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

LOW-COST HEALTH CARE CLINICS TO BENEFIT FROM ANNUAL
IU SCHOOL OF NURSING GALA

INDIANAPOLIS - The upcoming Nursing Gala for the IUPUI-based IU School of Nursing (IUSON) will showcase two of the school's long-time community outreach projects. The ninth annual gala on Wednesday, Sept. 19 from 6:30-9 p.m. will raise money for the school's Shalom Health Care Center, which provides low-cost health services to underinsured inner-city residents, and offer tours of the new MOM (Maternity Outreach and Mobilization) mobile, which provides ultrasounds to low-income pregnant women in Indianapolis.

The gala will be held at the Riverwalk Banquet Center, 6729 Westfield Blvd., and will include a sit-down dinner and an awards ceremony honoring professionals who have made outstanding contributions to nursing. Award recipients include Dr. Joseph E. Walther, Linda Gilman, Phyllis Lewis, and Dr. Ting-Kai Li. IUSON Board of Advisors member Malcolm Applegate will serve as master of ceremonies. Reservations are $60 per person or $100 for patron level and may be made by calling (317) 274-1545.

Shalom Health Care Center, developed and managed by IUSON professors, is an award-winning network of nurse-managed, low-cost healthcare clinics in Indianapolis. Professors Susan Moore and Sandra Burgener started the clinics in 1994 to serve Indianapolis residents with little or no insurance. Clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and physicians and offer basic healthcare services as well as educational programs. The clinics are located at the Jubilee Center at 2301 N. Park Ave. and at Farrington Middle School in Eagledale. There are also clinics at six local schools.

The MOM mobile has been offering ultrasounds to high-risk pregnant women receiving prenatal care at Marion County Health and Hospital neighborhood clinics since 1990. Thanks to the Charlene S. Lugar Birth Defects Foundation, the MOM Project recently received a new vehicle that is equipped with the latest ultrasound technology. It rotates on a monthly schedule among seven neighborhood clinics that do not have the expensive ultrasound equipment. By bringing the service to the clinics where the women receive their regular prenatal care, the MOM mobile has helped reduce the number of missed prenatal ultrasounds from 60 percent to 10-12 percent. Since the program has been using the new vehicle, the staff has done more than 700 ultrasounds.

Four awards will also be presented at the gala.

IUSON Associate Professor Linda Gilman will receive the Emily Holmquist Lifetime Achievement in Nursing Award. The award is presented to a professional nurse whose contributions to nursing are exemplary. Gilman, the director of the pediatric nurse practitioner program for the school, works to further the issues of child safety and the concerns of pediatric nurse practitioners. She helped former Indiana Senator Virginia Blankenbaker draft a resolution that resulted in state policy to address infant mortality. Gilman also helped found the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners, the Association of Faculty of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Programs, and the National Certification Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Nurses. She also served as president of these three organizations.

Indiana Department of Education Coordinator of Health Services and IUSON alumna Phyllis Lewis will also receive the Emily Holmquist Lifetime Achievement in Nursing Award. In her position, Lewis oversees health services and HIV/AIDS education for the state's public schools. Lewis recently received the Outstanding State School Nurse Consultant of the Year Achievement Award from the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants, of which she has been president. She also actively promotes partnerships between the university and the Indiana Department of Education.

Dr. Joseph E. Walther, founder of the Walther Cancer Institute, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit medical research organization, will receive the Victoria Champion Boundary Spanning Award. The school gives the award to an individual who creates connections between nursing and other fields. Dr. Walther created the Mary Margaret Walther Program for Cancer Care Research, named for his late wife who died of colon cancer. The IUSON program supports research investigating the behaviors that cause cancer.

IU School of Medicine Distinguished Professor Dr. Ting-Kai Li will receive the Doris H. Merritt Service to Nursing Award for his help in furthering research at IUSON. Dr. Li, known for his research on the genetic and neurobiological basis for alcoholism, aided the school in obtaining funds to create a Center for Nursing Research, which provides support services to faculty and doctoral/postdoctoral trainees. Dr. Li also regularly links nursing doctoral students with mentors in other related fields.

The sponsors for this year's gala include RN Specialties, Inc. and Marion County Health and Hospital Corporation/Marion County Health Department at the platinum level ($10,000) and Bedel Financial Consulting, Clarian Health Partners, Eli Lilly & Co., Josephine Osili, St. Vincent Hospital and Health Services and Women's Hospital at the silver level ($2500).

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