Featured Members and Inductees
2011 Featured Members and Inductees
Lifetime Achievement Award 2011: Ellen McCarty
What is a Lifetime Award?
A Lifetime Achievement award is by its very nature intended to honor a person who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to the professional values of research, leadership, and educational mentorship. This year we honor a member of our professional community who has quietly changed the way nurses think about elderly patients experiencing mental illness.
This recipient of the Sigma Theta Tau Delta Upsilon–at–Large Lifetime Achievement Award has quietly yet effectively woven her professional life’s work into a simple, silk tapestry. As gentle in demeanor as fine silk threads she has quietly woven strands of professional activities to create a fabric of greater understanding among gerontological-mental health providers.
This year’s recipient, Dr. Ellen McCarty, began her nursing career in 1969 when she graduated from Salve Regina University. She then earned a MS from Boston University, received a graduate Fellowship in Geriatric Mental Health in the Harvard University Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, and a PhD from Boston College. Along the way she also cared for her mother who is rapidly approaching 100 years of age and raised two children, Danny and Katie, who inspired by their mother, have now also earned doctorates in their fields.
Ellen has held teaching positions at the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth, MA, Southern University, Baton Rouge, LA, Boston University School of Medicine, and Salve Regina University. Her service to SRU has included many committees, including serving as co-chair of the department of nursing for more than 3 years and chair of the Institutional Review Board for four years.
Ellen has conducted research, maintained a private practice focused on the care of the elderly, and educated a new generation of mental health nurses. Always generous with her time, countless colleagues, graduate, and undergraduate students have received the benefit of her patient mentoring.
The respect of her colleagues in the field of mental health and elder care has led to Ellen being invited to participate on a number of programs of research, while continuing to develop her own research trajectory.
Ellen has quietly shared her findings through more than 45 presentations at regional, national, and international conferences and 13 publications in peer-reviewed journals. In 2007, Ellen was selected as a Fulbright Senior Specialist Scholar for the University of Brunswick, Canada.
Ellen has served on a variety of community committees in a range of capacities during her career. Currently she serves on the Board of Trustees of St. Joseph Hospital and is a member of that hospital’s Quality Patient Care Committee.
The tapestry created by Dr. Ellen McCarty is composed of threads representing her loved ones, her friends, her students, her professional colleagues, and the elderly she serves. It represents a life shaped by many experiences and lasting achievements. Dr. Ellen McCarty, you exemplify the vision of STTI, “using knowledge, scholarship, service and learning to improve the health of the world’s people.” Our heartfelt thanks for all you offer us personally and professionally.
2010 Featured Members and Inductees
Featured Member: Cynthia Padula, RN, PhD
Inquiring minds want to know-
That could be the theme of our profiled member, Cynthia Padula. Dr. Padula, PhD, RN, is the recent recipient of the Delta Upsilon Chapter Lifetime achievement award for her unending thirst for new nursing knowledge. As she noted during her acceptance speech, her early research programs were supported by a $500 grant from the Chapter.
Dr. Padula began her nursing career at Rhode Island Junior College, receiving her A.D, then moving on to Salve Regina College for her B.S.N. Dr. Padula received her Master’s Degree from Boston University in Adult Medical Surgical Nursing with a specialty in Cardiovascular disease. In 1994 she completed a PhD in Family Studies and Gerontology from the University of Connecticut.
She began her career as an educator in 1980 at Rhode Island College; along the way she also taught at Salve Regina College, the University of Rhode Island and she is now at Rhode Island College in the role of the Director of the Graduate Program in Nursing.
Numerous awards have cited Dr. Padula’s commitment to Nursing, Nursing education and service, including the Academic Educator Award from RISNA, a leadership fellowship from AACN and a chapter service award from Delta Upsilon.
Dr. Padula has an extensive background in nursing research, focusing on the older adult, couples and the use of the Transtheoretical model for behavior change for health. She is the author of numerous book chapters and peer reviewed articles. As a researcher she has been funded for studies in a wide range of interests including Prevention of functional decline in hospitalized older adults, Prevention and early detection of pressure ulcers in high risk hospitalized patients and Determinants of Health-Promotion Behavior in Long-Term Married Couples.
Her students and peers have truly been exposed to a role model of nurse scientist, educator and leader.
2010 Rhode Island College Inductee: Tiffany Hanks
Tiffany Hanks feels fortunate to have grown up across the United States before settling in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, where she plans to pursue her professional career in nursing.
Tiffany’s love of caring for others began in her adolescence while living in Colorado; there she volunteered as a candy striper for terminally-ill and autistic children at Denver Children’s Hospital, and also assisted her mother working with severely disabled children in an elementary school Inclusion Program. It was in college that Tiffany began providing homecare for the elderly. Honing her passion, Tiffany majored in Psychology concentrating on holistic health and wellness with an emphasis on cultural diversity for her undergraduate degree. Upon graduating with a BA in 2001, she ventured to Thailand for five years where she became truly acculturated, learning the language and volunteering in rural villages. Eventually Tiffany began teaching English at an all-girls academy in Bangkok, while at the same time establishing a language tutorial center providing tailored curriculums for students ranging from 5 to 65 years-old. Her father’s health scare brought her back to the U.S., where shortly after she began her path to become a Registered Nurse, by attending Rhode Island College School of Nursing.
Through the encouragement of her peers and her own determination, Tiffany has been inspired to excel academically and professionally, becoming part of the international nursing society, Sigma Theta Tau. While attending Rhode Island College, Tiffany has managed to carry on providing homecare for the elderly and the mentally and physically disabled, as well as volunteering with Hospice at VNS of Newport and Bristol Counties. Tiffany plans to continue her love for teaching, learning, and caring for others with the same passion and enthusiasm in the future. Being inducted into Delta Upsilon Chapter at-Large is just a wonderful fit with its global health initiatives and Tiffany’s nursing career.
2010 University of RI Inductee: Bethany Larkin
Bethany Larkin was born in Providence, Rhode Island. She attended North Kingstown High School in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Bethany has always had a passion for science, as she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Rhode Island prior to obtaining her nursing degree. At the time she completed her Bachelor of Science, she also completed undergraduate studies to attain a minor in thanatology. This in tandem approach altered her professional aspirations; to achieve positive patient outcomes through evidence-based practice and compassion. To achieve this goal, she enrolled in the College of Nursing at the University of Rhode Island.
Bethany has wanted to make a difference in the lives of others for as long as she can remember. Bethany’s passion in nursing arises from the notion that one can create positive changes in the lives of others through the profession. In December 2010, she graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and completion of the University Honors Program.
Bethany’s foci in the nursing profession lie within the realms of oncology and end-of-life care. She earned a Certification in Thanatology-CT from the Association of Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) in September 2010. She aspires to care for patients who are in the midst of loss.
With regard to future endeavors, Bethany intends to further her education and earn a Masters Degree in Public Health as well as in nursing. Her ultimate goal is to become an advanced practice nurse practitioner and utilize her knowledge and skills to improve health care for underserved populations in the United States. Furthermore, she intends to travel with international aid organizations to assist in the delivery of healthcare in developing nations.
2010 Salve Regina University Inductee: Caleigh Gillespie
I am from Rowley, Massachusetts and a senior nursing student at Salve Regina University. I will be graduating in May. Nursing is the profession for me because it combines my love for helping and working with others with my interest in the human body. Currently, I work at a psychiatric hospital near my hometown, however after graduation I would like to pursue women’s health nursing, in particular labor and delivery. I would like to help increase awareness about the importance of prenatal care and educate people about how to prevent unintended pregnancy. The more influential aspect of my nursing education thus far was the service learning trip that I took to Belize with some of my fellow classmates. The trip influenced my perspective regarding the importance of providing help and knowledge to those in need. I was able to learn from working with people from a different background. I hope to return to Belize in the future because of my passion for helping and learning.
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