing that is through training grants.”

After Bernard’s arrival in 1989, additional training program grants followed in occupational medicine and occupational health nursing.  Then the department began work on an occupational safety program.  Eight years later, the fledgling operation had grown enough to warrant centralization.

“In the mid-’90s,” Bernard said, “we decided that we would combine those training activities with a grant and ask for an education center.  The application required that it have training in at least three programs, and we had four: safety, industrial hygiene, medicine and nursing.  The application was accepted and funded under the leadership of Stuart M. Brooks and Yehia Hammad.”

Being headquartered at a university the size of USF naturally leads any interdisciplinary entity into an expansion cornucopia that Bernard is happy to enumerate, along with the USF colleges involved.

“Because they are multidiscipline programs, part of their value is the interdisciplinary training,” he said.  “We added, about seven years ago, occupational health psychology, so that’s now a funded program in Arts and Sciences.  We’ve expanded the safety program to include a degree out of engineering.  Obviously, we’re involved with the [Morsani] College of Medicine:  The clinical rotations and residency certificates come out of medicine, and then the academic training comes out of public health.

“With nursing,” he said, “we have three options.  One is a straight occupational health nursing degree, a second one is a dual degree in nursing and public health, and then we also have a third degree that’s strictly public health.”

Thomas Bernard, PhD

Another requirement under the grant from NIOSH, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a continuing education component,  which also has been added.  Additional expansion has stemmed from outreach activities, student recruitment and a pilot project in research training for doctoral students and junior faculty.

“We support these throughout the region,” Bernard qualified, “so they aren’t only for USF.  We have reached way beyond ourselves in terms of the arrangements that we have, but we engage the professional community more than the community at large.”

He added that the center is “very much engaged” in state and regional professional conferences, as well as in coordination with other ERCs in the state and the region.

“By and large, we have a very good national profile,” he said.  “There are just a couple of us that reach out globally, but those are more individual efforts.  The ERC is designed to serve primarily Florida, and in a larger sense, the Southeast region.  That’s our mission and our charter from NIOSH, not to go beyond that, but I think we have expertise in a number of areas that have national recognition.”

The highly technical nature of some of those areas probably help limit recognition to professional circles, but their significance would be difficult to deny. Respiratory protection from nanoparticles is one of them, but as Bernard pointed out, it’s not exactly a topic on most people’s minds.

“Few people are asking, ‘What happens when you breathe those in?’  Some of them have characteristics that are not unlike asbestos.  Others are easily transported across the air-blood barriers, so they move through the lungs into the blood and get transported elsewhere in the body.  So protecting individuals from nanoparticles is important,” he said.

And the list goes on.

“We have a major presence in the area of heat stress – how to evaluate heat stress, how to manage it, and especially, the effects of protective clothing.  We have fairly good recognition in Europe in the area of ergonomics,” he continued,  “and occupational health psychology clearly is one of our well-recognized programs.”

Workplace stress, safety climate and work-family balance are others, he said.

“And then,” he concluded with a nod that said he’d saved the best for last, “we turn out good students, and we’re recognized through the product of the quality of our students.”

SERC hosts a six-day Summer Institute for Occupational Health and Safety for students interested in exploring graduate studies.

Looking ahead is easy for Bernard, and he likes what he sees for his organization.

“I think that everything we do in public health, and everything we do within the SERC, is prevention – preventing people from being injured or having their health impaired,” he said.  “But I think our opportunity here at USF lies in translating research to practice and also expanding on the fact that a healthy workforce is healthy not only from controlling exposures to hazards in the workplace, but also from encouraging healthy activities outside the workplace.

“So, bringing these work and home lives together is an opportunity for us,” Bernard concluded, “and that’s where I see our future.”

Story by David Brothers, College of Public Health.

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USF College of Public Health (COPH) alum Dr. Stasha-Gae Roberts was commissioned as an Army nurse for four years after earning her bachelor of science in nursing. She was stationed in Augusta, Ga., taking care of active duty personnel, their families, veterans and visiting dignitaries.

The Jamaica native, who found her way to Miami via New York, is the daughter of a nurse, and received her bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Florida.

But a few years into her nursing career, she started to become disillusioned. 

“It just seemed that [as medical professionals], we were working backward,” Roberts said. “We’d do a great job of fixing people up, but not a great job of teaching them how to manage their chronic conditions and take better care of themselves.”

With disease prevention in mind, Roberts enrolled at the COPH while continuing to work as a nurse. She earned her MPH in 2007, concentrating in public health education. 

“There are a lot of things one can do to live a healthier life,” she said. “Health promotion and disease prevention are the parts of public health that really interested me.”

Roberts says that early on in her MPH pursuit, she “got the bug” to open up her own medical practice. Through the next several years, she worked to achieve that dream. 

She received a master of science in nursing from the University of Tampa and became an adult-gerontology nurse practitioner. A few years later, she earned a doctor of nursing practice, the highest practice degree any nurse can achieve, from USF. 

In late 2019, Roberts applied for and received all her necessary credentialing and paperwork to open her business.

Today, Roberts owns and operates Compassion Primary Care in Tampa. It’s a primary care, membership-based health care practice for people 18 and over. Compassion Primary Care patients have 24/7 access to Roberts, are able to get same-day appointments, have extended visits and receive discounts on labs and medications. She also offers what she calls nonmember “convenience care,” for ailments such as the common cold, urinary tract infections, rashes, etc.

As an adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner, Roberts noticed that many people first started regularly accessing health care when they got Medicare coverage.

“They’re done working, raising families, and they finally have time to focus on themselves,” Roberts said. “But diseases don’t start when you’re 65. They can start in your 50s, 40s and sometimes in your 30s and 20s. My goal has been to provide a service where people can get high quality care now, so that when they do turn 65, they have a good quality of life. It’s kind of like your car,” she added. “Periodically you change the oil and rotate the tires and get new brakes. You don’t wait until you need four new tires and an engine overhaul before you take care of things.”

With her public health education training always in the foreground, Roberts’ main goal is to help people lead healthier lives.

“At the end of the day, how people choose to live their lives is up to them,” Roberts said. “But as health care providers, we can be advocates and coaches. And when patients see you as someone who truly cares about them, they will listen.”

Alumni Fast Five

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

An astronaut or police officer

Where can we find you on the weekends?

Reading, spending time with my husband and doing church activities

What was the last book you read?

I am currently reading “Another Gospel,” by Alisa Childers and “How God Saved Civilization,” by James Garlow.

What superpower would you like to have?

Mind reading

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

I have a few—the first “Wonder Woman,” “Steel Magnolias” and “The Breakfast Club.”

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

The post The nurse practitioner will see you now: COPH grad opens her own medical practice appeared first on College of Public Health News.

USF College of Public Health alumna Kathleen Cunningham has been selected to the ASPPH/NHTSA Public Health Fellowship for the 2020-2021 year at the U.S. Department of Transportation Headquarters (DOT) in Washington, DC. Her appointment began in September.

The fellowship is a collaborative effort between the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), DOT and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It is a unique training opportunity offered to graduates of CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health. Fellows work with national experts in injury prevention and motor vehicle and highway safety issues to examine the causes and etiology of motor vehicle crashes and injuries.

Cunningham was first introduced to public health while earning her BS in nursing at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. 

“We had a basic class on the importance of public health and social determinants of health that influence individual health. It made perfect sense to me as a big proponent of preparedness and prevention,” she said. “I feel like solid public health efforts reduce the overall burden on the health care system. I have seen too many patients that we could have done more for if they only had support earlier on in their community.”

After graduating from Kent State with her BS in nursing and BA in biology with a minor in health care ethics, Cunningham joined the USF COPH to pursue her MPH in disaster management, humanitarian aid and homeland security. 

Cunningham said she chose the USF COPH for three reasons: the well-rounded programs with topics she was interested in, online courses that allowed her to live and work from anywhere and still obtain her degree, and the affordability.

“I personally don’t like the idea of finances limiting learning, and there is a lot to be said for minimizing debt and getting the education you want,” she said.

Cunningham also enjoyed all of her professors who encouraged multiple perspectives and dove into particular interests while also connecting these interests to the overall learning. 

“My mentor, Dr. Tony Masys, and my practicum advisor Dr. Jennifer Marshall, were absolutely great. They encouraged me to think about my long-term goals and what projects would most accomplish those things,” she said. “Special shout out to Dr. Janice Zgibor, who helped me get my practicum direction and my study abroad to Australia.”

As an online student who worked full-time as a travel nurse, Cunningham said that she did face some challenges during her time at the COPH. 

“Online group projects were my biggest challenge. Many of us were of differing career backgrounds and degree programs, so one person would be speaking at a whole different level about homeland security and military operations which could lead many lost, but it was great practice for the pandemic, however, where every project is virtual!”

Before applying for the ASPPH/NHTSA Public Health Fellowship, Cunningham had originally applied for ASPPH fellowships with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Monica Stadtler, director of DEI and graduate training programs at ASPPH, emailed me about this fellowship with the Office of Emergency Medical Services (EMS),” she said. “I have an interest in most things medical, so I went ahead and applied. I was completely surprised when they called me for an interview, since my background is not EMS specific, but I was really intrigued by how much the office does with such a small staff and the opportunity they were offering for me to grow and focus on skill development.”

As a  first-year public health fellow in the federal office of Emergency Medical Services under the National Highway and Traffic and Safety Administration, Cunningham is currently working on is improving her data analysis and communication skills while working on a variety of office projects that she hopes will promote emergency medical and 911 services in order to increase recognition and requisite support.

“My team is fantastic. It is such a great group of driven, hardworking and congenial people. I have had no shortage of projects I could jump in on, or ask for clarification about, and they are more than happy to help, provide information, or connect me to the resources I need,” she said.

Cunningham is also using much of what she learned at the USF COPH in her current position, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am utilizing the disaster management side of things far more than I expected with the pandemic,” she said. “Having a working knowledge of the system in place during a pandemic has been helpful in prioritizing actions and directing information.”

While it’s still early on in Cunningham’s fellowship, she said that she’s been fairly proud of her ability to take information in and put it into a digestible perspective.

“My goal is to continue to do that for the benefit of others, gathering data and then presenting it in a way that illustrates the importance of action and advocates for affected groups,” she said.

Alumni Fast Five:

What did you dream of becoming when you were young?

Marine biologist, actress or world traveler.

Where would we find you on the weekend?

Taking a class, in salsa or diving or whatever!

What is the last book you read?

“The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited,” by the McElroys.  Before that, “Snuff”, by Terry Pratchett.

What superpower would you like to have?

Shapeshifting.

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

Practical Magic.

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health

The post Alumna Kathleen Cunningham selected as an ASPPH/NHTSA public health fellow appeared first on College of Public Health News.

Florida has the highest cesarean rate in the nation, and seventy-six Florida hospitals have responded by signing up to work to improve quality of care, create a culture that supports vaginal birth, and reduce their cesarean rate in low-risk, first time mothers.

The quality improvement project is called PROVIDE, or Promoting Primary Vaginal Deliveries Initiative, and it launched at a state-wide meeting of over 250 people in October 2019.

The Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative’s (FPQC) PROVIDE Initiative, supported by the Florida Department of Health and the Alliance for Innovation in Maternal Health (AIM), focuses on applying evidence-based interventions to maternity care to ultimately reduce unnecessary cesareans that may have negative impacts on the health of mothers and babies.

Florida’s cesarean rate for NTSV, or nulliparous, term, singleton, vertex pregnancies, is higher than the national average.

Forty-two of the hospitals participated in the first round of PROVIDE, which launched in 2017. An additional 34 have joined on for PROVIDE 2.0. Energy was high as all 76 hospitals who applied with teams committed to reduce primary c-sections attended the kick off meeting in Orlando.

After hosting three regional trainings to orient Florida hospitals to the issue, covering the PROVIDE Initiative’s foci, and driving home why it is crucial to reduce cesarean sections; the FPQC spent the PROVIDE 2.0 kick off focusing on key messages on how to tackle this significant maternal health issue.

Special guest from the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, Dr. David Lagrew, told the group that “Culture eats strategy for lunch,” and that the most important thing is “a culture that values vaginal delivery.” He presented lessons from how their state West Coast has been lowering their cesarean rates.

Dr. Lagrew emphasized that research in California has shown that reducing their cesarean rate has not impacted adverse outcomes in newborns, and he emphasized the power of sharing provider-level data. He emphasized that physicians with lower rates are more likely to: choose inductions wisely and carefully, have lower numbers of failed inductions, less latent phase admission, and are more present during labor and pushing.

More lessons learned and pearls of wisdom from hospitals who have been successful in lowering their cesarean rate were shared during a Success Stories panel session that included representatives from hospitals who participated in round one of PROVIDE. The audience enjoyed hearing directly from their peers on what challenges they met and were able to overcome, what changes were most successful, and concrete ideas that can be implemented in other institutions.

Clinical co-lead for PROVIDE, Dr. Karen Bruder, presented on change management for PROVIDE, and how to engage and obtain buy-in from physicians. FPQC nurse consultants Betsy Wood and Nancy Travis led a session on how teams could begin to plan their projects and teams left with individualized   plans to get started in their own organization.

The FPQC team walked the attendees through some of the resources and types of assistance available to them as participants in the initiative, including ways to track their progress with data, participation in small group coaching calls and on-demand expert technical assistance, and an online resource tool box.

To learn more about the Promoting Primary Vaginal Deliveries Initiative, visit www.fpqc.org/provide.

Article written by Emily A. Bronson and FPQC staff.

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Tiffany Vesely is a two-time Bull.

She received her bachelor’s degree in political science (with a minor in sociology) from USF in 2007. In 2009, she earned her master’s from the USF College of Public Health, focusing on global health practice.

Originally a chemistry major with an interest in clinical pharmacology, Vesely switched gears and settled into studying political theory. While one leans heavily on science and the other liberal arts, Vesely sees the combination as the perfect training ground for a career in public health.

“I saw the connections between political and social structures and their implications for the health of the people,” she said. “This led very naturally to the study of public health.”

Fast forward nine years and today Vesely—who is also a two-time Gator, having received both a bachelor’s and master’s in nursing from the University of Florida after graduating from the COPH—is a clinical research nurse practitioner at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) in Silver Spring, Md.

Tiffany Vesely, MPH, MSN. (Photo courtesy of Vesely)

There, she works as a medical investigator in the area of sleep science as it relates to the maintenance and enhancement of cognitive performance for military service members. Vesely is responsible for determining medical eligibility of study participants and for their well-being while they are enrolled in the studies. She also works as a clinical research coordinator and facilitates the execution of study protocols.

Vesely was drawn to WRAIR, in part, because of the work her husband, Dr. Brian Vesely, an Army microbiologist and fellow COPH alum, and his colleagues were doing.

“I saw how much they were doing to address infectious diseases and brain health among our service members and I wanted to be a part of it,” she said. “I love the breadth and flexibility of my position. I have the opportunity to work with researchers with backgrounds in neurology, sleep medicine, neuroscience and psychiatry. Each study is different, with its own challenges, which keeps things interesting.”

Research was actually Vesely’s first foray into the field of public health. She interned as a research assistant with the Florida Center for Survivors of Torture in Clearwater while at the COPH.

It’s work she takes great pride in.

Vesely completed her MPH special project on understanding the health needs of newly settled Iraqi refugees. She also worked closely with the Burmese refugee population in Tampa and helped coordinate health fairs and clinical services for this group.

“As a nurse practitioner, much of my experience has been in community and refugee health,” commented Vesely, who has also held nursing positions at St. Joseph’s Hospital (in Tampa), Tampa Family Health Centers and CCI Health & Wellness Services in Silver Spring. “My MPH in global health practice prepared me to work with these special populations with greater understanding and compassion, which ultimately allowed me to be more effective than if I had only studied nursing. I would encourage all clinicians interested in working with the medically underserved to consider studying public health.”

Next stop for Vesely? Thailand, where her husband will be stationed. “I plan to take some time to explore Southeast Asia and learn about the culture—maybe even pick up a little Thai. The nurse practitioner profession isn’t recognized in the same way there, so I am pursuing work in clinical research in Bangkok and am excited for new opportunities.”

Alumni Fast Five

 What did you dream of becoming when you were younger?

Oh, so many things!

Where could we find you on the weekend?

Hiking around Maryland or trying a new cooking recipe.

What was the last book you read?

“Bangkok 8,” by John Burdett.

What superpower would you like to have?

To fly.

What is your all-time favorite movie?

I love movies too much to name just one!

Story by Donna Campisano, USF College of Public Health

The post COPH alum Tiffany Vesely serves those who serve appeared first on College of Public Health News.

USF College of Public Health alumna Darcy Ravndal was a science teacher at Middleton (now Ferrell) Middle School in Tampa, Fla. when she was introduced to the field of public health.

“One of my first students was the son of Dr. Jeannine Coreil, who was a professor at the COPH. I began reading about her research on filariasis in Haiti and knew that public health was my passion,” Ravndal said.

Having received her undergraduate degree from USF in education in 1996, Ravndal decided to look into the COPH for her MPH degree. After meeting and learning more about the work of Coreil, Dr. Karen Liller and Dr. Kay Perrin, Ravndal knew that the COPH was a great fit for her.

As a teacher, Ravndal said she was able to see first-hand how community, family and student health is directly tied to academic growth and performance. Many of her students at both Ferrell Middle and Hillsborough High Schools struggled with enormous health and social obstacles. This led Ravndal to pursue her studies in the Department of Community and Family Health.

Alumna Darcy Ravndal, MPH, ARNP, PNP-C (Photo courtesy of Ravndal).

After completing her degree in 2001, Ravndal worked at the USF Center for Biological Defense (CBD) as an education and outreach coordinator where she met and was inspired by Dr. Jacqueline Cattani, affiliate professor in the COPH’s Department of Global Health and director of the CBD.

“Her energy, ideas and stories have shaped my worldview and influenced every aspect of my professional life,” Ravndal said. “She has been a huge mentor for me — I could not have done any of it without her!  Working with her while at the CBD really shaped my path.”

Ravndal said she was grateful for her time at the CBD. It connected her to Dr. Cattani and many other health professionals that she still collaborates with as often as she can.

“It was an amazing first public health experience because it was diverse in its content and responsibilities,” she said. “Biological defense research and education was (and is) a quickly evolving field, so I learned a lot while at the CBD.”

She later attended John Hopkins University and earned her BSN in nursing in 2008 and then her MSN in pediatric primary care in 2009.

Ravndal said she had quickly learned that a clinical degree is a huge complement to public health and that nursing has allowed her to more directly utilize her public health skills in a clinical setting. Currently, Ravndal is a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Edgewater High School Health Center in Orlando ensuring that it meets the needs of the families who utilize it.

“The school health model is an incredibly effective blend of medicine and public health. The health centers are grant-funded through a wide variety of sources, so I am grateful to be able to spend my time making sure kids are healthy, performing sports physical exams so they can stay active, and educating them about a myriad of health and safety issues that affect them daily,” Ravndal said.

She believes that health care in a high school is a great way to reach an often-overlooked population and is a unique setup that allows for true delivery of health and wellness to many children and their families.

“Most days I leave my clinic feeling as though I was able to make an impact that could change the direction of a young person’s life,” she said.

Staying connected to the CBD, Ravndal is also a program coordinator for an education program through the Florida Department of Health Bureau of Public Health Laboratories. The program aims to teach first responders how to safely and effectively collect an environmental sample for testing at one of the state laboratories.

“I cannot imagine being very effective in my work on a day-to-day basis without my background in public health,” she said.

***

Fast Five for COPH Alumni:

What did you dream of becoming when you were young? 

A trapeze artist.

Where would we find you on the weekend?

On my bike, on a trail, cooking, or at a soccer field (watching my children play).

What is the last book you read?

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” by J.K. Rowling.

What superpower would you like to have?

Time travel.

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

“The Hundred Foot Journey”.

Story by Caitlin Keough, USF College of Public Health

The post Alumna Darcy Ravndal brings public health to nursing appeared first on College of Public Health News.

“Being a student never stops,” said USF College of Public Health graduate student Montray Smith.  “I was still doing homework in one of my classes while I was in the Netherlands.  I was on vacation, and I had the class PowerPoints and the textbook spread all over the hotel room, and I had to use the hotel computer for Internet service.”

A master of public health candidate enrolled in the Public Health Practice program, Smith’s public health passion is manifest in a pair of poster presentations at international conferences this spring and summer.

COPH grad student Montray Smith presented a poster in Cape Town, South Africa, in April.

She presented “Coordination of Transportation to Special Needs Shelters in an EOC Level II Activation During a Tropical Storm” at the 19th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine in Cape Town, South Africa, in April.  She also has been chosen to present “Duval County Special Needs Coordination during EOC Activation during Tropical Storm Andrea” at Sigma Theta Tau International’s 26th International Nursing Research Congress in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in July.

Smith is no stranger to graduate school or international health endeavors.  A registered nurse for the past 24 years, she already holds a master of science in nursing from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, as well as USF COPH graduate certificates in disaster management and humanitarian assistance from the Department of Global Health.  She has been a nursing instructor for 12 years.

Her nursing experience includes adult medical/surgical, intensive care, post-trauma and disaster relief/disaster management.  As a member of the North-East Florida Disaster Medical Assistance Team since 2002 and a member of the U.S. Disaster Medical System, she has been deployed on numerous national and international medical missions.

A growing interest in public health drew the Jacksonville native southwest to Tampa, USF and COPH.  She said she particularly was drawn to the flexibility of online graduate studies in disaster management/humanitarian assistance and public health practice, and she especially liked the concept of using public health principles in disaster management and relief.

“The program is convenient and affordable,” she said.  “It is an excellent program, and I am very grateful to be a student at USF.  We have some truly great faculty, staff and students, and I am grateful to be a part of the Bulls family.”

Evidently, the student who said that “being a student never stops” meant it in more ways than one.

“I will be pursuing a doctorate in nursing,” she said, “and continuing to do my work in disaster management and humanitarian assistance.”

Story by David Brothers, College of Public Health.

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Nancy L. Tipps, BSN, joined a select group of professionals as 2015 Florida Outstanding Woman in Public Health.  She was presented the award April 8 in the Sam Bell III Auditorium.

Tipps’ numerous letters of endorsement herald the rare combination of responsibility, innovation and determination she has brought to her past and present public health endeavors, which include public health services manager at the Florida Department of Health–Bay County, her present position.

“This is a woman who gets things done,” said Dr. Donna Petersen, dean of the USF College of Public Health, which has presented the annual recognition since 1988.

“With her help, we’ve changed a community,” said Dr. Douglas Kent in nominating Tipps.  Kent, a 1987 USF COPH graduate, is administrator of the Florida Department of Health–Bay County.

“She has a great attitude and always looks for the best in people,” he added.  “We saved the community $7 million last year with our ER diversion program.  These things don’t always get written up in the press, but it’s pretty amazing for us public health folks.”

Nancy L. Tipps, BSN

Tipps’ varied 25-year career shows continuous caring for the people of Northwest Florida.  Prior to her endeavors at FDOH–Bay, she served as director of nursing at FDOH–Jackson County, senior community health nursing supervisor at the Bay County Health Department, director of health care services for Interim Healthcare, a branch administrator for Hospice of the Emerald Coast, clinical coordinator at Covenant Hospice, case manager and admissions nurse at Gentiva Health Care, nursing supervisor at Gulf Coast Convalescent Center, director of surgical units at Columbia Gulf Coast Medical Center, and oncology case manager/assistant department head at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola.

And Tipps has by no means limited her caring and compassion strictly to her official duties.  She has participated avidly in numerous mass vaccination outreach programs that have helped protect the public against influenza, H1N1, WIC and rabies.  She has been instrumental in accommodating clients’ needs by adjusting hours of operation and arranging for additional clinics and providers.  She further contributes to her profession as a writer for CareMap Tools.  A member of the advisory committees for Chipola College and Head Start, she has received statewide recognition for EMR, elab and STI pilot projects.

Tipps is studying for a master’s in nursing leadership at the University of West Florida in Pensacola.  She holds a BSN from UWF and an AND from Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City.

“I’m honored and humbled to be here,” she said.  “You never really know what your accomplishments are.  I’m just doing my job, but it is nice to be recognized.  Thank you very much, and I’ll continue to do my best.”

Related Media:
Blog on USF’s 2015 National Public Health Week festivities

Story by David Brothers, College of Public Health.

The post Nancy L. Tipps named 2015 Florida Outstanding Woman in Public Health appeared first on College of Public Health News.

William Michael Reid, PhD, MBA, and colleagues published an article summarizing a survey of nurses in Maine regarding their willingness to work in a pandemic. The article, “Predictors of Nurses’ Intentions to Work During the 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic,” appeared in the December 2013 issue of the American Journal of Nursing, Volume 113, no. 12, pp. 24-31.

The lead author is Sharon Dezzani Martin, a professor in the Department of Nursing at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, ME. The second author is Lisa M. Brown, an associate professor in the School of Aging Studies at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Although he officially retired in 2010, Dr. Reid remains an engaged member of the college and public health communities. He is an active member of the Florida Public Health Association and chaired the poster session for the 2013 annual meeting.

Highly regarded by his peers, Reid received several national and state awards, including FPHA’s Meritorious Service and Robert D. May Awards. In 2013, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, Central Methodist University.

Dr. Reid is an emeritus associate professor in the USF College of Public Health, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health. The department offers several concentrations that lead to MPH, MSPH, and PhD degrees, and recently launched an online MPH in health, safety, and environment.

The post Dr. William Reid and colleagues report on nurses working in a pandemic appeared first on College of Public Health News.

Patricia Quigley, PhD, MPH, ARNP, CRRN, FAAN, FAANP, received the 2013 USF College of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award during the college’s Coming Home: 40^thAnniversary celebrations on February 16.

The Distinguished Alumni Award, created by USF College of Nursing Alumni & Friends Society to acknowledge the personal, professional and community contributions of its alumni, is given to individuals who have distinguished themselves through their exemplary dedication to the profession of nursing.

Dr. Quigley, who has been practicing rehabilitation nursing for more than 34 years, received the distinguished award for demonstrating outstanding accomplishments as a charter graduate of the USF College of Nursing Undergraduate Nursing program in 1975 and the Graduate Nursing program in 1982.

(l,r) Dr. Quigley and Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, Senior Associate Vice President, USF Health and Dean, USF College of Nursing

“I am very thankful of USF College of Nursing,” said Dr. Quigley, as she tried to fight back tears. “I have spent my whole life trying to wrap my arms around the nursing profession because I have loved this so much. There are times that I have felt when this profession has wrapped its arms around me.”

Dr. Quigley is the associate director and team leader for injurious falls at James A. Haley VA Hospital in Tampa. During her career, she has been a nurse practitioner in adult health, a clinical nurse specialist in rehabilitation, and a funded nurse researcher. In addition, she is also an expert in patient safety, program evaluation, rehabilitation, functional independence, fall and injurious fall prevention across settings, and epidemiology.

“Since starting the first nurse practitioner-directed Falls Prevention Clinic at James A Haley VA Medical Center, several other public and private institutions have adopted this successful model,” said Melissa Molinari, Shelton, PhD, RN, assistant professor and president of the USF CON Alumni & Friends Society, before she presented her the award. “Dr. Quigley has helped shape the science of fall prevention and management in healthcare. Perhaps most importantly to nursing, she developed a model for clinical falls teams designed to reduce costs and develop interventions and best practices in the prevention and management of falls, the number one injury of patients in hospitals. She pioneered the nurse practitioner role as leader of the falls team, enabling the nurse practitioner to serve as primary provider.”

Under Dr. Quigley’s direction, the model team at James A. Haley Hospital received continuous funding of more than $5 million since 1999.  The team developed clinical and educational tools to translate falls research into clinical practice. Her research findings have also been published extensively and translated into practice at the national level.

Since 1986, Dr. Quigley’s served on 10 editorial review boards and authored more than 20 articles in peer reviewed journals and co-authored 21 articles published in interdisciplinary journals. Additionally, she served as president of the Florida Nurses Association, USF College of Nursing Alumni & Friends Society, and contributed to expert panels in many national organizations.

Dr. Patricia Quigley earned a master’s degree in epidemiology from the USF College of Public Health.

Reposted from USF College of Nursing On the Move

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