Early in my administrative career, I found myself telling the Provost . . . “I can understand why people don’t do the right thing. It takes a lot of time, energy, and courage.” I said this in the middle of my first challenge with unprofessional behavior, and it was not completely resolved for several years. I have had many similar experiences in my professional career since then. Doing the right thing does take a LOT of time, energy, and courage. It also causes one to push through bias or a negative history with someone to offer equitable opportunities to that individual. It can also challenge one not to choose their favorite individual for a benefit when there are others that are more deserving of that benefit. Besides the fact that integrity is high on my list of personal core values, I am significantly motivated to do the right thing because I have suffered from the consequences of others not choosing to do the same . . . we all have, unfortunately. Doing the right thing is often very difficult, and it is not for the faint of heart. When we choose not to do the right thing, then ultimately it will cost us more time and energy and will have a negative ripple effect in the future. I encourage you to always make the sacrifice to do the right thing. You will regain the time and energy, and your courage will grow to undergird you during the next challenge.

Rising public health senior Savannah Webb received Mentored Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors Summer Research funding. While studying the epidemiology of COVID-19 on university campuses, the undergraduate research team collected data during Spring 2021. This summer, the team plans to analyze the data collected, including the trend of student cases beginning with the reopening of University System of Georgia institutions in Fall 2020. Further research includes the student and faculty perception of the COVID-19 protective measures taken around the GC campus this past school year. The purpose of her research is to gain knowledge for future education and the evolution of COVID-19 guidelines throughout the pandemic.

Pictured below: Savannah Webb

In recent weeks, the Center for Health and Social Issues (CHSI) team has been mapping blight in Oconee Heights. The team uses geographic information systems (GIS) and a blight assessment for each property within the Oconee Heights neighborhood. This data will provide an additional basis for developing sustainable interventions for blight remediation. The team has mapped approximately 100 houses and has 20 more properties to complete before moving to the next steps of the research.

CHSI team recently met with the senior pastor of Hardwick Baptist Church, Doug Adkins, to discuss the church’s interest in asset-based community mapping. CHSI’s work in Oconee Heights caught Pastor Adkins's attention and he contacted CHSI Director, Dr. Damian Francis, to visit the church and neighborhood. The CHSI team applauded the church’s efforts of providing community members with a food pantry as well as programs that cater to children in the neighborhood. Over the summer months, CHSI will be working with Hardwick Baptist Church and other Georgia College faculty and staff to create new programs and opportunities for the neighborhood.

The CHSI is actively involved with several community collaboratives in the Milledgeville- Baldwin County Community. These collaborative meetings include community members, stakeholders from non-profits, government entities, and places of worship. The Oconee Heights Collaborative meets on the second Thursday of every month at 5:00 pm. The Harrisburg Collaborative meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 11:00 am. The Coopers Community Collaborative meets on the third Thursday of every other month at 5:00 pm with the next meeting occurring on May 20th. If you are interested in attending these meetings, please contact Catherine Woodall at Catherine.woodall@bobcats.gcsu.edu for more details and meeting location.

Title: Assistant Professor, Public Health since 2018

Role: Program Coordinator for Bachelor of Science in Public Health

Changing the Culture of the Public Health Program

We are blessed at Georgia College with so many talented and bright students, and I find that to be true particularly in the School of Health and Human Performance.

At SHHP we have students who are as curious to learn as I am eager to teach, so this makes my job so much easier. Additionally, we have committed faculty who go over and beyond the call of duty to ensure students are successful in their courses and research efforts.

Personally, my training prior to GC was heavy on research, and I find that research informs my teaching and enables me to be fresh in my scholarship. I do my best to transfer my knowledge to benefit our students.

In the classroom, I consider my main task is to enable the students to be critical thinkers, to go beyond the textbook, and make connections between content taught in class and everyday events around the world. That was true more so this past academic year as we dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. This provided several teachable moments in class to dive deeper into topics like study design for clinical trials for vaccines, and disparities in health outcomes manifested by the pandemic.

The public health faculty have collectively worked to challenge our students to think critically, get involved in research, and write in discipline-appropriate ways. Because of these initiatives, several public health students have decided to further their education in reputable graduate programs in Georgia and beyond. Others are gainfully employed in local departments of public health applying the skills and competencies that were gained at GC. This is very fulfilling to me.

Pictured below: Dr. Earnie Kaninjing

•Dr. Sarah Myers will present Identifying Self-Authorship and Developmentally Effective Experiences Among Professional Masters Athletic Training Students, for the 2021 NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo.

•Dr. Eboni Haynes facilitated a faculty conversation session on April 13 on “Anti-racism Work in Faculty-research Training” at the Council on Undergraduate Research's Conference this year (NCUR 2021 @Home).

•Haynes, E. (2021). "Enhancing FDA’s Reach to Minorities and Under-Represented Groups through Training: Developing Culturally Competent Health Education Materials." Journal of Primary Care & Community Health DOI: 10.1177/21501327211003688

•Dr. Eboni Haynes was recently accepted into the Cobb Scholars Program of the Cobb Institute.

• The mission of the Cobb Institute is to focus on identifying issues and developing solutions that will reduce racial and ethnic health and healthcare disparities and improve the health of all Americans. The Cobb Scholars represent a unique group of individuals who have achieved academically at a high level and have goals of becoming successful research specialists, clinicians, and educators. They have a sincere interest in careers in research and have an interest in Health Disparities or Health Equity. They further look to achieve high levels of research skill leading to the attainment of a RO1 research award. They also aspire to successful advancement in academic and clinical careers. The goal of the program is to develop scholars into transformational leaders. Scholars collaborate across sectors, clinical professions, and disciplines. Mentored by Senior Fellows, scholars develop high-level leadership skills through professional coaching and networking. This program is funded by the NIH Office of Scientific Workforce Diversity.

Dr. Coke received her Ph.D. in Nursing from Georgia State University, her Post Graduate Certificate as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Massachusetts, her MSN as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from Emory University, and her BSN in Nursing from Georgia College.

She has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and presented nationally and internationally on her research related to innovative teaching techniques and using service learning to enhance nursing education. Dr. Coke has received over 4.8 million in external and internal grants that are focused on improving access to healthcare in rural areas of Georgia and her international service-learning work. She currently has her second ANEW HRSA grant where she serves as lead researcher.

Dr. Coke actively practices as a Family Nurse Practitioner in rural Georgia in a medically underserved county. Her role as International Coordinator has led to the development of a Global Health Minor for Georgia College and service-learning and exchange opportunities for Georgia College’s nursing students in Sweden, Honduras, and Tanzania.

Pictured below: Dr. Sallie Coke

• The Princeton Review has recognized Georgia College on its national "Best Online Nursing School Master's Programs" list. Our programs were one of only five in Georgia recognized by the publication. According to the website, "Online Nursing School Master's programs have become as rigorous as their on-campus counterparts. For many nursing graduate school candidates, an online degree might even be the smarter choice. “To learn more about Georgia College's online nursing master's degrees, visit https://www.gcsu.edu/health/nursing/nursing-msn.
• Dr. Sallie Coke in 2019, under the umbrella of the Advanced Education Nursing Workforce (ANEW) HRSA grant, began working with a group of 45 nursing faculty from 19 U.S. states plus Canada and 28 universities, to develop a telehealth toolkit with the end goal of providing faculty with content and exemplars needed to integrate telehealth across the curriculum for health professions programs. She served as the chair of the clinical rotations task force. Dr. Coke joined her colleagues in presenting the toolkit at the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty conference on April 22nd where the toolkit was officially made available for all health care professions. The toolkit is a culmination of work across several domains of telehealth and includes everything from available telehealth equipment to complete telehealth simulation scenarios and evaluation rubrics. The toolkit can be accessed here: https://telehealtheducation-ctier.com/national-telehealth-toolkit-for-educators/
• Flor Culpa-Bondal- Promotion to Full Professor

• Dr. Josie Doss - Winner of this year's Jan Van De Verde Outstanding Nurse Educator Award from GANE.

• Jennifer Goldsberry was recently awarded the Excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching at the university level.
• Gail Godwin- Tenure & Promotion to Associate Professor
• Debbie Greene- Promotion to Full Professor
• Glynnis Haley- Tenure & Promotion to Associate Professor
• Monica Ketchie- Tenure & Promotion to Associate Professor

The School of Nursing is proud to announce the Inaugural graduating class of its Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Program. The program is a new addition to the School of Nursing’s accredited programs through the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The six graduates will be eligible to sit for certification exams through the National Certification Corporation in June. The initiative for this program is a response to Georgia’s poor Maternal and Infant Mortality rates. We are excited for our new graduates and are looking forward to seeing their impact on Women’s Health in the future.

During spring semester 2021, the ANE-SANE Training Grant funded the training of 19 Adult/Adolescent Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners from across the state of GA. In addition, funds supported professional organization membership, travel and lodging for clinical experiences, continuing education, exam preparation courses, and registration for three certification exams.

Nursing 5000, Fundamentals of Forensic Science in Healthcare, currently has ten students registered for summer semester 2021. If you have students who wish to register, have them contact Dr. Doss at josie.doss@gcsu.edu. As a reminder, this class is open to ALL COHS graduate students and undergraduate seniors. Topics include the epidemiology of violence, evidence collection and preservation, trauma-informed care, crime-vulnerable populations (sexual assault, strangulation, child maltreatment, elder abuse, human trafficking, terrorism, gun violence), role exploration, and self-preservation.

Barbara (Barb) Stickel is the former VP/CNO at Atrium Health Navicent, formerly The Medical Center of Central Georgia (MCCG), in Macon, GA. Barb’s nursing/college education is spread over three states. First, she obtained a Diploma in Nursing from St Michael’s Hospital in Newark, NJ. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the College of St. Scholastica, in Duluth, MN, and her Master of Science in Nursing from Georgia College. Throughout her professional career, Barb has worked in all acute care areas, with a major focus on obstetrics, pediatrics, and leadership positions. Very fortunate to experience an outstanding nursing career, Barb retired in December 2010 after 23 years at MCCG.

She lives in Macon, GA, and has two grown sons, one in Atlanta, GA, and one in Augusta, GA. Barb enjoys being a grandmother to her seven grandchildren. An active church volunteer, involved in women’s groups and traveling, Barb also enjoys reading books, playing Scrabble, going to the theater for plays/movies, and taking WALL (Wesleyan Adult Life-Long Learning) classes. Additionally, Barb has been an active member of the College of Health Sciences Leadership Board since 2013.

The Barbara (Barb) Stickel Endowed Nursing Scholarship was established in December 2019 to support scholarships in both undergraduate and graduate students accepted to the Nursing cohort. Barb leaves a legacy of strength in adversity, independence as a woman, and caring as a nurse.

Pictured below: Barbara Stickel with grandkids

• Two former Outdoor Education students Lane Krull ('19) and Faith (Farber) Krull ('19) are currently hiking the whole of the Pacific Crest Trail (2650 miles). They started at the beginning of the month at the Mexican border, and it will take 5ish months to get to the Canadian border. They are documenting their hike with videos when they make town stops. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH7_MfTsJVVUgeMb5e7xT0A

Health and Human Performance

Exercise Science Students

· Kate Everhart had her abstract accepted to present during a poster presentation session at the 2021 NSCA National Conference in Orlando, FL, July 7-10, titled, “Association between Jumping Asymmetry and Linear Speed in Division II Collegiate Softball Players”. This is from her master’s thesis with Drs. Grazer, Hunt, and Martino serving on her thesis committee.

· Dr. Jinkyung Park’s class achievement: Four groups (total: 17 students) of the KINS 4253: Applied Research course submitted their abstracts to the International Organization for Health, Sports, and Kinesiology and all four abstracts were accepted. Students will share pre-recorded presentations at the 2021 IOHSK Annual International Virtual Conference, May 7-8, 2021

Public Health Students

· Emerson Woodham - Senior. Accepted into UGA’s Master of Health Administration program.

· Natalie Babin - Senior. Offered position at her internship site Oconee Valley Health Care. She will be their Population Health Coordinator.

· Sierra Batts - Senior. Accepted a position as Life Enrichment Coordinator in Washington state.

· Katie Culver - Senior. Accepted position as a Population Health Scientist at Central Georgia Health Network.

· Abbey Reber - Senior. Accepted into UGA’s Master of Public Health program with a concentration in Disaster Management.

Athletic Training Students

· The MSAT Program has 5 newly credentialed graduate Athletic Training students after receiving Board of Certification exam results this past month.

Nursing

Nursing Students

· Shannon Daly, DNP student, is the winner of the Innovation in Clinical Teaching Award.

· The Graduate School also held the fourth Annual Graduate Research Poster Exhibit & Competition—an opportunity for graduate students to showcase their research endeavors to the campus community. This year’s event was a virtual display of posters showcased through the Ina Dillard Russell Library, Knowledge Box.

• Second Place: Margaret Josiah (Doctor of Nursing Practice) for her poster “The Effect of Lifestyle Modification Educational Intervention on Increasing Knowledge of Hypertension Management among African American Adults.”
• Honorable Mention: Tara Mosher (Doctor of Nursing Practice) for her work titled “Improving Self-Confidence of Nursing Students Through Implementation of a Workplace Violence Virtual Simulation."

Update Your Information

Email: healthsciences@gcsu.edu
Website: www.gcsu.edu
Location: 231 West Hancock Street, Milledgeville, GA, USA
Phone: 478-445-5771
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GaCollege
Twitter: @GeorgiaCollege