For Immediate Release February 21, 2005

For More Information Contact: Mary Pat Poskon 317-274-4019 mpposkon@iupui.edu

International Expert on Leadership of Patient Care is Featured at the Fifth Annual Sonna Ehrlich Merk Distinguished Lectureship

INDIANAPOLIS - Gail A. Wolf, DNS, RN, FAAN will make a presentation entitled "Leadership: Some Lessons Learned the Hard Way" that will focus on leadership strategies that span the boundaries between academe and practice at the Fifth Annual Sonna Ehrlich Merk Distinguished Lectureship on Friday, March 4, 2005. The event, hosted jointly by IU School of Nursing and Clarian Health Partners, will be held at the Ruth Lilly Learning Center Auditorium, Riley Hospital Outpatient Center, Lower Level on the IUPUI campus, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion that includes participants from IU School of Nursing, Clarian Health Partners and Shannon Medical Center, San Antonio, TX. The day will end with a reception.

Gail A. Wolf is currently the Chief Nursing Officer for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. UPMC is an integrated care delivery system comprised of 20 hospitals throughout Western Pennsylvania. The system employs approximately 35,000 employees and has an annual revenue exceeding 3 billion dollars.

Dr. Wolf received her Baccalaureate in Nursing from West Virginia University, her Masters in Nursing from the University of Kentucky, and her Doctorate in Nursing Administration and Organizational Psychology from Indiana University in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is a Wharton Fellow, and has served as President of the American Organization of Nurse Executives. She has published and lectured extensively throughout the United States, Australia, Italy, Japan, Canada, Italy and Finland on issues relating to leadership of patient care.

In 1989, Dr. Wolf founded the Beckwith Institute for Innovation in Patient Care and presently serves as the Executive Director. This institute was established to foster creative solutions to contemporary problems in clinical practice and leadership development, and to contribute new knowledge through the generation of application of research. Through the Institute for Innovation, Dr. Wolf and two of her colleagues have developed a model entitled A Transformational Model for the Practice of Professional Nursing, which is designed to lead organizations through the transformations in critical thinking and in clinical practice, which are necessary for future success.

The Sonna Ehrlich Merk Distinguished Lectureship was established in 2001 in honor of Sonna Ehrlich Merk, PhD, RN, who throughout her career created successful partnerships between clinical sites and academia. In 1997, she became the first senior vice president for nursing and patient care serves and chief nurse executive for Clarian Health, retiring in 2000 after a 30-year professional career in nursing.

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