Purdue Nurse - Summer 2004 - School of Nursing - Purdue University

Rohrman Gift Benefits Nursing ProgramsLinda Rohrman, a Lafayette residentand co-chair of Purdue’s communityfundraising campaign, has pledged atotal of $100,000 to benefit healthcareat Purdue. Rohrman’s gift isearmarked for mental health research,education, and community engagement,and for the Center for NursingHistory, Ethics, and Human Rights.Linda Rohrman, here with Purdue President Martin Jischke, isa community volunteer and a graduate of Leadership Lafayette.She is currently on the board of the Mental Health Associationin Tippecanoe County and is its volunteer development director.“Serving on the Campaign for Purdue has truly been aneye-opening and educational experience for me,” says Lafayetteresident Linda Rohrman.“I have had the pleasure to learn more about the manywonderful and exciting things happening at Purdue and how theresearch and teaching is touching people’s lives in a direct way. Iwanted my gift to help those who are reaching out to improve thelives of others.”Gift Benefits Two AreasOf Rohrman’s $650,000 gift, $100,000 is designated to theSchool of Nursing to benefit two areas. $80,000 is designated tothe mental health research and programming including administeringthe Keep Your Children/Yourself Safe and Secure (KySS)survey. Another $20,000 is earmarked for the Center for NursingHistory, Ethics, and Human Rights.Using data and interventions developed through KySS (aprogram run by the National Association of Pediatric NursePractitioners), Purdue will partner with the Mental HealthAssociation of Lafayette to promote community education tohelp destigmatize mental illness and fund research to surveysurrounding underserved rural counties.The chair and founder of KySS, Dr. Bernadette Melnyk, willkeynote the School of Nursing’s Helen R. Johnson LeadershipConference on April 15, 2005.“The KySS Campaign focuses on mental health promotionand illness prevention, preventing stigma, and interventions foridentified disorders,” says Dr. Julie Novak, co-project director,and head of the School of Nursing.“These interventions target enhancing resiliency in children,teens, and families; developing healthy parenting programs;preventing violence; eating disorders, and substance abuse; identifyingand treating depression, and preventing suicide,” she adds.16Thus far, data have been analyzed on 1,800 children, parents,and healthcare providers from mostly urban settings. The surveywill also be administered in Tippecanoe and surroundingcounties.A highlight of the program will also be a national mediacampaign to increase community awareness and reduce stigma.This includes a walk entitled KySS Across America, which willtake place the weekend of Oct. 24, 2004. The walk will becoordinated in collaboration with NAPNAP Indiana.“We look forward to collaborating with agencies that providea safety net for members of our community,” Novak adds.“This gift will allow Purdue faculty and students to make asignificant impact, particularly in community education to reducestigma related to mental illness.Center for Nursing History, Ethics, and Human RightsRohrman’s gift will also help launch the School of Nursing’sCenter for Nursing History, Ethics, and Human Rights. TheCenter provides a repository for historical documents andartifacts for teaching and research purposes.“History is a means for understanding and critiquing variouspractices today,” says nurse historian Dr. Barbra Wall, director ofthe Center.“Modern analyses and future planning of institutions and socialsystems are foolishly undertaken unless those practices also includean understanding of past successes and failures,” she explains.“For example, one of the areas that needs focus today is themental health system, which is a relatively young field of study.“Our Center will be a valuable resource in designing futureeducational offerings that will focus on the ethical treatment ofindividuals who experience psychosocial and mental disorders.”By helping the School of Nursing, Linda Rohrman has helpedour community as a whole. Faculty can expand research and, likeRohrman, “reach out to improve the lives of others.”