University of Missouri-Kansas City faculty, staff and students gathered to celebrate the career of Lora Lacey-Haun, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies.
Lacey-Haun is retiring after a 40-year career in nursing education. Joined by her family, including children and grandchildren at the Diastole Scholars’ Center, Lacey-Haun listened to colleagues praise her leadership.
1st Annual City Wide Faith Community Conference
May 18th – 19th
Hospital Hill HSB
June 13 12:00pm – 1:00pm
The University of Missouri-Kansas City, with Professor Marco Brotto as the principal investigator, has received a $100,000 research grant from Abbott Nutrition.
UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies Dean Lora Lacey-Haun was presented with a DAISY Faculty Award for 2013.
The Lambda Phi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, nursing’s only honor society, is the sponsor for the School of Nursing and Health Studies Daisy Faculty Award Program. At the Chapter’s recent induction ceremony, Lacey-Haun was honored as the first UMKC DAISY Award recipient.
Name Change Reflects Expansion of Healthcare Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2013
Contact: Stacy Downs
(816) 235-1441, downs@umkc.edu
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing is taking on a new name today: The UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies.
“The name change of a school might not seem significant, but it reflects the important, evolving role of health care in our community and in our country,” said UMKC Provost Gail Hackett. “The UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies provides more opportunities for more students to meet the need to care for more people.”
School of Nursing and Health Studies Dean Lora Lacey-Haun said the school has expanded beyond nursing in numerous ways to meet those needs. The school now trains professionals with a background in health to administer hospital and clinic operations, conduct community outreach, serve as patient advocates and health educators and manage conversion to electronic health records.
“We wanted a name that more closely represents the breadth of offerings we are providing,” Lacey-Haun said.
In 2011, the school added a Bachelor of Health Sciences degree. “The program has become increasingly popular, growing from an initial enrollment of 20 students to more than 200 today,” Lacey-Haun said. “We believe the program will have more than 500 students in the near future. This program allows us to prepare health professionals for a variety of roles.”
Last fall, the Collaborative for Excellence in Behavioral Health Research and Practice moved to the school from a non-academic unit. It includes the national Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network Coordinating Office, the Mid-America ATTC Regional Center (HHS Region 7), and a number of grant- and contract-funded projects, all of which implement evidence-based clinical practices into substance-use disorders treatment, integrate behavioral health into healthcare settings and provide training on substance-use disorders. The Affordable Care Act is expected to increase the number of professionals who treat substance-use disorders, so the need to educate health professionals in that field is growing.
Later this month, the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies and MU will announce a health education partnership.
UMKC’s School of Nursing and Health Studies is actively addressing other gaps in healthcare. It recently won a competitive $2.4 million federal grant to offer full scholarships to help diversify the nursing workforce. The program will assist 240 students who are underrepresented in nursing — men as well as those with African-American, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian or Alaskan native backgrounds — during four years. Given the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ projected need for more than 1 million new and replacement registered nurses by 2016, breaking the cultural divide is increasingly important. The minority nursing workforce hasn’t kept up with the U.S. population. Minorities made up 34 percent of the population in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But the minority nursing workforce is only 16.8 percent; and 6.2 percent of nurses were men, according to a 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses.
UMKC’s School of Nursing and Health Studies also offers high-quality distance learning. It was recently ranked No. 15 of the nation’s best online graduate nursing programs by U.S. News & World Report — the highest of any public university in Missouri or Kansas.
Lacey-Haun, who has been a UMKC nursing faculty member since 1981 and dean since 2004, is a leading health advocate locally and in the U.S. In January, Kansas City Mayor Sly James appointed her co-chair of the Kansas City Health Commission. Lacey-Haun and other health leaders nationwide recently signed a petition asking the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the amount of caloric sweeteners in sodas and other beverages, arguing that scientific consensus is that the level of added sugars in the products is unsafe.
“We felt it was very important for us to make a statement that the FDA should be making policy about what the appropriate level of sugar consumption is,” she told The New York Times in February, noting about 30 percent of Kansas City’s population was overweight and another 30 percent was obese.
About the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies
The UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies offers a full range of education programs. Bachelor’s degree offerings include a pre-licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing; the RN-Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the Bachelor of Health Sciences, which prepares students for professional careers in health administration, community outreach, patient advocacy and public health. Graduate programs include a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), a Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) and the PhD in Nursing. Research at the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies is focused on urban and cultural health issues, and includes collaborations such as the Muscle Biology Research Group with the UMKC School of Medicine. For more information about the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies, visit http://nursing.umkc.edu/. You can also find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
About the University of Missouri-Kansas City
The University of Missouri-Kansas City, one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 15,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, and celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2013. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience. For more information about UMKC, visit http://www.umkc.edu/. You can also find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and watch us on YouTube.
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This information is available to people with speech or hearing impairments by calling Relay Missouri at (800) 735-2966 (TT) or (800) 735-2466 (voice).
In order to make the Dean’s List, students must be enrolled full-time and earn a 4.0 GPA for the semester. Please join us in congratulating those BHS students who made the Dean’s List during their Spring 2012 semester:
Megan Ashton
Angela Baker
Sydney Crimmins
Joseph Eastman
Mark Gagliardi
Tira Gilroy
Fardowsa Hassan
Renee Holder
Klorissa Kavan
Taylor Leathers
Mackenzie Mack
Cameron McGuire
Cheryl Morgan
Eilise O’Connor
Katherine Ott
Bijay Shah
Nicole Wemhoff
Aurielle Young
Donna Young
Congratulations to each of you on this achievement!
Bachelor of Health Sciences books:
To find the books you need for your BHS classes, please go to www.umkc-hsbookstore.com. Click on Textbooks & Supplies, then Shop Textbooks. Agree to the terms and conditions. All BHS books can then be found under “HLSC – Health Sciences”.
To find the books you need for all other classes, please go to www.umkcbookstore.com, and follow the same instructions for those academic units.
JANIS ELLIS-CLAYPOOL, BSEd, MS
Janis has worked in health promotion and education for over a decade, supporting students on university campuses, employees in workplace settings, as well as writing and implementing health promotion policy through various government and non-profit organizations. In addition to being Program Director and Teaching Professor for the Bachelor of Health Sciences Program at UMKC, Janis manages her own small business, FITMOM Kansas City, which specializes in prenatal and postnatal exercise.
Janis received her Bachelor of Science in Education, with a focus on Community Health from the University of Kansas. She received her Master of Science in Kinesiology and Health Science from York University in Toronto, Canada. Janis is a certified group fitness instructor through the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and has studied numerous courses in prenatal health and postnatal health.
Staff Awards:
School Collaboration Award: Leticia Brotto This award honors staff members who recognize that their success contributes to the success of others and who accepts accountability for their performance.
Education First Award: Corrina Beck This award honors staff members whose actions recognize that students are integral to the mission of the School and who create and encourage the desire to learn.
Faculty Awards:
Outstanding Scholar Award: Jo Klaassen This award honors faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to the School through achievements in scholarly activities, bringing regional, national or international recognition to the school.
Outstanding Educator Award: Susan Kimble This award honors faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to the educational mission of the School and who demonstrate excellence in supporting and mentoring others.
Dean’s Distinguished Faculty and Staff Awards:
Dean’s Distinguished Staff Award: Major Hatch This award honors staff members who serve as leaders by exhibiting a strong work ethic as well as a commitment to our community, our students’ welfare and to the future of the School.
Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Award: Ronda Manney This award honors faculty members who serve as leaders in providing oversight of the School’s academic programs and who enhance a positive work environment.
