USF Nursing Kicks Off RESTORE LIVES Initiative with Gala Event

On July 30, 2012, the University of South Florida College of Nursing held a reception to officially kick off RESTORE LIVES: Research and Education to Rehabilitate and Restore the Lives of Veterans, Service Members and their Families. USF has a long history of supporting our nation’s service members, veterans and their families with workforce issues, innovative educational programs and out-of-the-box nursing research conducted by our world class faculty. RESTORE LIVES at USF continues to develop life enhancing treatments through nursing research, and educate nurses with the knowledge and skills specific to the needs of treating veterans and service members through innovative solutions.

Monday evening’s event was attended by about 60 people who conduct, collaborate on, or support the ground breaking military/veteran health research and education at the USF College of Nursing. Representatives from the College of Nursing, University, James A Haley VA Hospital, military, government, and the community joined together to hear about the successes made by the college in this area and how RESTORE LIVES will takes these efforts to greater heights in the future.

The evening opened when Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, Senior Associate Vice President of USF Health and Dean of the College of Nursing, welcomed guests and introduced U.S. Representative Kathy Castor who spoke about the USF College of Nursing’s national reputation in Military and veteran healthcare education and research.

“Kathy Castor is a good friend to both the University of South Florida and the USF College of Nursing. Her tireless efforts resulted in major accomplishments in the college’s efforts for education and research to improve the health of the military, veterans and their families in the Tampa Bay area,” said Dean Morrison-Beedy. “These initiatives underscore Representative Castor’s work on higher education, health care and military affairs in the U.S. Congress.”

(Dean Dianne Morrison-Beedy and U.S Representative Kathy Castor)

Kevin Kip, PhD, FAHA, Professor, Executive Director of the Nursing Research Center spoke about the innovative research being conducted by USF nurse scientists studying new therapies for PTSD and gave a call out to Dr. Maureen Groer, Dr. Rasheeta Chandler and Alicia Rossiter for their wok studying health issues of women veterans. He showcased some dramatic results from the initial Accelerated Resolution Therapy study recently published in Behavioral Sciences.

Rita F. D’Aoust, PhD, ACNP, ANP-BC, CNE, FAANP, FNAP, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs and Interprofessional Initiatives presented on the out-of-the-box academic initiative at USF including our successful VA Nurse Academy (VANA) in collaboration with the James A. Haley VA Hospital and wowed the audience with a video preview of the new Introduction to Military and Veteran Health course. The course is the first in the nation dedicated to educating nurses, and other health professionals, about military and veteran health issues. The course will be offered for the first time in Fall of 2012.

Dean Morrison-Beedy then presented on RESTORE LIVES: To Future Heights to outline the College’s commitment and future plans for efforts to improve lives of our nation’s military, veterans and their families.

“Our troops earned their laurels for the service and sacrifices they have made for us. Many of these returning are suffering from physical and emotional injuries that in the past would have proved fatal or permanently disabling,” said Dean Morrison-Beedy. “Through RESTORE LIVES at the USF College of Nursing, we will not rest on our laurels as we continually strive to ease their suffering and help their re-integration to ensure the health and welfare of these brave men and women.”

Dean Morrison-Beedy introduced Lisa Reese as “a kindred spirit, a veteran who has made helping other veterans through RESTORE LIVES her cause.”  Ms. Reese donated the original funding to start RESTORE LIVES, and is donating her time on the advisory board.  Lisa brought down the house with her impassioned remarks about her decision to fund RESTORE LIVES and her goal to ensure the country is ready to provide every assistance to the returning veterans.

The event concluded as Dean Morrison-Beedy presented the newly issued USF College of Nursing RESTORE LIVES challenge coin to all the military and veterans present at the event. Thanking them for their “tireless efforts on our behalf” and calling them the “vital link to our success.”

(Colonel Ted Matthews, Vice Wing Commander of the 927th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base receiving challenge coin from Dean Dianne Morrison-Beedy)

-RESTORE LIVES at USF-

Through ‘RESTORE LIVES AT USF: Education and Research to Rehabilitate and Restore the Lives of Veterans, Service Members and their Families’, USF College of Nursing faculty develop life enhancing treatments through nursing research, and educate nurses with the knowledge and skills specific to the needs of the military, veterans and their families. The ART study is an example of type of innovative research that the USF College of Nursing is developing to improve the health of our honored service members and veterans.