Class News

’46  Our deepest sympathy is extended to the family of Laura Brautigan June who died Feb. 12, 2012. Mrs. June was one of our most faithful class reporters—always sending us information about her classmates and keeping everyone up to date on the congressional
bill regarding cadet nurses. She will definitely be missed.

’47    Rally forth
’Tis the year
For our 65th
Celebration
Calling on all
The well tuned
With priceless wisdom
To hear and see
The rewards of our journey
The Johns Hopkins University
School of Nursing
Tops in the nation!
September 27-29, 2012
 —Elsie Peyton Jarvis, Feb. ’47

’50  Class Reporter—Betty Borenstein Scher, (443) 449-5934, bbscher@comcast.net.
Cora Jane Lawrence has a new address, having moved to a retirement community for a “wonderful new home and life.” She is still active, sings in the vesper choir, and enjoys a fabulous view of the mountains and bay nearby. She says, “This is the best decision I ever made.” Marion Bee is still enjoying retirement with family, pets, gardening, reading, game shows, and relaxation. She is glad she lives up and away from the Mighty Mohawk River and was able to escape the floods a few months ago. Janey Shutts Pinkerton still enjoys life in NC, where she and Pinky spent the holidays with family. Jo McDavid Hubbard sends greetings from KY, where she is doing well, though Stan has had severe circulation problems in both legs, had to have one leg amputated, and is now confined to a wheelchair. But, they enjoyed having their children and grandchildren for the holidays. Ella Ruth Stilz Whitmore has been traveling, spending one week in Aruba with one daughter and her family, then visiting a son on the lake in IN. She then flew to Phoenix to visit another daughter, but promises to get back to Baltimore for a visit soon. Mary Agnes Hull Stewart is now living in an Alzheimer’s unit in a skilled nursing home. Her daughter-in-law writes that the “only thing she speaks of is Johns Hopkins, and she keeps a small photo album of your nursing class in her pocket.” A few “class husbands” have also sent news of their families. Charlie Royer writes that he is doing well, visits family and neighbors, and keeps busy. Bob Hunter is enjoying life and sends greetings from himself and wife, Jo. As for me, Betty Borenstein Scher, I’m not as good as I used to be, but I’m doing quite well anyway, and continue to do volunteer work, read, do jigsaw puzzles, visit with my children, and exercise.

’54  Dr. Dick Reynolds sent word of the death of his wife of 56 years, MJ Beck Reynolds on November 5, 2011. They met when both were students at Hopkins and married upon her graduation. She worked to help him through medical school, and he had been her chief caregiver for the last 2 years, increasing greatly his regard for the nursing profession. A Center of Nursing Excellence is being planned at the Ohio hospital in which she had been a patient several times, and he and daughter Karen, who has spent 15 years as a nurse there, were among those chosen in the planning.

’55  Class Reporter—Margie Barber Trever, (410) 822-0479, mbtrever@gmail.com. Art Brecher, husband of Laura Lyman Brecher, one our most faithful correspondents, sent word that she would no longer be able to write us, now being in a care facility, the victim of vascular dementia. She had worked as a homecare nurse before her retirement and had spent time since volunteering to help former patients so they could remain in their homes. Their two adopted children, a son—an opera tenor, and daughter—a great mom, and five grandchildren reside on the west coast. Sandy Harvey Steinberg had a defib/pacemaker placed in June, and though she does not feel much different, her ejection fraction has improved. Her husband, Bob, whom she had cared for with Parkinson’s disease for several years, died October 20. Char Lee Williams and Bruce spent the holiday season with daughter Carol and their two talented grandchildren in San Antonio, amazed with all the outside activities in which they are engaged, and feeling very blessed. Carol Straub Guilbert is now retired but has services and other ministerial functions at the nursing homes in the area. Dick still plays tennis and keeps busy with his business. Helen Burdick Sloat has retired after 24 years as a supervisor at a long-term nursing facility and is writing her memoirs. John has just published another book, Moving Beyond the Christian Myth: The Next Step in Our Spiritual Evolution. If anyone wants a free copy, inquire at www.beyondreligion.com. Married 56 years, the Sloat clan has grown from two to 23, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Most are not nearby, but they still enjoy getting together when their schedules coincide. Though Parkinson’s keeps Bob, my husband, from doing what he is used to, he and I are able to walk our dog on the local Rails-to-Trails every day. He is up to 1 miles now. Bob has learned how to access info on the Internet and enjoys watching old movies. Please take a look at Sachi’s picture on the inside back cover of the Winter 2011 Johns Hopkins Nursing magazine. She was working in the orthopaedic outpatient department at the time. Kay Smith Burr continues to wear an obturator for a hole in her upper palate. Further surgery is not advised.

’62  Charlotte Daniher Writer recently retired as a pediatric nurse practitioner in Veneta, OR. During her years of service she managed a Healthy Tomorrows grant and initiated a fluoride varnish program in the community. She would love to hear from classmates.

’65  Dr. Carol Landis, professor at University of Washington School of Nursing, received the 2011 Pathfinder Award at the annual Friends of the National Institute of Research NightinGala in November. The award recognizes a nurse researcher whose long-standing commitment has made a difference in the lives of community members and their healthcare needs.

’67  Class Reporter—Barbara Jo Glynn, (410) 243-5591, glynnbarbara@hotmail.com. Patti Wilcox-Honnold was diagnosed with a rare disease called calciphylaxis in July. She is currently undergoing treatment at the Mayo Clinic and asks her classmates for their thoughts and prayers. Shirley Carenbauer Reischman lost her 36-year-old son to a heart attack early last year and also lost two close friends. She recently retired and is living at her home in Pensacola, FL, where it’s warm! Gail Gerstner Rathburn will not be able to attend the reunion but is still excited to hear from her classmates. She has been living in Albuquerque since 2004 and working in IT Project Management for Clinical Computer Systems for Presbyterian Healthcare. Gail had a successful knee replacement in 2010. However, afterwards she developed a popliteal artery clot in that leg, which led to some significant health issues. Although she was not planning on leaving her job at this point, Gail is starting to settle into retirement. Anne Bienvenu Broussard retired from nursing after a 44-year-long nursing career, with the last 28 years in nursing education. She was a professor and the BSN coordinator at University of Louisiana at Lafayette for the last six years. Her retirement plans include travel, time with family and two grandchildren in Austin, as well as creative and spiritual pursuits.

’98 Master’s  Sharon Ann Myers worked as the director of quality management at the King Abdulaziz Medical Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and successfully led the facility through its first Joint Commission Accreditation. She also served as senior consultant to the Makkah Region Quality Program and the Central Board of Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI) in Saudia Arabia, where she assisted in the development of the first Hospital Standards Manual, which has been approved by the Ministry of Health for implementation. Subsequently, she assisted CBAHI in developing their national survey process. She was the assistant director of Nursing at Johns Hopkins Continuing Care Center in Baltimore where she led nursing groups to develop a career ladder for nursing assistants in long-term care, which won the Innovations in Nursing Practice award. Ms. Myers is currently the quality management officer at Midsouth Healthcare Network in the VA and is also an adjunct associate nursing professor at Vanderbilt School of Nursing. She is a recognized international speaker on indicators and measurement, quality concepts, and patient safety. She holds numerous certifications and memberships in healthcare, quality, and risk managements, and is an author in the areas of patient safety and accreditation. She has recently published an academic book
based on her clinically tested systems model for patient safety and hospital accreditation. Patient Safety and Hospital Accreditation: A Model for Ensuring Success is published by Springer and available at booksellers.

’00  Class Reporter—Sarah Gauger, (919) 321-8849, sgauger@me.com. Kisten Nolan had a baby boy on Halloween 2011. Bekah Frank Kittredge is now working full-time at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Manchester, NH, as a certified nurse-midwife and is loving it there. Jeff McFarlane is now a certified Otorhinolaryngology nurse—ARNP-C, CORLIN. He works at South Coast ENT in FL (www.otodocs.com). Jennifer Moran married in April 2011 and lives in Honolulu, HI. She works as an acute care NP in the Neuro ICU at Queen’s Medical Center. Katie Weatherbe Kotopoulos and her family sadly left East Africa (Rwanda and Eastern DR Congo) in 2011 and now live in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her husband took a promotion within World Vision. Katie stays home with their three little boys.

’03  After three years of travel nursing, Jhodie de los Reyes Garcia Martinez returned to Washington DC in 2008 and purchased her first home in Cleveland Park. She worked at George Washington University Hospital as a team leader/charge nurse from 2008-2011. In October 2011, she became the new FEP case manager for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Her new hobby is learning how to cook for her new husband, Fernando. In celebration of his Mexican heritage and her love for Hawaiian culture, they had a small private wedding on May 5, 2011, on the island of Oahu. They exchanged vows at the Ocean Crystal Chapel of the Hilton Hawaiian Village followed by an oceanfront luau at the Bayer Estate of Aina Haina. This year on Cinco de Mayo, they will renew their vows in her home country, the Philippines.

’06 Accelerated  Meliza Lavin Weir is currently enrolled in the MSN/APN Adult Primary Care/Palliative Care and is working at the New York University Medical Center’s Emergency Department in NY City. In her spare time, she continues to attend theater and dance performances, running, and volunteering in the community. In 2010, she raced in the NYC Triathlon. In December 2011 Jacqueline Pareso Root earned a master’s degree in nursing from Villanova University School of Nursing.

’07 Accelerated  Maura Carroll is living in rural Lichinga, Mozambique, for a year and is working with HIV/AIDS patients with a team from Doctors Without Borders. She is currently providing technical support for nurses and midwives while supervising and evaluating the quality of treatment and care of pregnant women infected with HIV. This project is a part of the United Nations Global Plan to eliminate mother-to-child transmission by 2015.

’08 Accelerated  Amanda Staub Rossman is currently a CRNA student at York College of Pennsylvania and recently won the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) student writing contest. Her paper, titled “The Physiology of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor and its Importance in the Admin-istration of Anesthesia,” was published as an article in the October 2011 issue of the AANA Journal.

For more details and photos, go to www.nursing.jhu.edu/alumninews.