Category: College of Health Sciences
April College of Health Sciences For the Record
May 03, 2024 Written by CHS Staff
For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.
Recent appointments, presentations, publications and honors in the College of Health Sciences include the following:
Awards
Three School of Nursing (SON) faculty members won awards at the International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing 2024 Annual Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, in April.
Jennifer Saylor, associate dean of faculty and student affairs for SON, received the ISPN Psychiatric Mental Health Advocacy Award. The honor is bestowed upon a non-psychiatric nursing individual or organization for outstanding service, advocacy work, or policy change for persons with mental illness. Saylor was recognized for her fierce advocacy and servant leadership for vulnerable populations in Delaware through her work with SON and with RespondDE, part of the Delaware Behavioral Emotional Support Team (BEST) at UD.
“Receiving the ISPN Psychiatric Mental Health Advocacy Award is not just a personal honor, but a recognition of collective efforts to bolster mental health in our community,” shared Saylor. “Our work to establish, implement, and sustain volunteers to strengthen the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health improves community resilience and supports appropriate mental health response to disaster is acknowledged and celebrated through this award.”
Caren Coffy-McCormick, assistant professor in SON, was awarded the ISPN Clinical Practice Award. This honor recognizes a psychiatric-mental health nurse who has made outstanding contributions to advancing the care of people with mental illness and their families. Coffy-McCormick, who owns a small outpatient psychiatric mental health practice with offices in Middletown and Newark, is grateful for the recognition.
“I am so used to working under the radar with this vulnerable population that, for too long, has not been a significant priority in healthcare,” Coffy-McCormick said. “Being recognized has helped me realize that, slowly, the importance of mental health is creeping into all aspects of healthcare. Being recognized has helped me realize that others realize the importance of mental healthcare and that mental health matters.”
Jennifer Graber, associate dean of academic affairs and practice initiatives, presided over the awards ceremony as an ISPN Awards Committee member. Graber, who has been a member of ISPN since 2017 and has been on the Awards Committee since 2021, received an ISPN Foundation scholarship to attend the conference.
“I am passionate and dedicated to teaching new nurses and nurse practitioners about psychiatric mental health. I am also a strong advocate for the profession and continue to volunteer at the local/regional, national, and international levels,” said Graber. “Receiving this award allowed me to present my work at this international conference, network, and learn about best practices for psychiatric mental health nursing practice.”
Presentations
School of Nursing graduate students Sanaz Taherzadeh, Janice James-Webb and Anthony Gariba were recently recognized for their research presentations at the 36th Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS) Annual Scientific Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. This year’s event theme was Trailblazing Innovative Models of Care in Population Health through Nursing Science. Taherzadeh demonstrated a podium presentation that earned her to be among six recipients for this year’s ENRS Student Conference Scholarship award. Her research analyzed the connection between physical activity characteristics and pain severity in adults with arthritis. Additionally, James-Webb and Gariba led school-selected poster presentations to showcase their research. James-Webb explored methods for implementation of screening tools for obstructive sleep apnea in patients with unhealthy weights. Gariba's research studied factors that ultimately enhance or hinder the transfer of simulation-based learning for nursing students into clinical practice.
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