Leadership and Professionalism Awards

Amy J. Berman Geriatric Nursing Leadership Award

2017 Award Recipient

Kuei-Min Chen, PhD, RN

Professor
Kaohsiung Medical University
Kaohsiung, Taiwan

My work, grounded in innovative research on improving health of older adults, has led to applications in practice and policy, and is aligned with the Amy J. Berman Geriatric Nursing Leadership Award. This award enables me to bring my experience and expertise to the global community of gerontological nursing.

Professor Kuei-Min Chen is the director of Center for Long-term Care Research at Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan. She is also in charge of the Master Program in Aging and Long-term Care. Professor Chen has been teaching, practicing, and conducting research in gerontological nursing for almost 30 years. She has been as a national and international leader in research on physical activity interventions and their translation into practice to improve the health of older adults. Professor Chen leads a “Health Promotion of Older Adults Research Team” and has developed five innovative exercise programs for various older populations that are being used in 212 community care centers and 20 long-term care facilities in Taiwan, and are used by researchers in four countries. Her work has been disseminated in international journals and conferences. Moreover, through her appointments to several policy-making groups in Taiwan, Professor Chen advocates for better care delivery for older adults.

2015 Award Recipient

Nancy E. Edwards, PhD, MSN, BSN, ANP-BC

Associate Professor, Director of Primary Care AGNP Program Purdue University School of Nursing Indiana, USA Delta Omicron Chapter #109

Dr. Edwards, an Associate Professor at Purdue University, directs and teaches in the Adult Gerontology NP Program. She has practiced in the field of gerontology over 30 years. She has an active clinical practice in a Federally Qualified Health Clinic where she precepts NP students. She is instrumental in enhancing geriatric content within the Adult Gerontology NP program and implementing interprofessional education in the field of geriatrics. She has received federal grants to promote geriatric education and to obtain traineeships. Her research focuses on developing effective non-pharmacologic care protocols for older adults with neuroprogressive diseases. She implements interventions such as environmental enrichment utilizing Animal Assisted therapy and chair-based exercise programs among frail persons with dementia in both community and institutional settings. She is developing care guidelines to differentiate the needs of caregivers/patients with various types of dementia. She has numerous research and clinical publications in the area of gerontology.

Daniel J. Pesut Spirit of Renewal Award

2017 Award Recipient

William Rosa, MS, RN, LMT, AHN-BC, AGPCNP-BC, CCRN-CMC

Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing Scholar
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
New York, USA

Renewal is the primary motivation for my personal growth and professional development. This award is a humbling reminder that renewal is an endeavor worth celebrating, and it is an honor to know that my work is promoting an environment of healing for myself, my colleagues and the systems I support.

William "Billy" Rosa is currently a PhD Student and Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. He received his BS in Nursing from NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing (2009) and was valedictorian of his graduate nursing program at Hunter College (2014). He has authored two books on leadership and global health and over 150 book chapters and articles for journals, magazines, and newspapers. Billy is the recipient of numerous honors including a 2017 National Rising Star in Nursing Award from Modern Healthcare and was recently acknowledged as one America's Most Amazing Nurses by Prevention Magazine and The Doctors TV Show. Billy sits on the US Advisory Board for the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health and the national Nominating Committee for the American Holistic Nurses Association. He is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.

2015 Award Recipient

Safiya George Dalmida, PhD RN APRN-BC

Associate Professor – University of Alabama, Capstone College of Nursing Adjunct Faculty - Emory University, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing Alabama and Georgia, USA Alpha Epsilon #027

Dr. George Dalmida is a leading researcher in religion and health research among people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS. Her program of research focuses on the intersections between religion/spirituality and psychosocial health and function in the context of HIV and HIV risk among adults and adolescents. She is the leading nursing faculty at Emory University involved in the university-wide, Religion and Public Health Collaborative; part of the larger Religion and Human Spirit Initiative. Overall, her research program focuses on vulnerable populations and the intersection between religion and health. She has a chapter on religion's role in the HIV epidemic in a recent book, Religion as a Social Determinant of Health (Oxford University Press, 2014). She is an advanced nurse practitioner and primarily teaches NP students and treats uninsured patients in the Latino community in greater Atlanta. She also mentors undergraduate and graduate students and faculty locally and internationally.

Dorothy Garrigus Adams Award for Excellence in Fostering Professional Standards

2017 Award Recipient

Robin Newhouse, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

Dean and Distinguished Professor
Indiana University School of Nursing
Indiana, USA

Receiving this award for advancing practice, research and research translation standards is a lifetime honor for me. It is particularly special since Dorothy Garrigus Adams was a nursing administrator who knew the importance of professional standards. She graduated from Indiana University School of Nursing, so her legacy represents our heritage.

Robin Newhouse’s research focuses on health system interventions to improve care processes and patient outcomes. She has published extensively on health services improvement interventions, acute care quality issues, and evidence-based practice. Dr. Newhouse was appointed to the Methodology Committee of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute and is currently serving as the committee’s chair. She has served on multiple Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committees, and is vice-chair of the AcademyHealth Board. Honors include induction into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame and the American Nurses Credentialing Center President’s Award.

2015 Award Recipient

Barbara A. Brunt, MA, MN, RN-BC, NE-BC, FABC

Magnet Program Director Summa Akron City and St. Thomas Hospitals Ohio, USA Delta Omega #118

Barbara A. Brunt, MA, MN, RN-BC, NE-BC, FABC is the Magnet Program Director for Summa Akron City and St Thomas Hospitals in Akron, OH. She has held a variety of nursing professional development positions for the past 36 years. Brunt has presented on a variety of topics locally, nationally, and internationally, and has published 45 articles, five chapters in books, and six books. She served as a section editor for all four editions of The Core Curriculum for Nursing Professional Development. Ms. Brunt hold a master’s degree in community health education from Kent State University and a master’s in nursing from the University of Dundee in Scotland. Her research has focused on competencies. Brunt maintains certification in nursing professional development, as well as a nurse executive. She is a member of the task force revising the current Nursing Professional Development standards, and was involved in several previous versions also.

Mary Tolle Wright Award for Excellence in Leadership

2017 Award Recipient

Gwen Sherwood, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF

Professor and Associate Dean for Practice and Global Initiatives
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing
North Carolina, USA

My engagement and service is grounded in a drive to advance education quality and access so that all nurses and health professionals have opportunities to thrive. I am profoundly grateful to share commitment with nurses around the world to provide patients with best care possible through shared leadership and scholarship.

Gwen Sherwood has led numerous educational outreach programs in developing areas along the Texas-Mexico border and around the world. Her primary focus is integrating quality, safety and interprofessional education in health professions education and practice. She helped lead the award-winning Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project to transform education and practice to prepare nurses to work in and lead quality and safety in practice. Widely published, she is co-editor of an AJN Book of the Year, Quality and Safety in Nursing: A Competency Approach to Improve Outcomes, translated into Swedish, Korean, and Chinese and three books on reflective practice. She is former President of the International Association for Human Caring and Vice President of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing.

2015 Award Recipient

Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, RN, MS

President and Chief Executive Officer Catholic Health Assoiation District of Columbia, USA Alpha Beta Chapter #024

Sister Carol Keehan, DC, is the ninth president/CEO of the Catholic Health Association (CHA). Sister Carol has worked in administrative and governance positions at hospitals sponsored by the Daughters of Charity for more than 35 years, serving for 15 years as president/CEO of Providence Hospital in Washington, DC. Sister Carol has held influential roles in the governance of health care, insurance, and educational organizations, including as a board member of Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore, MD. She has served on several health, labor, and domestic policy committees of the USCCB. She has earned numerous awards, honors and special degrees. Sister Carol earned a B.S. degree in nursing from St. Joseph's College, and a M.S. degree in business administration from the University of South Carolina.

Virginia K. Saba Nursing Informatics Leadership Award

2017 Award Recipient

Joyce E. Sensmeier, MS, RN-BC, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, FAAN

Vice President, Informatics
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
Illinois, USA

I am honored to be the recipient of the Virginia K. Saba Nursing Informatics Leadership Award. This award acknowledges my work over several decades to advance the discipline and body of knowledge of nursing informatics in a variety of roles, settings and initiatives, thus raising awareness of this important field.

In her current role, Joyce Sensmeier is responsible for the areas of clinical informatics, standards and interoperability programs and initiatives. An internationally recognized speaker and author, Sensmeier is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, the highest honor in the nursing profession. She is co-founder and ex-officio chair of the Alliance for Nursing Informatics, a global collaboration of 30 distinct nursing informatics groups that represents a unified voice for nursing informatics professionals. Sensmeier is also president of IHE USA which serves as a national voice representing efforts fostering the national adoption of a consistent set of standards to enable the interoperability of health IT systems.

2015 Award Recipient

Roy L. Simpson, DNP, RN, DPNAP, FAAN

Vice President Nursing - Cerner Corporation Clinical Professor - Emory University, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing Georgia, USA Honorary Member

Dr. Simpson is Clinical Professor Emory University and Vice President, Nursing Cerner Corporation. As doctoral faculty and Cerner executive, he provides applied informatics leadership in academe and industry. Thirty-five plus years of experience pioneering nursing informatics and senior executive administration, he authored over 500 articles, books, and chapters. In 1982, primary executive research focus initiated funding of Werley and Lang Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS). In the 80’s his partnership with industry initiatives developed a cadre of informatics scholars. With fellowship in American Academy of Nursing, New York Academy of Medicine, Simpson sits on boards for University of Minnesota, Emory University, Nurses Educational Foundation and PediaQ. He serves ANA, AONE and AMIA on committees. Dr. Simpson received his doctorate in nursing practice-executive leadership at American Sentinel University. Dr. Simpson’s research focused on informatics’ competencies for CNE in multihospital systems resulting in social media and e-communications in a technology rich environment.

Advance & Elevate

Why Sigma?

Connect & Engage

Learn & Grow

Advance & Elevate

Connect with Sigma

Phone
888.634.7575 (US/Canada toll-free)
+1.317.634.8171 (International)

Email:
memserv@sigmanursing.org

Address:
550 W. North St.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
USA

International Awards for Nursing Excellence