INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Administration Building, Suite 136 355 N. Lansing Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-2896 317-274-7711 Fax: 317-274-5457

Annual IU Nursing Gala to Benefit Low Cost Clinics

INDIANAPOLIS - This year's IU School of Nursing (IUSON) Gala Dinner and Celebration fundraiser will benefit the Shalom Health Care Center which provides services to inner-city residents with little or no insurance.

The eighth annual gala will be held at the Ritz Charles, 12156 N. Meridian St., on Thursday, September 21 at 6 p.m. Kim Hood Jacobs, who is on special assignment to WTHR Channel 13, will serve as mistress of ceremonies.

The evening includes a social hour with cash bar at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and an awards presentation and video about the Shalom centers following dinner. Reservations are $60 per person or $100 per patron and can be made by calling (317) 274-1545.

"I am so pleased that the school's major fund-raiser for this year has earmarked funds for the Shalom Health Care Center," Dean Angela Barron McBride said. "The center was a dream of two exemplary faculty to provide a vital service to the community and it is extremely important that this dream lives on."

Shalom Health Care Center, managed by two IUSON professors, is an award-winning network of low-cost healthcare clinics in Indianapolis. Professors Susan Moore and Sandra Burgener started the clinics in 1994 to offer low-cost health care to inner-city residents with little or no insurance. Clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and physicians. They are located at Broadway United Methodist Church in the Mapleton/ Fall Creek area, Farrington Middle School in Eagledale, and most recently at the Jubilee Center at 2301 N. Park Ave.

"The monies raised will assist the Shalom Health Care Center to continue to provide needed health care services for three inner-city communities (two of which are designated as medically underserved) defined by high numbers of minority residents well below poverty levels," said Sandra Burgener, IUPUI nursing professor and co-director of the Center. "With over 17 paid staff positions required to serve the multiple, complex health care needs of these diverse populations, this type of funding source is integral to the Center's financial stability."

Three awards will also be presented at the Gala.

Charlene Lugar, wife of Senator Richard Lugar and conceiver of the IUSON's Maternity Outreach Mobile (MOM Mobile), will receive the Doris H. Merritt Service to Nursing Award. The Award honors someone who exemplifies the values of IU nursing and who has made a significant impact on the profession.

The Emily Holmquist Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Vernice Ferguson, RN, Ferguson is an emeritus member of the Board of Advisors at IUSON and is a past president of the American Academy of Nursing. For twelve years Ferguson served as assistant chief medical director for nursing programs in the Department of Veterans Affairs where she oversaw the largest organized nursing service in the world. The Holmquist Award honors a professional nurse whose contributions to nursing are exemplary.

The first Victoria Champion "Boundary Spanning" Award will go to Victoria Champion herself. The award honors a healthcare professional who has excelled in building strong collaborative relationships outside of the school and across disciplines. Champion, who is a nationally renowned expert on cancer, works with and oversees many outside organizations including serving as director of the Mary Margaret Walther Cancer Care program and as research director for the National Center for Excellence in Women's Health.

The sponsors for this year's gala include the Marion County Health Department, Bedel Financial Consulting, Inc., Clarian Health, Mays Chemical Company, RN Specialties, Inc., St. Vincent's, and the Women's Hospital of Indianapolis.

The IU School of Nursing was started in 1914 in Indianapolis and has become the largest multipurpose nursing school in the country. U.S. News and World Report recently ranked IUSON 12th overall for its graduate program and 12th nationally in National Institute of Health funding for nursing schools. The school offers programs on eight campuses throughout Indiana.

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