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The American Academy of Nursing |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Paula Darte, 703-704-5135
Perrin Darte & Associates
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AAN Announces President's Awards, Living Legends and Honorary Fellows
Washington, DC --The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) will present a series of awards during its 2001 annual meeting to be held in Washington, DC at the JW Marriott, October 26 and 27.
The designation of Living Legend is bestowed on individuals who have continued to make contributions of great distinction to the profession of nursing, long after initial induction into the Academy. The following "legends" will be honored at a Thursday, October 25 evening reception: Susan Gortner, PhD, RN, FAAN; Lucie Kelly, PhD, RN, FAAN; Ruth Lubic, EdD, RN, FAAN; Mary Starke Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN; and Florence Wald, MN, MA, FAAN.
"These nurses are pioneers in the profession," said AAN Executive Director Terri Gaffney, MPA, RN. "We are honored to have them among us because they show us a level of activism, academic achievement and professionalism to which we all aspire. They are examples and mentors, as well as warm and caring nurses and colleagues who inspire us."
Honorary Fellows are nurses and other providers or academicians who have made outstanding contributions to the fields of health and nursing. Nominated by the entire AAN, these individuals are then selected by the AAN Board of Directors. This year's fellows will be inducted into the Academy during the Academy's banquet on Saturday, October 27. Fellows this year are Kathleen Knafl, PhD and Doris Merritt, MD.
Kathleen Knafl, PhD, is a Yale University professor. As a sociologist who has spent her entire career in academic nursing, Knafl is most well known for her creative contributions to concept development in family nursing. Her work demonstrating how families attempt to create an atmosphere of normalization has transformed the ways in which nurses care for families with a child with a chronic illness.
Doris Merritt, MD, has a long and distinguished career as a physician, administrator, community leader and mentor. Her work with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was instrumental in establishing the Office of Research on Women's Health, which grew out of her efforts to launch this major new area of scholarship. She also served as the first (acting) director of the National Center for Nursing Research, seeing to it that the Center was positioned within NIH to enable it to emerge as an independent and interdependent entity.
The President's Award is granted intermittently, at the request of the Academy President, in recognition of a significant contribution toward improving understanding of the nursing profession as a scientific and caring profession. This year's awards to four individuals will be made Saturday, also at the Academy's banquet. Awardees this year are:
John M. Eisenberg, MD, MBA, who has served as Director of the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ) since its establishment in 1997. AHRQ is the lead federal agency charged with conducting and sponsoring research to enhance the quality, appropriateness and effectiveness of health care services, and to improve the cost and access to care. A clinician and researcher, Eisenberg has held key positions in academia and clinical medicine. He also served as a founding Commissioner of the Congressional Physician Payment Review Commission.
Terrance Keenan, served as Vice President of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation from 1972 through 1990. He currently serves as a special consultant to the foundation. Mr. Keenan is best known for his leadership in establishing the nurse practitioner concept within the mainstream of professional education and service. The nursing profession has benefited greatly from his efforts to restructure hospital-based nursing care and to expand the talent pool of new registered nurses. His leadership in initiating school-based adolescent clinics and primary care centers serving low-income families and his work to enable the frail elderly to remain at home have greatly improved the public health.
Gretchen Osgood, MS, RN, has worked with the US Bureau of Health Professions, Division of Nursing for 25 years in roles such as Assistant Director and Deputy Director. Osgood served as a behind-the-scenes leader who provided sage advice to Division of Nursing directors regarding important federal legislation that supports nursing education, practice and research. She continues as a tireless champion of the profession, keeping those issues in the forefront of national policy through the Friends of the Division of Nursing.
John E. Porter is a partner with Hogan & Harston's Washington, DC office and a member of the firm's health group. Before joining the firm, Porter served for 21 years as Congressman from Illinois' 10th District. In Congress he served on the Appropriations Committee and as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. In this capacity, he secured unprecedented funding increases for biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health. Porter is a member of several boards, including Research! America and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.
"These four awardees have had tremendous impact in advancing health care quality, research and the nursing profession," said AAN President Ada Sue Hinshaw, PhD, RN, FAAN. "The Academy recognizes them – and the entire nursing profession benefits – from their vision and tireless work in shaping health care policy and practices for the benefit of individual patients and the general public."
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The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) represents leaders in nursing care who have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to the profession and to health care. The Academy was established in 1973 under the aegis of the American Nurses Association, the professional organization representing the nation's 2.6 million registered nurses.
For more information about the awards, to attend the Thursday evening reception or Saturday evening awards banquet or to arrange interviews, contact Paula Darte, Perrin Darte & Associates, 703-704-5135.
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