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Welcome to the alumni
e-newsletter for the Department of Social Work
Alumni From 2007 - 2009: Rise to the Challenge
and Give Back
CHHS has received a challenge grant from five generous
donors totaling $15,000 to be applied towards priority needs for the
college. To complete the challenge:
- CHHS needs to receive 150 individual
donations from alumni who graduated or will graduate from 2007–2011 at
either the undergraduate or graduate level. So far 114 donations
have been received.
- The terms of the challenge grant do not stipulate a specific amount
for the contribution but the funds must
be donated during the current fiscal year which ends June 30, 2010.
We hope you will consider a
gift at this time that will benefit faculty and students in the college.
You can request that your gift be applied to a specific program or
scholarship fund. Please visit the CHHS
Alumni and Friends website for more information on ways of supporting
the college. For questions, please contact Gail Weirich via e-mail,
or at (703) 993-6018.
Am I an Alum of the
College of Health and Human Services (CHHS)?Yes. The College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) was
created in 2006 using the existing College of Nursing and Health Science
as the organizational foundation for creating an expanded presence of
health and human service programs at Mason and to transform the
environment to include research productivity. The college includes the
following units:
- School of Nursing,
- Department of Global and Community Health,
- Department of Social Work, and
- Department of Health Administration and Policy.
In addition, there is:
- The Center for the Study of Chronic Illness and Disability (CCID)
and
- The Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics
(CHPRE).
2010 CHHS Distinguished Alumni of the
Year Award
Barbara L. Young Summers, PhD,
RN, NEA-BC, FAAN BSN ’78, MSN ’81, PhD ‘95
Vice
President and Chief Nursing Officer, and Division Head, Nursing, The
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Houston,
Texas
Barbara Summers was awarded the honor of 2010 CHHS
Distinguished Alumna of the Year on behalf of the CHHS Alumni Chapter
Board, accompanied by her husband George Summers, also a Mason alumnus,
graduating from the College of Visual and Performing Arts with a BS in
1977, at the university's Celebration of Distinction on April 14.
Dr. Summers' practice hallmark has been a persistent and
unwavering focus on building nursing excellence. She has led the creation
of new frameworks and models to develop nurse leaders and build
organizational cultures that promote health care safety and professional
nursing empowerment. From 1993 – 1997, Dr. Summers worked at
National Institutes of Health, where she was manager of critical care
services and a nurse specialist in ambulatory cancer care and
research. In addition, Dr. Summers worked for 13 years as a clinical
nurse specialist in the cancer center and as director of medical and
psychiatric nursing for INOVA. Dr. Summers is the recipient of numerous
honors and awards and in November 2009, was inducted as a fellow into the
American Academy of Nursing.
Dr. Summers made a
presentation to alumni and faculty titled “Synchronicity: Auspicious
Coincidence, The Journey of one GMU Alumna.” School of Nursing alumni
attending the presentation included classmates and colleagues: Karen
Drenkard, PhD ’06; Margaret Goode, BSN ‘88, MSN ’99; Paulette
Komarny, BSN ’95; Lynn Magrum, BSN ’79, MSN ’81; Lorraine McLean, MSN '96;
and Carolyn Taylor BSN ’78, MSN ’86, MBA ’94.
Spotlight on a Social Work
AlumnaLisa Callahan, BS, MSW
Lisa Callahan graduated from George Mason University
in 2003 with a Bachelor of Social Work and was accepted into Advance
Standing for the Master in Social Work program. She graduated in the
inaugural class of Mason’s MSW program in 2004.
In
2005, Lisa began employment with the County of Fairfax, Department of
Family Services. She developed and implemented the Medical Respite Program
in partnership with a Health Department Nurse Practitioner. This program
continues to provide respite care in a local homeless shelter for people
who do not have a home but require a safe place to heal after surgery,
illness or other medical issues.
Lisa accepted
a position in 2007 with the Northern Virginia Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Program which advocates for the highest quality of life and care for
persons receiving long-term care services. The program reaches out to
residents in nursing and assisted living facilities in five jurisdictions
in Northern Virginia: Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince
William. As Ombudsman and Volunteer Specialist, Lisa works to
recruit, train and supervise 70+ dedicated volunteers who are assigned to
one or more nursing or assisted living facilities.
She has been
an active alumna with her alma mater since 2007 and serves as co-president
of the CHHS Alumni Chapter Board along with Lori McLean MSN ’96.
Some of her duties include representing the CHHS Alumni Chapter to the
Mason University Alumni Association Board of Directors and at other
functions within the college and university, providing leadership in
fundraising efforts for the college, meeting with students on alumni
responsibility, and planning alumni events.
“I thoroughly enjoy meeting
and working with talented and amazing CHHS alumni in my professional and
alumni duties, and staying connected to those whose paths have crossed
mine,” commented Lisa.
Sign Up to Mentor a
Social Work Undergrad Student
Mentors are excellent resources to students interested in
researching career options or in shadowing an employer in their field of
study. If you're a seasoned grad looking to support future professionals
in your field or a student seeking career advice please sign up by sending an e-mail. Please
provide the following contact information:
Name Position
Title Place of Employment Work Phone Business E-mail
Address Alternate E-mail Address Best time to be
reached We will find an
opportunity for you to share your career experiences with a current
student. If you have any questions, contact Gail Weirich by email, or
at (703) 993-6018.
We appreciate your interest!
CHHS Signature Alumni Event: "The Dirt on
the Grape"
SAVE THE DATE
The Dirt on
the Grape…The Next Course CHHS Signature Alumni Event October 2,
2010
Time TBA
Mark your calendars to join us for the CHHS
Signature Alumni Event on Saturday, October 2, 2010. Sommelier Mary
Watson-DeLauder returns and joins Chef Sandy Amato (owner of Cooking with
Sandy) to educate and tantalize your tastebuds with dessert and dessert
wine pairings.
We invite CHHS Alumni and
guests to come and learn something new, re-connect with friends and
colleagues, and enjoy an evening of socializing.
Details on the event will be available soon on the CHHS
Alumni website. For information contact Gail Weirich by email, or
at (703) 993-6018.
The CHHS Signature Alumni Event is held in conjunction
with Alumni
Weekend.
Let Us Hear from YouWe would like to hear from Social Work alumni about
career moves, accomplishments, and recognitions. Please send information
to chhsalum@gmu.edu, and we
will post it in the next edition of the Alumni E-news.
To
update contact information with the Mason Alumni Association, visit the MASONline
Alumni Directory.
Social
Work Students Bring College Dreams to At-Risk Youth
Saturday, May 1, 10 a.m.
- 1 p.m. Mason Fairfax Campus
Social work education at George Mason University is
an exciting place to not only learn, but to apply learning by providing a
real community service. The College Dream
Tour is an example of such a project. The project was first
implemented last year by a senior class who planned the event from
beginning to end.
The goal of the project was to expose a group of at-risk
youth, in middle school to the idea of going to college. The project
targeted those children who were not likely being encouraged to go to
college because of many reasons. The tour was designed to introduce
college and college life to children while having fun. The event was
very successful and there were many requests that it be repeated.
This year, another group of students are planning the
College Dream Tour. The College Dream Tour theme
this year is “Step to Success” and the program is expected to involve 100
children. Two social work classes, one taught by Dr. Molly Davis, and the
other section taught by Dr. Angela Kim have joined forces to plan this
event. The combination of the two courses will allow for an
increased number of students to participate.
The middle school students will experience campus life,
eating in the dining hall, viewing a dormitory room, classrooms, and the
library and attending a college event. A small group of students
(6-7) are assigned to two tour guides. Because Mason students have
studied the research on how to impact aspirations and dropout prevention,
they hope to provide an opportunity to dialogue with students while they
are touring about the importance of staying in school.
Social Work students will have a follow-up on May 6
at noon. to review the planning, implementation and evaluation of this
project. If interested in attending or program information, please
contact Molly Davis.
Blazing the Trail:
Promising Practices for Healing Psychological Trauma of Service Members,
Veterans, Families, and Community
On Friday, May 21, there will be a workshop on, “Blazing
the Trail: Promising Practices for Healing Psychological Trauma of Service
Members, Veterans, Families, and Community.” The course will be held
at Research I, Room 163 at the Fairfax campus.
The cost of the class is $100 for health care
professionals, $75 for full-time students, and includes all materials,
breaks, and continental breakfast. The course is approved for four Contact
Hours and four CEUs.
Online registration will be
available through the college's Office of Academic Outreach beginning May 3. For
additional information, please contact the Office of Academic
Outreach.
Faculty
News
Dennis J. Ritchie,
PhD
Dennis J. Ritchie, PhD, Enochs Chair in Child
Welfare and Professor of Social Work, is co-leading a field-based seminar
this May in Costa Rica focusing on the interrelated themes of human
rights, particularly women’s and children’s rights. Other themes of
interest include sustainable human, social, economic, political, and
community development; intrafamilal, gender-based, and community violence,
poverty; and health and social services.
The other co-leader is Dr. Teresa Ramellini, Professor of
Social Work and Women's Studies and Director of the Center for Women's
Studies Research at the University of Costa Rica.
This program is offered through Mason’s Center for
Global Education, in partnership with the University of Costa Rica.
Students will earn 3 credits in Social Work, Sociology, Women and Gender
Studies, or Conflict Analysis.
Paul
Clark, PhD
Paul Clark, PhD, and two nursing colleagues at Life
with Cancer®, Mason nursing adjunct faculty member Geronima
Cortese-Jimenez, and Eric Cohen, RN (GMU BSN, ‘00) through support from
the George Mason University Center for Consciousness and Transformation,
are currently conducting a study of four complementary treatment
modalities for managing the physical and psychological symptoms of CIPN.
During the six week study, participants will be randomly assigned to
receive one of four modalities that include a Yoga class, Meditation
class, Psychoeducational class, or Reiki sessions, one hour per week. The
study is currently open to anyone who completed chemotherapy at least
three months ago (or more) and continues to experience symptoms related to
CIPN.
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a
side effect that occurs with many of the most common chemotherapeutic
agents used to treat cancer. CIPN is the result of damage caused to the
peripheral nervous system by chemotherapy and can affect sensory, motor,
and autonomic neurons. Typically, CIPN is experienced as tingling,
burning, numbness, or pain in the upper and lower extremities and other
parts of the body. Severity of symptoms can range from bothersome to
disabling and can have profoundly negative effects on quality of life.
There are no treatments or drugs that effectively treat or lead to the
reversal of CIPN symptoms and conventional treatments often yield limited
results for symptoms of CIPN.
Studies using complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM) treatments, including massage and yoga have proven successful with
pain and quality of life issues related to cancer and its treatment
however, there have been few CAM studies that specifically address CIPN.
It is hoped that results from this study will help reduce the negative
physical and psychological symptoms of CIPN while improving quality of
life for the participants. For more
information about the study you can contact Dr. Clark at (703)
993-2737. |