About Our Graduates

An Innovative Nursing Startup

Dawn Nix, RN (BSN ’00), and her husband, Wayne Nix, RN-RRT, are the founders of the company RNvention and creators of the MultiNix® – a 15-in-1 utility tool developed especially for nurses.After more than a dozen designs based on feedback from nurses over the last several years, the Nixes recently signed a manufacturing and distribution deal with Medline Industries, Inc., the largest privately held medical device manufacturer in  the country. With a company like Medline backing the product, the MultiNix could quickly become a standard tool for nurses in many hospitals, helping to increase efficiency and improve care.

“The BSN program at LSU Health School of Nursing taught me the importance of constant learning, and how to implement best practices and adapt to achieve the most beneficial end result.”

Dawn Nix, RN

RNvention already has its sights set on its next big innovation, too. Last year at a pitch competition in Baton Rouge, the company took home top prize for their idea to use 3D printing to create bioactive medical devices that can be customized for individual patients. And, Dawn has co-authored a nursing guidebook, The Nurse’s Guide to Innovation: Accelerating the Journey, which became a best-seller on Amazon in its first week of release.

Statewide Leadership

LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing has a longtime reputation for excellence in nursing education – which is why so many of the leaders at area health systems, nursing schools and nursing organizations have connections to the School of Nursing. Here are just some of our alumni serving in leadership positions throughout the state:

• Sandra Brown, DNS, APRN, FNP-BC, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, FAANP
  Dean, Southern University and A&M College – Baton Rouge, College of Nursing and Allied Health
• Ann Carruth, DNS, RN
  Dean, Southeastern Louisiana University, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
• Kim V. Cheramie, MSN, RN-BC
  Director of Continuing Nursing Education, Louisiana State Nurses Association
• Dana Clawson, DNS, WHNP-BC
  Dean, Northwestern State University, College of Nursing and School of Allied Health
• Denise Danna, DNS, RN, NEA-BC, CNE, FACHE
  Chief Nursing Officer, University Medical Center – New Orleans
• Sharon Hutchinson, PhD, RN
  Chair and Professor, Dillard University College of Nursing
• Tracey P. Moffatt MHA, BSN, RN
  System Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President for Quality, Ochsner Health System
• Cheryl Myers, PhD, RN
  Executive Dean, CSN Campus/Dean of Nursing, Delgado Community College Charity School of Nursing
• Melinda Oberleitner, DNS, APRN, CNS
  Dean, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, College of Nursing and Allied Health
• Demetrius Porche, DNS, PhD, PCC, ANEF, FACHE, FAANP, FAAN
  Dean, LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing
• Vanessa Shields-Haas, MA, BSN, ACRN
  Director of Health Policy and Advocacy, Louisiana State Nurses Association
• Sue Westbrook, DNS, MA, RN
  Dean, Nicholls State University College of Nursing and Allied Health, Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, Nicholls State University

A Prestigious Honor

Sandra Brown, DNS, APRN, FNP-BC, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, FAANP (MN ’85, DNS, ’94), was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners as part of the class of 2019. She serves as dean of Southern University – Baton Rouge’s College of Nursing and Allied Health, and she is recognized for her work developing an academic practice model for the role that advanced practice nurses play in disaster recovery, and for her competency-based preceptor program, which has served as a model for programs nationally and internationally. As a leader in increasing the diversity of the advanced practice nursing workforce in Louisiana, she joins the exclusive ranks of those who hold the title FAANP.