Newswise — Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON) will honor five alumnae at the school’s 75th anniversary gala Oct. 1, at The Drake hotel in Chicago. These graduates will be recognized for practice, research, service, teaching and other accomplishments.

Excellence in PracticeCarol A. Gouty, RN (MSN ’77, PhD ’96), will be honored for her work in clinical practice. Gouty is the associate director for patient care services and the nurse executive at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital. She has more than 20 years of progressive clinical, administrative and educational experience in acute care and long-term acute care settings. Gouty’s work has changed the face of nursing at Hines, where she has been instrumental in partnerships with MNSON.

Excellence in ResearchBarbara Velsor-Friedrich, PhD, RN (BSN ’74, MSN ’78), will be recognized for her research in minority children and adolescents with asthma. Dr. Velsor-Friedrich is a faculty member at MNSON. She also has served as a clinician, educator and researcher in the area of pediatrics for 30 years. As a respiratory care nurse, Dr. Velsor-Friedrich delivered care to many children and adolescents with asthma. Those experiences sparked her interest in this area of health care. She has since spent her career focusing on the health of underserved minority children with this chronic illness.

Excellence in ServiceSusan Finn, MSN, CPNP (BSN ’77, MSN ’86), will be awarded for the service she provides to children and teens across the Chicago area through the Pediatric Mobile Health Unit of the Ronald McDonald® Children’s Hospital. Finn helped found the Pediatric Mobile Health Unit more than 10 years ago. Under her leadership, the unit cares for thousands of uninsured and underinsured children each year. Finn embodies Loyola’s Jesuit values in her work to help the area’s smallest patients.

Excellence in TeachingLinda Dotson, RN (BSN ’80, MSN ’87), will be honored for her work as a nurse teacher and mentor. Dotson is the administrator of health-care services at Westminster Place, Presbyterian Homes in Evanston, Ill. She has guided many nurses in the nursing home setting, which has promoted the advancement of nursing in long-term care. Dotson also established a partnership with a local community college to train certified nursing assistants as licensed practical nurses to address the nursing shortage. She is a role model to many aspiring registered nurses.

Young Alumni AwardJessica Shore Bagley, RN (BSN ’02), will be recognized for her accomplishments as a young alumna. Shore Bagley is an infectious disease research nurse at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Her work focuses on infectious diseases in pregnant women. She also is pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing. Shore Bagley’s primary interest is adherence to medications in pregnant women with HIV. She also continues bedside work at Northwestern Memorial Hospital along with being a consultant on National Institutes of Health-funded influenza research studies.

“These five alumnae embody qualities of nursing practice, research, service and education, which have allowed the school to thrive over the last 75 years,” said Vicki A. Keough, PhD, RN-BC, ACNP, dean, MNSON. “We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments and the school’s contributions to the nursing profession.”

The Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing was founded in 1935 as the first baccalaureate nursing program in Illinois. At the time, the school was set up in five unit hospitals. It reorganized in 1949 to the four-year bachelor of science in nursing program. Today, the school is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Top-rated programs are offered at all levels. These include undergraduate nursing and health systems management, master’s and doctoral level degrees, undergraduate dietetic and internship programs as well as certificate courses for professional nurses.

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