Press Release
August 20, 2007
Contact: Lynn McFarlane
973-972-8539
mcfarlld@umdnj.edu
UMDNJ Nursing Students, Professor Receive Humanism in Healthcare Award
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Newark — A nursing professor and two nursing students from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) received the 2007 Humanism in Healthcare Award from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey. Professor Dula Pacquiao, Donna Cill and Debra Sutton received the awards at a ceremony held recently at the Dolce Hamilton Park in Florham Park.
The UMDNJ-School of Nursing award recipients were among 52 nursing students, nursing school faculty and healthcare employees nominated by their institutions for demonstrating extraordinary compassion for patients and their families. Twenty-two nursing schools, hospitals and long-term care facilities in Essex, Morris and Union counties participated in the program. The event featured a keynote speech by James M. Oleske, MD, MPH, the François-Xavier Bagnoud Professor of Pediatrics at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.
Dula Pacquiao, EdD, RN, of Edison, is associate professor and director of the Stanley Bergen, Jr. Center for Multicultural Education, Research, and Practice at UMDNJ-School of Nursing. An internationally known expert in Transcultural Nursing, she is director of the Transcultural Nursing Scholars organization, and senior editor of the Journal of the Transcultural Nursing Society. Her awards include the Excellence in Nursing Education Award from the New Jersey State Nurses Association, the Leininger Award for Transcultural Nursing Leadership from the International Transcultural Nursing Society, the Research Award from the Philippine Nurses Association of America, and the Professional Leadership Award from the Teachers College Alumni Association at Columbia University. She earned her EdD in Anthropology of Education from Rutgers University, her MA in Curriculum & Instruction from Columbia University, New York and her BS in Nursing from the University of the Philippines in Manila.
Donna Cill, MSN, RN, FNP, of Maplewood, is a student in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program at UMDNJ-School of Nursing. She currently is employed as education specialist at UMDNJ’s The University Hospital and serves as adjunct faculty member at Bloomfield College in Elizabeth and Trinitas School of Nursing, in Elizabeth. Her previous positions include director of critical care at East Orange General Hospital; director of education and training at the Children’s Health Fund in New York City; and director of nursing at the Plainfield, New Jersey Health Department. She earned her BS degree in Nursing at the University of North Florida and her MS in Nursing from the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Columbia University, New York. Devoted to helping adolescents and teenagers live healthier, happier lives, her doctoral studies include developing a curriculum aimed at reducing high-risk health behaviors among teenagers.
. Debra Sutton, MA, BSN, RN, of Florham Park is a May 2007 graduate of the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UMDNJ-School of Nursing, where she entered the Master of Science in Nursing program in August. As a BSN student, Ms. Sutton was a member of the Nursing Student Ambassadors program, an elite group of academic high achievers who tutored their peers and served as official liaisons for the school. She also served as president and vice president of the student government. A member of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing, she received Outstanding Tutor 2006-2007, Excellence in Student Leadership 2007, and Academic Excellence 2007 awards from UMDNJ-School of Nursing. She also received a professional development scholarship from Morristown Memorial Hospital. She earned her BA degree in Psychology from Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass. She has held positions in fundraising, academic recruitment, psychological counseling and medical research.
Since 1997, the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (HFNJ) has presented the Humanism in Healthcare Awards to recognize and encourage hospital employees, nursing students and nursing faculty who embody the highest standards of “humanistic” patient care. The HFNJ is an independent endowed grant-making organization dedicated to advancing the healthcare and wellness of vulnerable members of the greater Newark New Jersey area,to ensuring access to healthcare and quality of life for all.
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The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. Last year, there were more than two million patient visits to UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.
