Dean's Corner
Dear CONHI Community,
Happy February! Things are picking up for our spring semester in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, and our students, faculty, and staff are returning to campus this month after starting the semester remotely. I want to share a personal thanks to you all for your continued flexibility as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the weather begins to warm up, I am excited about the many activities we have ahead of us. Our College continues to celebrate our 50th Anniversary with a variety of events for our students, alumni, and friends. I invite you to learn more below and join us as we honor 50 years of nursing and kinesiology.
Our expert faculty also continue to do great work in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have a panel happening on Feb. 22, 2022, with UTA, UT Southwestern, and UT Dallas experts that I hope you will join us for. You can also read more below about a new multidisciplinary team that is focused on COVID-19 disparities.
I look forward to the semester ahead and invite you to stay in touch!
All the best,
Dean Elizabeth Merwin, PhD, RN, FAAN
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UTA RECEIVES $250,000 GIFT FROM AMON G. CARTER FOUNDATION
A $250,000 gift from the Amon G. Carter Foundation will provide nursing students at The University of Texas at Arlington with the hands-on technical skills necessary to thrive in today’s dynamic health care environment. The gift will support construction of a modernized Smart Hospital in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI) featuring the latest in simulation technology. The facility will be housed in UTA’s new School of Social Work/College of Nursing and Health Innovation Smart Hospital Building.
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ONLINE PROGRAMS AGAIN AMONG NATION’S BEST
U.S. News & World Report recognized online master’s programs offered by The University of Texas at Arlington as being among the nation’s best, highlighting UTA’s strengths in online education and its support for military-connected families.
In the magazine’s annual Best Online Programs list, the following UTA programs earned top 100 rankings:
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SCHNEIDER APPOINTED ENDOWED CHAIR IN GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING EXCELLENCE
Following a national search, The University of Texas at Arlington has selected Barbara St. Pierre Schneider as the Endowed Chair in Gerontological Nursing Excellence, a position supported by the generosity of the Deerbrook Charitable Trust.
Schneider, who joined UTA on Jan. 1, will also serve as a professor in the Department of Graduate Nursing in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI).
The newly established chair is part of a grant from the Deerbrook Charitable Trust to support excellence in gerontological nursing. Schneider, who comes to UTA with a national reputation as a nurse educator and researcher, will be the first to hold the chair.
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JOIN CONHI FOR OUR UPCOMING 50th ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
We are working on some great events to celebrate our 50th anniversary this semester, which you can learn more about by checking our 50th Anniversary Webpage. Here is a preview of what we have planned:
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February 17, 2022 at 7PM: Hoops with CONHI – join CONHI for a Mavericks game, first 100 to stop by our table at the student section to get a commemorative 50th anniversary T-shirt. Get your tickets at https://bit.ly/HoopsCONHI2-17
February 25, 2022 from 6-7:30PM: CONHI 50th Anniversary Alumni Panel – join CONHI for a fun and informative evening on what our alumni have done with their CONHI degrees! Ask your pressing questions on what life is like after graduation and what you need to do to be successful in your career. RSVP at https://bit.ly/CONHI-alumnipanel
March 3, 2022 from 6-8PM: UTA Library will be opening and hosting a reception for their Tribute to Nursing history exhibit
March 23, 2022 from 3-5PM: At this event, we honor and thank our generous scholarship donors for supporting the dreams and aspirations of our students. These students will go on to impact the health and well-being of communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and beyond.
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COVID-19 PANEL
February 22, 2022 at 12PM via Zoom: The ever-changing COVID-19 virus continues to impact our world. Medical professionals and professors from UT Southwestern Medical Center, UT Dallas, and UT Arlington collaborate in an upcoming virtual event to answer your new COVID-19 questions. What’s the state of COVID-19 in North Texas right now? How do variants occur? Can vaccines help stop variants? What about boosters? Fertility concerns? These questions and more will be addressed by our experts. Register at utd.link/COVIDYear3
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UTA, TARRANT COUNTY TEAM UP TO REDUCE COVID-19 DISPARITIES
A multidisciplinary team from The University of Texas at Arlington received a two-year, $500,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Tarrant County Public Health (TCPH) to help Tarrant County residents better understand COVID-19 health information.
As part of a community initiative led by TCPH, the two-year project will address COVID-19-related health disparities and advance health equity by developing strategic, culturally sensitive messages that address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
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PANDEMIC FUELS INTEREST IN PUBLIC HEALTH CAREERS
As a biology major, Ariel Hall dreamed of becoming a physician. After graduation, she discovered that her passion to serve underrepresented minorities could best be expressed through a career in public health.
Hall, now a second-year student in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program at The University of Texas at Arlington, has already accepted a position as a community health worker at JPS Health Network (JPS). She’s one of a growing number of UTA students who have gravitated toward the field, two years into a pandemic that is fueling interest in public health programs and careers.
Erin Carlson, associate professor and director of graduate public health programs in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, said the pandemic raised awareness of the field’s significance.
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NATURE: A pilot study led by Mari Tietze, nursing informaticist at The University of Texas at Arlington, that uses robotics in healthcare was featured in Nature. Moxi, a rolling, white, one-armed robot with LED eyes, can travel around a hospital, delivering medicines, equipment, patient samples or linens. Moxi creates its own internal map during an initial tour of the hospital, after which staff can request deliveries through an app, saving clinicians several hours in a day. Tietze, who conducted the study for the American Nurses Association, said the robot freed up nurses to spend more one-on-one time with patients, which can lead to better health outcomes, lower rates of readmission and save hospitals money.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study shows COVID-19 vaccines are less effective for people with weakened immune systems, The Dallas Morning News reported in a panel discussion that included Erin Carlson, associate clinical professor and director of graduate public health programs in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation. However, the health experts said that vaccination is still critical for those who are immunocompromised.
SPECTRUM NEWS: An Austin Spectrum News story said public health careers are booming at UT Arlington. The article originally ran in The Dallas Morning News and featured UT Arlington students who chose to explore the field of public health at the University. Interest in public health programs jumped significantly in the years following the onset of COVID-19, both nationally and in Texas, according to the outlet. Enrollment in UTA’s undergraduate public health program, which launched in 2017, increased nearly 40% in the last two years. UTA’s Master of Public Health degree program, which started in 2019, has tripled from 12 students to 37.
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