Leila McWhinney-Dehaney, chief nursing officer for Jamaica's Ministry of Health, has received the 2012 Sheth Distinguished International Alumni Award from Emory University. The award recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves on the international stage in service to universities, governments or in the private sector.
McWhinney-Dehaney, a member of the World Health Organization's Global Leadership Collaborative, has 38 years of experience as a registered nurse midwife and has long been involved in health discussions in Jamaica, the Caribbean and the rest of the world. She also has been an advisor to a major research initiative at the University of West Indies School of Nursing to strengthen nurses' capacity for HIV policy development in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean.
McWhinney-Dehaney earned a Ph.D. from Emory's nursing school in 2006.
New MPH program coming: Metro Atlanta residents interested in earning a public health degree during evening hours will soon be able to do so on Mercer University's graduate and professional campus in Atlanta.
Beginning in August 2013, Mercer will offer the master's of public health degree on its Atlanta campus. The five-semester program is designed for working adults seeking to either build or enhance their understanding of preventative health and research within local and global communities.
"We will offer evening classes, online classes, hybrid and distance learning options — all designed with the professional student in mind. The program is ideal for the student who wants to continue working part time or full time and complete her or his degree within a reasonable timeframe," said Nannette Turner, Ph.D., MPH, director and chair of Mercer's Department of Public Health.
For information, contact Brittany Taylor at 478-301-5478 or Taylor_BD@mercer.edu.
Going smokeless: Piedmont Henry Hospital, which will become a smoke-free campus at the beginning of 2013, will offer a Fresh Start smoking cessation course in January. The four-week American Cancer Society program will run on Tuesdays from Jan. 8 through Jan. 29.
For information, call 678-604-1040 or go to piedmonthenry.org/classes.
Jolly good fellows: Rebecca Gary and Susan Shapiro, professors at Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, were inducted into the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) Fellowship.
Fellows are considered nursing's most accomplished leaders in education, management, practice and research. They are elected through a highly selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to nursing and health care.
Gary, Ph.D., RN, FAHA, is an associate professor of nursing at Emory. She was one of the first nurse researchers to use exercise interventions to study diastolic heart failure in women. Her cardiovascular health research is helping to improve quality of life for heart-failure patients.
Shapiro, Ph.D., RN, is the assistant dean for strategic clinical initiatives at Emory's nursing school and the director of nursing research and evidence-based practice at Emory Healthcare. She is a nationally recognized expert in evidence-based practice and emergency nursing.
