University of Kentucky College of Nursing Honors Outstanding Alumni

University of Kentucky College of Nursing Honors Three SON faculty as Outstanding Alumni

UK College of Nursing honored their Outstanding Alumni as part of their 50th Anniversary this year.  This event celebrates the College of Nursing's more than 5,000 graduates by recognizing the achievements of those alumni who have have built rewarding careers and in doing so, have helped to advance the college's reputation through their contributions to the profession as well as to meeting the health care needs of Kentuckians and others.

"It is very exciting to recognize the contributions of  College of Nursing alumni as part of our 50th anniversary year long celebration," said Jane Kirschling, dean of the College of Nursing. "Each of the alumni who were honored are an important part of the College’s legacy. Their contributions over the years exemplify that UK nursing alumni are committed to nursing excellence and that individually and collectively they make a difference in the lives of those they serve. To each, I send my heartfelt appreciation for proving, year after year, that partnership and collaboration are still the most powerful tools in health care.”

The three SON faculty members so honored are:

Rosalie O’Dell Mainous

PhD 1996

PhD, ARNP, NNP-BC

Rosalie Mainous is a 1996 graduate of the PhD program and has been a nurse for 32 years.  Her dissertation research focused on the assessment of pain in the preterm neonate which served as the foundation for her current work on a prediction model for Intraventricular hemorrhage in the very low birth weight infant. Funded twice by National Institutes of Health and currently funded by industry, she maintains her involvement in research and leads teams at both University of Louisville Hospital and Kosair Children’s Hospital.  She is in her 24th year at the University of Louisville and has taught at the baccalaureate, masters and doctoral level. As the associate dean for graduate programs and research, she currently leads five MSN tracks, a PhD program and the research enterprise. In 2009 she was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Executive Fellow and is working to impact health care policy on a national level. As a neonatal nurse practitioner and a member of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses she was appointed to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Fetus and Newborn and is the lead author on a technical report on pain management in the newborn to be published in Pediatrics.  Recently she contributed to a white paper on innovative nursing curricula for the 21st century that will be a part of the Institute of Medicine’s Initiative on the Future of Nursing.  

Vicki Hines-Martin  

PhD 1994

PhD, CNS, RN, FAAN

Vicki Hines-Martin is an associate professor and the director of the Office of Disparities and Community Engagement at the University of Louisville School of Nursing. She also serves as the faculty scholar in the University of Louisville Office of Community Engagement.  Hines-Martin graduated from Spalding University in Louisville (BSN and MAEd), the University of Cincinnati (MSN) and was the first African American to graduate with a PhD from the UK College of Nursing in 1994. Her clinical practice, undergraduate and graduate teaching and research activities have focused on health disparities and diversity with an emphasis on mental health, low income and African-American populations. Dr. Hines-Martin has conducted and collaborated on projects funded by the Kentucky Nurses Foundation, American Nurses Foundation (ANF), Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, Health Resources and Services Administration and the National Institutes of Health (NINR & NIDDK). She has 55 (27 peer-reviewed) publications and more than 100 presentations at the local, national and international levels. She serves as a reviewer for several professional publications, ANF and National Institutes of Health. She was the founder of the KYANNA Black Nurses Association (KY Chapter of the National Black Nurses Association) which is in its 23rd year and it has provided scholarships to more than 45 minority nursing students in the Kentuckiana area. She was inducted as a Fellow into the Academy of Nursing in 2008 for her work on health disparities and diversity in nursing. She is married to Kenneth with one daughter, Michelle.

Karen M. Robinson

MSN 1977

PhD, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN

Karen Robinson is a professor at the University of Louisville School of Nursing where she also serves as executive director of the Volunteer Caregiver’s Program.  Other than her MSN from UK, she received her BSN from the University of Evansville and her doctorate from Indiana University.  Robinson has sustained an extraordinary career in geropsychiatric nursing by sharing her knowledge and experience as an expert in care for persons with dementia and their caregivers.  She was the founder and currently serves as executive director of the Volunteer Caregivers Program, coordinating the education and support of caregivers enrolled in the program.  The primary mission of the program is to provide support and education to caregivers and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.  Services include ongoing assessment, evaluation, education, information and referral for caregiving families.  Community education occurs through outreach to faith groups, a speaker’s bureau, and screenings at health fairs.  The program has enrolled more than 180 caregivers and worked with multiple members of their families.  On the national level, Robinson has devoted considerable time and energy to promoting social policy change thru the Expert Panel on Aging of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN).  She is first author on several policy papers approved by AAN on such topics as prevention of violence in long term care, recommendations for family caregiver support; and recommendations for social policy related to family caregiving.