College of Nursing Dean, Alumni Inducted as Fellows into American Association of Nurse Practitioners
Pictured from left to right: Kathy Wheeler, PhD, RN, APRN, NP-C, FNAP, FAANP; Sheila Melander, PhD, APRN, ACNP-BC, FCCM, FAANP; Janie Heath, PhD, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP; Marianne Hutti, PhD, WHNP-BC, FAANP; Julianne Ewen, DNP, APRN, FAANP; Sharon Lock, PhD, APRN, FNAP, FAANP; Beth Partin, DNP, APRN, FAANP; and, Whitney Nash, PhD, MSN, ANP-BC.
The Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) recently selected Janie Heath, PhD, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP, dean and Warwick Professor of Nursing, among 66 other nurse practitioner (NP) leaders for induction to FAANP in June 2017 (view 2017 FAANP Fellows). The new FAANP members will continue the tradition of impacting national and global health through their outstanding contributions.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) honored this year's FAANP inductees at a ceremony, followed by a soiree, on Thursday, June 22, during the AANP 2017 National Conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Inducted with Dr. Heath were College of Nursing alumni Beth Partin (MSN 1991), Mrs. Julianne Z. Ewen (MSN 1986) and Dr. Marianne Hutti (BSN 1976, MSN 1979). Drs. Kathy Wheeler, Sheila Melander and Sharon Lock were also in attendance to support the inductees.
The FAANP program was established in 2000 to recognize nurse practitioner leaders who have made outstanding contributions to health care through clinical practice, research, education or policy. Fellows of AANP are visionaries and, as such, hold an annual think tank to strategize about the future of nurse practitioners and health care. The new Fellows will continue to demonstrate leadership and contribute to the mission of AANP.
Dr. Heath earned her Master of Science Degree, with a clinical nurse specialist focus, from the University of Oklahoma and her post-master’s with an acute-adult nurse practitioner focus from the University of South Carolina. She completed her PhD in Nursing from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., in 2004.
She has more than 38 years of acute and critical care nursing experience in various positions from staff to administration to advanced practice and academia. She has been awarded more than $12 million for academic and/or research initiatives, generated more than 150 publications and abstracts, served on numerous regional and national task forces for tobacco control and advanced practice nursing initiatives. Her primary research program of study involves workforce development using the Rx for Change: Clinician-Assisted Tobacco Cessation Curriculum to effectively intervene with tobacco-dependent populations in acute and primary care settings.
In addition, Dr. Heath served as a member of the board of directors for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), served as the inaugural chair for the Beacons of Leadership Initiative in Pursuit of Healthy Work Environments, a 30-hospital-wide collaborative in the Washington–Baltimore, Md., area for the Greater Washington Area Chapter of AACN and founded the Nurses for Tobacco Control national coalition for nurse educators.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of more than 205,000 NPs, including more than 67,000 individual members and 200 organizations, providing a unified networking platform and advocating for their role as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered and personalized health care. The organization provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NP patients and other health care consumers
