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| * Purdue School of Nursing |
May 1, 2009
Purdue School of Nursing honors distinguished alumni
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University's School of Nursing honored two graduates as distinguished alumni on April 17 during the annual Helen R. Johnson Leadership Conference at the Purdue Memorial Union.Donna York Clark and Elizabeth Vance, both of Indianapolis, were honored for their contributions to nursing.
"We are proud of these outstanding alumni," said Jane Kirkpatrick, interim head of the School of Nursing and interim associate dean of the College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences. "Their talents are an inspiration to current and future nursing graduates."
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Clark is the 2009 Career Achievement Award winner. Vance is the 2009 Young Alumni Award winner.
Clark earned an associate's degree in 1980 and a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1982. She originally wanted to be an oncology nurse, but during her senior year was involved in a serious automobile accident. She said the accident gave her a passion for trauma and critical care.
She began her career at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and then Loyola Medical Center, both in Chicago, where she was selected to be a crew member in the helicopter program. There she learned the skills and leadership tools that allowed her to go to the Stanford University Life Flight program as chief flight nurse and later as program director.
While at Stanford, Clark spearheaded several quality improvement programs. She also designed a one-of-a-kind medical interior for the helicopter that optimized patient care.
From there, she was recruited by another top air medical service and joined the Dartmouth-Hitchcock program as chief flight nurse. She led that team through advancements in competency training, research and education.
Currently, she is senior account manager for Golden Hour Data Systems, an Indianapolis software company specializing in computerized charting for the emergency medical transportation industry.
The Young Alumni Award is given to someone who has graduated in the past 10 years and is recognized for significant contributions to nursing. Elizabeth (Betsy) Vance graduated from the School of Nursing in 1999 and began her career at Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis. Currently, she serves as the emergency department performance improvement coordinator.
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She participates in a wide variety of hospital committees and also leads the emergency department initiative for patient satisfaction. She is responsible for collecting, reporting and analyzing data to develop a dynamic clinical improvement plan.
She maintains her emergency nursing certification and has begun to pursue an advanced degree as an acute care nurse practitioner. She also works part time as a nurse traveling with the Indianapolis Racing League.
Writer: Christy Jones, 765-494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu
Sources: Lynn Holland, School of Nursing writer/editor, 765-494-4038, lholland@purdue.edu
Jane Kirkpatrick, 765-494-4018, jmkirk@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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