Honors & Awards
Laurie Finger, MSN, MN, CNS, NP, CCNS, CPNP-AC, was named Preceptor of the Year for the e-chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
Jessica Landry, DNP, FNP-BC, was a recipient of the 2019 American Association of Nurse Practitioners Louisiana State Award.
Jessica Landry, DNP, FNP-BC, and Todd Tartavoulle, DNS, APRN, CNS-BC, were honored with a 2019 GLMA Achievement Award at the 37th GLMA Annual Conference on LGBTQ Health. They were given the award for founding an advocacy program that trains health care providers on how to communicate with and provide culturally sensitive care to LGBTQ patients.
Melissa Nunn, APRN, MSN, CPNP-PC, was named Pediatric Nurse Practitioner of the Year for the e-chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.
Randy Rosamond, RN, MPH, MSN, was honored by the New Orleans Children’s Advocacy Center and the Audrey Hepburn CARE Center with a Tree for Life. Each year, trees are planted in honor of individuals who advocate for abused children, one for each child who has died from abuse that year. Rosamond has been a pediatric nurse for more than 25 years, and coordinates the Child Health Practicum at LSU, where she works with the CARE Center to teach students how to advocate for abused children. “Truly the tree belongs to our entire Child Health faculty,” she says.
Appointments & Promotions
Laura Bonnano, PhD, DNP, CRNA, was elected President of the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs, and is also currently serving as President of the Louisiana State Board of Nursing.
Benita Chatmon, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE, was appointed Assistant Dean for Clinical Nursing Education.
Liv Dinoso, DNP, FNP-C, was appointed Director of the Baccalaureate RN to BSN program.
Leanne Fowler, DNP, MBA, APRN, AG/ACNP-BC, CNE, was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. Dr. Fowler was also selected to participate in a new fellowship program from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement with other nursing leaders from around the world.
Jessica Landry, DNP, FNP-BC, and Jennifer Martin, DNP, CRNA, were promoted to Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing.
Jennifer Manning, DNS, APRN, CNS, CNE, and Stephanie Pierce, PhD, MN, RN, CNE, were promoted to Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing.
Demetrius Porche, DNS, PhD, PCC, ANEF, FACHE, FAANP, FAAN, was elected Chair of the Louisiana Council of Administrators of Nursing Education.
Richard Smith, MBA, was appointed Coordinator of Quality Improvement.
Certifications & Training
Jessica Landry, DNP, FNP-BC, has had 175 nurses apply for her Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, eclipsing the original goal of training 140 sexual assault nurse examiners over the next several years. Since starting the program in February, 80 nurses have completed the coursework, and four have passed their certification exams, with the rest logging their clinical hours and preparing for the exam.
Jennifer Martin, DNP, CRNA, and the Faculty and Staff Life Committee led the summer development series and retreat. The theme of the development series was “Making Every Connection Matter,” and the series consisted of four sessions throughout the summer on topics such as diversity and inclusivity, cultural competence, growth mindsets and training test analysis. The retreat included a variety of teambuilding exercises and a development session on implementing teaching strategies that engage students with different thinking and learning styles.
The National Council for Behavioral Health offered a three-day intensive training program for Adult Mental Health First Aid Instructor Certifications. Seven faculty and staff from LSU Health New Orleans completed their certification, including seven from the School of Nursing:
- Benita Chatmon, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE
- Latanja Divens, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC
- Leanne Fowler, DNP, MBA, APRN, AG/ACNP-BC, CNE
- Nanette Morales DNP, NP-C, DipACLM
- Jennifer Nickens, NP
- Dustin Pigg, LSUHSC
Academic Success Coordinator - Sherry Rivera, DNP, APRN, ANP-C
Welcome New Faculty
- Lorris Bouzigard, DNP, DCC, APRN, ANP-C, ACNP-BC
- Matthew Bovia, DNP, CRNA
- Katherine Deering, MSN, RN, CPN, CNE
- Richard Smith, MBA
- Karen Vedrenne, MSN, RN
Doctoral Degrees Awarded
Christopher Cahill, PhD, MSN, RN, completed his doctorate in educational leadership.
Quinn Lacey, PhD, RN, completed his doctorate in nursing education and administration. His dissertation was titled “Social Workers and Case Managers’ Perceptions of Factors Influencing African Americans’ Decisions in Choosing Long-Term Care Solutions for Older Family Members.”
Summer Marshall, DNP, BS, APRN, FNP-C, completed her doctorate of nursing practice in 2018 with a specialty in family nursing. Her DNP project involved administering the Safe Environment for Every Kid “SEEK PQ-R” child abuse and neglect screening tool to caregivers of pediatric clients.
Research, Presentations, Grants and Publications
Marie Adorno, PhD, APRN, CNS, RNC, CNE, is researching care protocols for women diagnosed with gestational diabetes to identify gaps in care and make recommendations for patient education and provider training.
Marsha Bennett, DNS, APRN, CNE, is conducting research and making recommendations to reduce violent and aggressive behavior on the Behavior Health Units.
Marirose Bernard, MN, APRN, NE-BC, recently had an article published in The Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing titled “Psychological First Aid: A Model for Disaster Psychosocial Support for the Perinatal Population.”
Ellen Beyer, DNP, MBA, PHCNS-BC, APRN, is leading a team to identify barriers related to communication, technology, navigation, and policies and procedures in health care, helping to improve health literacy in patient populations.
Laura Bonanno, PhD, DNP, CRNA, was awarded the Tucker H. Couvillon, III Professorship of Nursing Research in Parkinson’s Disease, and is developing evidence-based resource manuals for patients with Parkinson’s disease and their families and caregivers.
Celestine Carter, APRN, DNS, and Arlisha Mason, PhD, MSN-HCSM, RN, are leading a team focused on increasing HIV and STD testing and treatment, providing education and encouraging risk-reduction strategies in at-risk populations.
Gregory Casey, PhD; Benita Chatmon, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE; and Rick Zimmerman, PhD, are leading a team that is studying the effectiveness of using simulations and instructional videos on knowledge retention.
Alison Davis, PhD, RN, CHSE, is leading a team that is developing a simulation to prepare students for providing care to Ebola patients. She has also been working to integrate simulations for conditions such as malignant hyperthermia, amniotic fluid embolism, Marfan syndrome, and difficulties intubating and ventilating patients into graduate nursing curricula, and is working on developing a bariatric simulation program.
Latanja Divens, PhD, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, is leading a team that is establishing and expanding academic practice partnerships to provide interprofessional educational experiences in an immersive learning environment, including opportunities to participate in high-fidelity simulations, which help to better prepare students to provide medical care to underserved populations. She also recently received a grant extension for her project on the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Advanced Education Nursing Workforce program.
Gloria Giarratano, PhD, APRN, CNS, RNC-OB, FAAN, is researching community awareness of mental health concerns during and after pregnancy, with a particular focus on low-income African American women.
Nicole Jones, MN, RN-BC, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCNS, CHFN, and Jennifer Manning, DNS, ACNS-BC, CNE, are working to improve healthy work environments for nurses through specialty-focused professional development.
Harlee Kutzen, MN, PHCNS-BC, ACHPN, APRN, ACRN, presented a poster at the Sixth Annual GLMA Nursing Summit titled “50 Shades of Health Care Barriers for LGBTQ+ ‘Kink’, BDSM, and Leather Communities.”
Connie McKnight, RN, MN, OCN, CRA, received continued funding for her research project developing a smart, portable sleeve for lymphedema treatment.
Clair Millet, DNP, APRN, PHCNS-BC, is researching best business practices and standards for continuing nursing education programs.
John Paige, MD; Deborah Garbee, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC; Laura Bonanno, PhD, DNP, CRNA; Qingzhao Yu, PhD; and Kathryn Kerdolff, MLIS, are creating a novel approach to reliably and objectively measure the teamwork skills of health care students by using sociometric badges to collect information such as body motion, vocal features and relative location during operating room training sessions.
Demetrius Porche, DNS, PhD, PCC, ANEF, FACHE, FAANP, FAAN, gave insight into publishing in the American Journal of Men’s Health, where he serves as an editor, at the Southern Nursing Research Society Annual Meeting.
Karen L. Rice, DNS, APRN, ACNS-BC, was the lead author on a paper recently published in the Ochsner Journal entitled “Bundling Interventions to Enhance Pain Care Quality (BITE) in Medical Surgical Patients.”
Todd Tartavoulle, DNS, APRN, CNS-BC, is leading a team studying whether having students complete a profile designed to help them better understand their thinking and behavior improves communication, teamwork and leadership ability.
Julia Tipton, RN, DNS, CPN, CNE, is leading a team investigating the relationship among obesity, early puberty and sexual behavior in adolescents.
Rick Zimmerman, PhD, is conducting a study designed to see if improving financial stability and reducing reliance on high-risk behaviors for income generation can help reduce the risk of HIV transmission in economically disadvantaged transgender women.
