May 2018 Member News
Crystal Brightwell on the new adult behavioral health unit at BRMC. This unit is the first local option in Mountain Home, Arkansas for adults between the ages of 18 to 54 to seek care. https://www.baxterbulletin.com/story/news/local/2018/04/14/brmc-opens-adult-behavioral-health-unit/515563002/

Diane Forsyth on new post-graduate psychiatric-mental health nursing students to WSU Rochester. Diane discusses the new program at Winona State University-Rochester. http://www.postbulletin.com/life/health/wsu-rochester-celebrates-mental-health-month/article_1b12a720-553a-11e8-a751-8f1b161ad471.html
Andi Hemesath joins Regional Health Services of Howard County. Andi is a Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specializing in mood disorders and will incorporate her experience with telemental health to RHS. http://www.crescotimes.com/news/hemesath-family-psychiatric-mental-health-arnp-rhs
Wanda Lancaster on ECU’s strategies for the opioid epidemic. Wanda explains the shortage of psychiatric-mental health nurses in North Carolina and discusses ECU’s plans to address the opioid epidemic. http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2018/04/opioid-crisis-nursing-programs-0424
Bernadette Melnyk accepts gift to establish Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, receives the AACN Pioneering Spirit Award. The gift, given by the Pitzer Family Foundation, will establish the Center as a home for research aimed at improving the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. https://nursing.osu.edu/news/college-of-nursing-news-headlines/transformational-gift-to-establish-martha-s-pitzer-center-for-women-children-and-youth-at-the-ohio-state-university-coll.html
Bernadette will be awarded the 2018 AACN Pioneering Spirit Award in recognition of her contributions to high-acuity and critical care nursing. https://www.aacn.org/newsroom/ohio-state-nursing-dean-recognized-for-advancing-ebp
Rick Pessagno receives Clinical Practice Award and named 2018 Certificant of the Year for Perinatal Loss Care. Rick’s practice focuses on the psychosocial aspect of end of life care, perinatal trauma, and bereavement trauma. He received the Clinical Practice Award from the Association for Death Education and Counseling for his contributions to practice in the field of death, dying, and bereavement. Rick was also named the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center’s 2018 Certificant of the Year for Perinatal Loss Care for his contributions to the field of perinatal loss care and parental bereavement.
Jennifer Smith receives Hartford Healthcare's Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nursing. Jennifer earned this award through her work with interdisciplinary workgroups and alternative therapies. https://hartfordhealthcare.org/health-professionals/nursing/nursing-recognition/nightingale-recipients
Michael Wolf on his experience of losing his son to suicide. Michael discusses his work to help families find hope in the wake of traumatic personal loss. https://www.childrenshospitals.org/Newsroom/Childrens-Hospitals-Today/Articles/2018/05/Families-Seeking-Mental-Health-Resources-Need-Compassion-and-Respect