Care to Meet the Moment

Students experience a novel approach to community health in India

Fourteen students from UW Bothell’s School of Nursing and Health Studies — undergraduate nursing and health studies students alongside graduate nursing and Community Health and Social Justice students — traveled to Vellore, India this year for a two-week immersion at the Christian Medical College. Led by Associate Professor Linda Eaton and Teaching Professor Jamie Shirley, the trip placed students directly inside one of CMC’s most distinctive programs: a community health model that embeds a nurse in each of 28 peri-urban villages surrounding the city. Working in small groups alongside those nurses, students developed health education projects rooted in the specific needs of their assigned communities. They also participated in day programs for children and elders, clinic and home visits, feeding programs, and other public health interventions — seeing up close what sustained, community-embedded nursing care actually looks like. Students returned with more than an expanded skill set. They came back having witnessed decades of population health progress in India firsthand, and with a new frame for thinking about what’s possible when community health is treated not as a supplement to clinical care, but as the foundation of it.

Also aligned with Strategic Priority: Advancing Equity, Belonging and Community Impact

Students Facilitate Clinic Navigation for Shelter Residents

UW Bothell School of Nursing and Health Studies RN-BSN students, in their community health rotation, did something simple and profound this spring: they showed up. Partnering with residents at the YWCA shelter, students accompanied them to the Seattle King County Clinic — not as clinicians running assessments, but as allies, moving through the long wait and the many services side by side. The approach, designed by Associate Teaching Professor Mo West, gave each student one person to walk with from start to finish, helping them articulate their needs and navigate a system that can feel overwhelming even to those who know it well. In doing so, students witnessed firsthand what more than 3,000 people experience over a single weekend — the gaps, the wait, the complexity, and the resilience. It was the kind of learning that doesn’t stay in the classroom: students came away with a sharper understanding of how policy and funding decisions ripple into individual lives, and what it actually means to meet a patient where they are.

Global Nursing Exchange Expands Learning and Professional Development Opportunities

For one month this winter, nursing student Sayaka Suzuki from the Institute of Science Tokyo experienced life as a University of Washington student, moving between classrooms, clinical settings, and professional gatherings across UW Bothell and UW Seattle. She shared her own research with students, explored U.S. healthcare and nursing education systems, and connected with peers, faculty, and healthcare professionals from around the world. Along the way, she gained firsthand insight into caring for diverse populations, working across cultures, and building a professional network that spans institutions and countries. The experience exemplified how global exchange can broaden perspectives, deepen learning, and prepare future nurses to lead in an increasingly interconnected world.

Also aligned with Strategic Priority: Cultivating and Strengthening Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement

Students Recognized for Leadership, Advocacy, and Community Impact

This year, three School of Nursing & Health Studies students were named to the Husky 100, recognizing their leadership, service, and commitment to improving the health and well-being of their communities. Amanda Gonzales drew on her experiences as the daughter of immigrants to advance public health initiatives and serve underserved populations through community engagement and advocacy. Natalia Garcia embraced her perspective as a first-generation Mexican American to support student success through Orientation and Transition Programs, First-Generation Celebration initiatives, and work with the Latino Educational Training Institute while advancing efforts to improve health outcomes in Latinx and Hispanic communities. Tasha Le combined research, policy knowledge, and lived experience as an autistic mother to advocate for legislative changes affecting the disability community, helping advance bills that were ultimately signed into law. Together, these students exemplify how education, leadership, and service can create meaningful change on campus and beyond.

Also aligned with Strategic Priority: Advancing Equity, Belonging and Community Impact

School of Nursing IT Achieves Full Website Accessibility Compliance Ahead of Federal Deadline

The School of Nursing Information Technology team achieved a major accessibility milestone by bringing all School websites into compliance with new federal digital accessibility requirements ahead of the April 2026 deadline. Through coordinated efforts across IT staff, content owners, and student employees, the team conducted ongoing accessibility scanning, addressed issues identified through tools such as DubBot, and strengthened governance and support processes to ensure sustainable compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. In total, 29 websites — including School of Nursing WordPress sites and wayfinding kiosk content — were reviewed and updated, with all sites reaching 95% or higher in accessibility scores and meeting UW benchmarks. This work reflects a sustained commitment to equity by ensuring that digital spaces are accessible, usable, and inclusive for all members of the School of Nursing community.

Also aligned with Secondary Strategic: Promoting a Dynamic Learning Environment for Student Success and Professional Development and Innovating Research and Educational Programs

Everyone In: Closing the Digital Access Gap, One Course at a Time

When students with disabilities can’t access course materials, they can’t fully participate in their education.When students with disabilities can’t access course materials, they can’t fully participate in their education. That gap is exactly what a three-person Learning Technologies team at the UW School of Nursing set out to close in early 2026. With a significant portion of the school’s Canvas courses falling short of federal accessibility standards, the team had roughly four months to turn things around — and the challenge wasn’t just technical. Because faculty own their course content, the team’s role was to equip and mobilize others: learning new remediation tools themselves, building a tracking and support system from scratch, and delivering training at every level from group workshops to one-on-one faculty sessions. By the April 24 deadline, the school’s digital accessibility scores had improved by nearly 20% over the prior year — meeting the University’s strategic goal for the quarter. More importantly, the faculty who did that work are now better equipped to keep improving, making this an investment in lasting, systemic change rather than a one-time fix.

RAIN Summit Brings Nursing Leaders Together to Shape the Future of AI in Health Care

The inaugural Northwest Summit to Reimagine AI in Nursing and Healthcare (RAIN) convened nursing leaders, researchers, healthcare executives, policymakers, educators, and industry partners to explore how artificial intelligence can responsibly strengthen care delivery and support the health workforce. Through keynote presentations, expert panels, and collaborative discussions, participants examined the opportunities and challenges of AI in nursing practice, education, research, and healthcare systems while building connections across sectors to advance innovation and improve patient care.

Also aligned with Strategic Priority: Innovating Research and Educational Programs

A Lecture That Crossed Borders — and Brought Two Nursing Worlds Together (UW Bothell)

When Dr. Ko Niitsu, Associate Professor at UW Bothell’s School of Nursing and Health Studies, delivered a special lecture to third-year nursing students at Japan’s Hamamatsu University School of Medicine in December 2025, he brought something no textbook could offer: the story of a Japanese student who became an American nursing professor, and what he learned about both professions along the way. Speaking to 17 students enrolled in the International Nursing course, Dr. Niitsu traced his own path — the language barriers, the cultural differences, the academic journey from Japan to the University of Nebraska Medical Center and eventually to UW Bothell — while drawing out the surprising similarities between nursing education and practice in both countries. For students just beginning to imagine their own futures in the profession, it was the kind of lecture that makes a career feel real and possible. “Professor Niitsu’s stories about overcoming language and cultural barriers to succeed in the United States always inspire Japanese students,” said Dr. Yoshifumi Kido, his faculty host at Hamamatsu. The lecture is part of a growing partnership between Hamamatsu and UNMC, one that Dr. Niitsu — as a UNMC alumnus — has helped bring to life, and that continues to strengthen the case that nursing’s core challenges and commitments look remarkably similar on both sides of the Pacific.

Also aligned with Strategic Priority: Promoting a Dynamic Learning Environment for Student Success and Professional Development

Transforming Healthcare Through Agency, Advocacy, and Equity (UW Tacoma)

UW Tacoma convened students, faculty, and regional healthcare partners for a symposium focused on strengthening healthcare systems through agency, advocacy, and equity. The event emphasized collaborative, community-engaged approaches to addressing pressing health challenges in the South Sound and highlighted the importance of cross-sector partnerships in advancing responsive, patient-centered care.

Also aligned with Strategic Priority: Advancing Equity, Belonging and Community Impact,