NURSING HALL OF FAME
ECU inducts eight, selects distinguished alumna
Significant contributors to nursing education, administration, research and practice were honored Friday as eight nurses were inducted to the Hall of Fame in the East Carolina University College of Nursing.
Inductees were Linda Burhans, Martha Dartt, Nettie Evans, Susan Gerard, Sue Lassiter, Joanne Stevens, Carmen Vincent and Anna Weaver. All are ECU alumni.
Also honored was Helen M. Brinson, who received the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award. Brinson recently retired after a long career as director of nursing education with the Eastern Area Health Education Center. The award recognizes exemplary contributions to the nursing profession.
More than $51,000 raised through the creation of the Hall of Fame supports a fund providing merit-based scholarships for nursing students. The launching of the Hall of Fame program in 2011 coincided with the 50th anniversary of nursing education at ECU. Last year, 40 were inducted into the inaugural class.
“The Hall of Fame recognizes nurses who carry forth the ECU College of Nursing tradition of excellence in clinical practice, teaching, research, and leadership,” said Dr. Sylvia Brown, dean of the College of Nursing.
Each inductee received a flame-shaped award resembling the nursing pin designed by the first nursing class at ECU.
Burhans of Wilson is associate executive director for education and practice for the North Carolina Board of Nursing. She serves on several state and national nursing associations and is a board certified advanced nurse executive and professional in health care quality.
Dartt of Greenville is director of nursing services at ECU’s Brody School of Medicine, where she has worked and served in several leadership roles since 1988. She is an adjunct faculty member in the College of Nursing and serves on many administrative committees in the Brody School of Medicine.
Evans of Ayden is vice president of patient care services and chief nurse executive for Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie. She is an adjunct faculty member in the ECU College of Nursing and is an executive board member of Eastern AHEC. She is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives.
Gerard of Blounts Creek is senior director for growth and clinical services for Vidant Beaufort Hospital. She previously served as medical practice administrator, interim chief executive officer and chief executive officer for Beaufort Regional Health System, and worked in several roles for Beaufort County Hospital. She received the Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce 2011-2012 Community Leader of the Year Award.
Lassiter of Ahoskie has served as president of Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie since 1997. Previously she served in multiple capacities at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, now Vidant Medical Center. She is an adjunct faculty member in the College of Nursing, and is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives.
Stevens of Raleigh is a contract professional lobbyist. She previously was director of government relations for the North Carolina Nurses Association. She is state advocate for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She has been a nursing instructor, and worked in risk management and quality improvement in several medical centers in the southeast.
Vincent of Greenville is vice president of corporate accreditation and regulatory compliance at Vidant Health and is an intermittent reserve surveyor for The Joint Commission. She is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives and the National Association of Health Services Executives.
Weaver of Greenville is assistant vice president of transplant, trauma and surgical services at Vidant Medical Center, where she has served in numerous administrative roles in surgical and operative services. She has served several leadership positions with the Association of Operating Room Nurses, and is a longtime community volunteer.
For more information on the Hall of Fame, go to http://nursing.ecu.edu/hof_guidelines.htm.