KSU honored for work with sports, disabilities

The Libyan Paralympic Committee has awarded Kennesaw State University with a gold medal for work being done by the college’s Global Center for Social Change.

The center sponsors education, initiatives and programs that impact the lives of oppressed, underserved or economically deprived people. Sports for Health, Development and Peace is one of its divisions; the International Academy for Disability Rights is another.

“We recognize how much KSU is doing for the disabled,” said Libyan Paralympic Committee member Ali Elgerbi through an interpreter. “This is the beginning of our relationship, one of respect.”

Last spring, KSU entered into partnerships with Alexandria University and Helwan University in Egypt to establish a center for educating people with disabilities and those who teach, coach, live and work with them. Because of those partnerships, Ben Johnson, director of the Global Center for Social Change, gave a presentation that was attended by representatives of universities, nongovernmental organizations and Paralympic committees, including the Libyan Paralympic Committee.

Richard Sowell, dean of Kennesaw State’s WellStar College of Health and Human Services, was humbled by the recognition from the committee.

“Ultimately, our relationships with other countries are about us getting to know one another as people outside of politics,” he said. “It’s a whole lot easier to fight a stranger than a friend.”

NURSING CHAIR: Janie Heath, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor at the Medical College of Georgia School of Nursing in Augusta, has been appointed E. Louise Grant Endowed Chair in Nursing.

The endowed chair is named in memory of the school’s founding dean.

“Dr. Heath’s unwavering commitment to MCG nursing ideals and her outstanding leadership capabilities made her the ideal candidate for this honor,” said Lucy Marion, dean of the nursing school.

Heath, who has more than 30 years of clinical and academic nursing experience, is the director of clinical operations for the MCG Nursing Faculty Practice Group’s tobacco cessation program.

SHEPHERD CENTER HONORED: Shepherd Center in Atlanta has received the 2008 National Database for Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) award for outstanding nursing quality among rehabilitation hospitals. It’s one of the highest awards for quality given by the American Nurses Association.

Shepherd Center is one of 1,400 hospitals that report nursing-sensitive data, which is analyzed by the NDNQI to determine six hospitals with the overall best nursing quality. Top hospitals are selected in six categories: academic medical center, teaching hospital, community hospital, pediatric hospital, psychiatric hospital and rehabilitation hospital.

“It is an honor for our nurses to be recognized in any way by the ANA, but even more so when we are acknowledged for something we consider to be part of our everyday nursing practice at Shepherd Center,” said Tammy King, Shepherd Center’s chief nurse executive.

GMC EXCELLENCE: For the third time, Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville has received the HealthGrades distinguished hospital award for clinical excellence. The award is based on an independent study of 26 rated procedures and diagnoses that was released by HealthGrades, a health care ratings company.

Gwinnett is one of 270 hospitals in the nation to be recognized. The hospital was honored in 2006 and 2008. The study places Gwinnett Medical Center in the nation’s top 5 percent for overall clinical quality.

WONDERFUL WORKPLACE: Nursing Professionals magazine has named Atlanta’s St. Joseph’s Hospital one of the nation’s Top 100 Hospitals to Work For.

During a job-satisfaction survey of 25,000 randomly selected hospital nurses, the magazine found that St. Joseph’s rated highly because of its flexible work arrangements for nurses, family-friendly work environment and promotion equality and diversity in the work force.

“We’re honored to be recognized by this publication, which is dedicated to the new nurse, and to helping nursing students enter their medical career with as much information as possible,” said Kim Sharkey, chief nursing officer and vice president of nursing at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

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