Summer 2024 Edition
Dear Daemen Nursing Alumni,
I am delighted to welcome you to the inaugural edition of our Daemen Nursing Alumni Newsletter. I am honored to connect with each of you through this platform.
Our nursing program has seen remarkable development over the past year. We are thrilled to announce the launch of our revised Doctor of Nursing Practice program (Adult Gerontology Primary Care NP, DNP), which will begin this fall. This program is designed to equip our students with advanced skills and knowledge, preparing them to excel in specialized fields and leadership roles within healthcare.
We are also excited to share some highlights from our faculty. Dr. Deborah Merriam was promoted to Professor and Dr. Cheryl Nosek was conferred to Professor Emeritus. Additionally, we welcome Dr. Elizabeth Leiser to our team as the Advanced Practice Program Director. We also have added Hannah Tedesco as our Clinical Coordinator.
This spring, we celebrated our first graduating class from the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program (AGACNP). This is the only program in the area and was created in response to a request from our practice partners. The first class took a chance on the nursing faculty and worked hard to distinguish this program in the area.
Dr. Mandy Park, Assistant Professor shared that she is proud of her students and their continued resilience to navigate life's challenges and strive towards their goals. The faculty are honored to be part of our students’ paths and work with them to reach their goals. We are proud to see our students out in the field!
As we celebrate these accomplishments, we aim to strengthen our bond with you, our valued alumni. Your experiences and insights are important, and we are eager to hear your stories and updates. We invite you to reconnect with us by sharing your professional journeys. We would love to highlight alumni in future newsletters.
Thank you for your continued support and for being an integral part of our Daemen Nursing family. Together, we can build a vibrant and engaged alumni network that fosters growth, learning, and mutual success.
Warm regards,
Dr. Martha Kershaw
Associate Professor/Chair, Department of Nursing
Dear Daemen Alums,
It comes with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to write and share some exciting news about our college, the Scott Bieler College of Health Professions at Daemen University. Thank you, Dr. Kershaw, for your kind invitation. Most notably, Mr. Scott Bieler, President and CEO of West Herr Automotive Group, made an extremely generous gift at the start of this past academic year to support our college which currently includes the departments of Nursing, Physical Therapy, and Physician Assistant Studies. His gift will undoubtedly have a significant, positive impact on the individual professional growth and development of our health professions students as expert clinicians and future leaders in the healthcare systems within and beyond the Western New York region.
Our Center for Interprofessional Learning and Simulation (CILS) has recently recieved some exciting educational equipment upgrades. We have added a high-fidelity manikin to the CILS. This life-like manikin reacts physiologically as if it were alive, and it will be used to recreate real-life situations and provide learners with an opportunity to practice and refine clinical skills without the risk of patient harm. Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) units have been added to the CILS to provide contemporary healthcare practice instruction to all students in our college. Lastly, we will soon be expanding the footprint of the CILS to add a hospital/ICU simulation room. There is an opportunity for you, as a clinical partner, to use the CILS for training of your staff. The CILS uses the innovative VALT software system whereby instructors can quickly and easily record, review, and manage high-quality audio and video content from various rooms. Reach out directly to Tony Surace, Executive Director of the CILS for additional information at asurace@daemen.edu.
I encourage you to read our college’s Mission & Vision statements, as well as the Values and Principles upon which these statements are founded. The creation of these documents was a collaborative effort among all faculty within the three departments in our college.
On behalf of the Scott Bieler College of Health Professions, to the alums, thank you for choosing Daemen as your Nursing program of choice, and to our clinical partners, thank you for your support of our students and our Nursing programs. I look forward to the very promising future for our college within the university.
Thank you Dr. Kershaw for your leadership of the nursing department, and to all of the nursing faculty, thank you for your commitment to your students and each of the nursing programs.
Sincerely,
Greg Ford, PT, DPT, PhD
Founding Dean and Professor,
Scott Bieler College of Health Professions