IU School of Nursing Professor to Be Honored for Exemplary Civic Engagement

Anne Belcher, RN, DNS.

INDIANAPOLIS - The IU School of Nursing (IUSON) has announced that Anne Belcher, RN, DNS will receive Indiana's Premier Health award, "The Tony and Mary Hulman Health Achievement Award" in the field of Preventive Medicine and Public Health for her exemplary contributions to the citizens of Indiana and the nursing profession. The award will be presented during the Indiana Public Health Foundation, Inc.'s 21 st annual reception and dinner on Thursday, October 27, 2005, at the Westin Hotel, Indianapolis.

Belcher is an Associate Professor and Director of Faculty Affairs at IUSON and a pediatric nurse practitioner for over 30 years with a background in community health nursing and children's health. She earned her BSN, MSN and DNS degrees from the IU School of Nursing.

"Anne's distinguished career at IU School of Nursing has been dedicated to the advancement of the public's health at the local, state and national level," says Marion E. Broome, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor and university dean. "Her contributions to preventive medicine and public health have been exceptional as evidenced by her work in building collaborative partnerships between members of the community and the university and creating innovative solutions to public health problems. Her unique dedication and passion for improving the health of others are key reasons why I am so pleased that Anne will be recognized with this premier Indiana health award."

Her work began in the 1980's in the Christamore and Hawthorne neighborhoods of Indianapolis by creating innovative clinical learning experiences for baccalaureate nursing students in neighborhood centers where they designed health education and disease prevention programs for residents from preschool age to elderly citizens. Over the years other projects have included: a Marion County Health Department (MCHD) and Indianapolis Public School (IPS) program to teach breast and testicular self-examination to high school students (a program that continues today in five IPS Schools); and, a state immunization program that involved faculty and students on all campuses of IUSON and created partnerships with local public health nurses to increase their knowledge base and support teaching related to immunizations.

In 2001-03, she collaborated on an interdisciplinary project with IU Schools of Medicine and Dentistry and the Department of Public Health that was made possible through funding from Clarian Health Partners, Inc. to implement the Adolescent Substance Abuse Prevention Program (ASAP) with middle school students in IPS. Most recently, through the leadership of Belcher, IUSON and the IU School of Medicine have partnered with the Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) Health Promotion Committee regarding a grant awarded to IUPUI and WESCO (Christamore, Hawthorne and Stringtown neighborhoods), in collaboration with the Department of Public Health, to address health promotion and health education in the neighborhoods.

To learn more about the IU School of Nursing, visit http://nursing.iupui.edu/.