for immediate release

Contact: Candice Douglass
(206) 221-8429
(425) 214-2704 (cell)
candiced@u.washington.edu

UW School of Nursing Faculty Recognized at WSNA Biennial Meeting

May 2, 2019 Seattle—The Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) honored several UW School of Nursing faculty at their Biennial Convention held in Tulalip, Washington today. Awardees included faculty from the Seattle and Bothell campuses:

• Azita Emami, PhD, MSN, BSN, RN, FAAN, and the Robert G. and Jean A. Reid Executive Dean received the Honorary Recognition Award for her significant contributions, distinguished service and valuable assistance to the nursing profession. In addition to serving as the executive dean of the UW School of Nursing, Emami’s academic leadership experience spans two countries and 25 years, including positions as the Dean of the College of Nursing at Seattle University, Head of the Division of Nursing in the Department of Neurobiology Care Sciences and Society at the Karolinska Institutet and Academic Leader in the Division of Elder Care in the Department of Nursing at the Karolinska Institutet. At the UW, Emami established the Center for Global Health Nursing and created a concurrent degree program that allows students to earn dual degrees in Doctor of Nursing Practice in Population Health and Master of Public Health in Global Health. Emami’s research involves extending knowledge of how music can help diminish agitation and other unwanted behaviors in people with dementia, while improving quality of life for them and their caregivers.
• Brenda Zierler, PhD, RN, FAAN, received the Professional Nursing and Health Care Council Nurse Educator Award for her work in nursing education. Since 2008, Zierler has served as Director of Research, Training, and Faculty Development for the UW Center for Health Sciences Interprofessional Education, Research, and Practice. The center aims to improve healthcare by facilitating collaboration between professions through education, training initiatives and faculty development, and evaluative research. She also runs faculty development programs and trainings for health care teams and has taught in the UW’s Clinical Information and Patient Center Technologies program.
• Elizabeth Bridges, PhD, RN, CCNS, FCCM, FAAN, received the Professional Nursing and Health Care Council Nurse Researcher Award for her excellence in conducting research that addresses practice issues. Bridges studies the integration of cardiovascular monitoring into the care of critically ill and injured as well as en-route critical care, motivated in part by her 30 years of experience in the Air Force Nurse Corps. She created the evidence-based TriService Nursing Research Battlefield and Disaster Nursing Pocket Guide. She is also currently a director at the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
• Betty Bekemeier, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, received one of the three Marguerite Cobb Public Health Community Health Nurse recognition awards for her significant contributions and strong leadership in public health nursing. Bekemeier is currently the director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, which provides support to public health organizations through training, research, evaluation and communications services. She studies public health systems and practice-based research, focusing on the structures and practices of state and local in relation to health outcomes and reducing disparities.
• Annie Bruck, DNP, MN, RN, COHN-S, received the second of three Marguerite Cobb Public Health Community Health Nurse recognition awards. Bruck is the faculty coordinator for UW Bothell’s community health nursing course and is affiliate nursing faculty at UW Seattle. She has developed and taught a number of courses, including classes on disaster preparation and community resilience. Bruck’s scholarship focuses on the cultivation of community-based partnerships, promoting occupational and environmental health and safety wherever the need arises in the community, and translating the science of occupational and environmental health into evidence-based practice for nurses.

About the School of Nursing

Celebrating 100 years in nursing education and research, the University of Washington’s School of Nursing is consistently a top-ranked nursing school, according to U.S. News & World Report. Ranked No. 3 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the UW School of Nursing is a national and international leader in improving the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities. The school addresses society’s most pressing challenges in health care through innovative teaching, award winning research and community service. For more information, visit www.nursing.uw.edu.

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