UW School of Nursing Bestows Four Community Partner Awards

The University of Wyoming Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing recently recognized four entities with its Community Partner Awards.

The 2017 awards were given to the agencies noted below at different occasions and times during the year.

-- The BRAND (Bachelors Reach for Accelerated Nursing Degree) Program named Platte County Detention Center a Community Partner. The award was presented at the “Nightingale Ceremony” by Holly Miller, the new BRAND director, and Mary Burman, School of Nursing dean.

“Platte County Detention Center is a rotation for our mental health nursing practicum, and has been a most unusual but extremely valuable clinical partner,” says former BRAND director Candace Tull. “Sadly, many patients with mental health issues receive little or no treatment, ending up within the penal system. So, BRAND students observe a variety of mental health conditions; learn helpful techniques for de-escalation and interacting with the acutely mentally ill; and observe health care as provided through the penal system.”

-- The RN-BSN Completion Program named Western Wyoming Community College (WWCC) a Community Partner. The award was presented to WWCC Nursing Program Director Ann Marie Clevenger at the Wyoming Nurses Association convention in Laramie Sept. 21.

Linda Williams, an RN-BSN faculty member, made the presentation.

“There is no question that our (UW nursing) program is better for our relationship with the nursing program at Western,” says RN-BSN Program Director David Bodily. “The faculty and staff at Western, devoted to the ongoing success of their students and graduates, have consistently gone above and beyond to help their students and graduates navigate their way into the RN-BSN completion program at UW.”

-- UW Nursing’s Basic Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Program named Spring Wind Assisted Living as a Community Partner of the Year for 2017. The award was presented at the “Nightingale Ceremony” Aug. 30 in the UW College of Arts and Sciences auditorium by Miller and Burman.

“Peter Skorcz and the nursing staff have helped our students to understand the needs of the elderly with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and the loving care needed for these patients,” Miller says. “Spring Wind’s dedicated staff are positive role models for our students, who come away from this experience with more understanding and interest in this patient population.”

-- The DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) Program named Laramie Reproductive Health (LRH) a Community Partner at the program’s annual Scholarship Day April 13 in Coe Library.

“From students to patients to faculty, the DNP Program and LRH are true partners,” says DNP Program Director Ann Marie Hart.

Kanti Devkota, a UW student, thanked LRH “for providing a positive learning environment for the nurse practitioner students.” Devkota says she was provided with “an astounding example of how to treat patients with respect, compassion and critical-thinking skills.”