2022 Community Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion Update

December 12, 2022

The School of Nursing has been highly active in Community Engagement and Diversity Inclusion during the Fall semester. Community engagement activities have included work in all academic programs, in clinical and neighborhood settings. Examples of this work include:

  • Owensboro Assistant Professor Angela Mehringer and her students collaborating with Girls Inc. Owensboro and Daviess County members for a two-day hands-on health workshop. In addition, Mehringer and her students collaborated with Dr. Cheryl Witt, Associate Professor, to provide screenings as part of her ongoing funded project Raising Hope at the annual Kentucky Women in Agriculture Conference: Rooted in Community on October 10th and 11th.
  • Dr. Cheryl Parker, Director and Dr. Zohn Centimole, Assistant Director of the new Nurse Anesthesia program, is actively engaged with the community with the KET “Be My Neighbor” annual event and the Surgery on Sunday program.
  • Dr. Fran Hardin-Fanning, Professor and Shirley B. Powers Endowed Chair is Co-PI on the community-engaged research project, Assessing Preschoolers’ Perceptions of Healthy Eating Via Drawing Activities, which is focused on understanding views of children within the community to inform future interventions.
  • The Kentucky Racing Health Services Center was awarded the Exemplary Project Recognition for the 2nd time for their impactful work with the multicultural racetrack workers and their families at Churchill Downs.
  • The School of Nursing has also been incredibly involved in supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in a variety of other efforts. Dr. Luz Huntington-Moskos continues to serve on the UofL Health Sciences Center interprofessional collaboration with Central High School’s Health Magnet Program in support of the pathway for primarily minority, first-generation and low-income students interested in nursing and other healthcare careers.
  • Dr. Brittany Corniel DNP, Assistant Professor, and Jade Chatman, Ph.D. candidate are collaborating with Neighborhood House community center in the west Louisville Portland community to support and foster success among low-income, middle, and high school students interested in nursing. This initiative is partially funded through a collaboration with the Northwest Area Health Education Center (AHEC).
  • Dr. Mollie Aleshire, Assistant Professor, has been very involved in a number of activities focused on the LGBTQ population, most recently, the Kentucky Pride Festival in Louisville.
  • Dr. Hines-Martin, Professor and Associate Dean, has co-authored the publication, Honoring The Past and Charting The Future: The International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses’ Commitment to Advance Diversity and Equity in Mental Healthcare.