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By Lanita Withers Goins , University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5619
Dr. Mary Wakefield (top, left) meets with Nursing School faculty and administrators. Below she is seen (l-r) with Dr. Beth Barba, Dr. Eileen Kohlenberg and Dr. Laurie Kennedy Malone.
Posted 11-6-09
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Dr. Mary Wakefield, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), visited the UNCG School of Nursing Thursday (Nov. 5) to assess the impact of federal grants on research.
“The need for more nurses is great. Over the next decade, nurse retirements and an aging U.S. population, among other factors, will create the need for new nurses,” Wakefield said. “It was wonderful to hear first-hand from the faculty and students at the UNCG School of Nursing how, through HRSA funding, they are helping to meet the projected demand for nurses.”
The agency, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works with health care providers and training programs for the health professions to expand access to high-quality health care. Its budget was $7 billion in fiscal year 2008.
“The personal visit of HRSA Administrator Dr. Mary Wakefield underlines the importance of the funding of three areas by HRSA in the school,” Dean Lynne Pearcey said. “The results of the funding benefit our school and our faculty and students in the doctoral and nurse practitioner programs and well as the geriatric workforce education program. The community we serve ultimately is enhanced from the services provided.”
Faculty and graduate students had much to share, validating both the impact the university is having in the state and the federal investment made into nursing research.
Dr. Laurie Kennedy Malone, principle investigator for the adult/gerontological nurse practitioner HRSA grant, described how federal dollars are being used to enhance nurse practitioner education at UNCG. She also documented the ways the program, which has been funded by HRSA since 1992, has helped meet the health needs of underserved populations in the state.
Dr. Eileen Kohlenberg, a former principal investigator for the HRSA PhD program, shared how the program has worked to promote health and eliminate disparities in underserved communities through research and successful preparation of new educators for those areas. The program, which has been funded since 2005, is now led by Dr. Richard Cowling.
During her visit, Wakefield also had discussions with nursing faculty, current graduate students and alumni about ways they have contributed to educating the state’s primary health care workforce, conducting high priority research and extending interdisciplinary collaboration. Dr. Beth Barbra, professor and principal investigator for a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement grant, also was interviewed about the contributions that are being made by this federally funded project to prepare the geriatric workforce in the state.