Nova Southeastern University College of Nursing Dean Marcella M. Rutherford Selected for Prestigious National Nurse Fellowship

Marcella M. Rutherford, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.S.N.,

FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla.- Marcella M. Rutherford, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.S.N., dean of the College of Nursing at Nova Southeastern University (NSU), has been named one of just 20 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellows for 2013. Rutherford joins a select group of nurse leaders from across the country chosen to participate in this world-class, three-year leadership development program designed to enhance nurse leaders’ effectiveness in improving the United States health care system.

In her role as dean, Rutherford is directly responsible for overseeing the nursing program, which transitioned to the College of Nursing in January of 2012. Rutherford’s extensive nursing and finance background has informed her interest in research, including her knowledge of health care reimbursement and its impact on nursing and the health care industry. Her publications have focused on health care economics, finance, and policy and include textbook chapters on health care policy, the business of health care for nurse practitioners and entry-level nurses, and a historical research exemplar chapter for qualitative research text. Her current research focuses on the use of online learning in Ph.D. programs. Rutherford is the nursing director of Florida Funding for the Rural and Underserved Program, offering nursing students at all levels experience educating patients on health promotion and disease prevention.

Begun by RWJF in 1998, the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows (ENF) program strengthens the leadership capacity of nurses who aspire to shape health care in their communities, states and nationally. The program will provide Rutherford and her colleagues with coaching, education and other support to strengthen their abilities to lead teams and organizations working to improve health and health care. The ENF program is located at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), and co-directed by: Linda Cronenwett, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., the Beerstecher Blackwell Term Professor and former dean of the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and David Altman, Ph.D., executive vice president of Research, Innovation and Product Development at CCL.

“At this pivotal moment when the country’s health care system is being transformed, we need nurse leaders to help ensure that the changes we adopt improve patient and population health,” Cronenwett said. “The RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program is building and enhancing the leadership skills of talented nurses around the country. Our alumni are a virtual ‘who’s who’ of accomplished nurses, and we know that Dr. Rutherford and the other members of our 2013 cohort will also make enormous contributions to improving health and health care in our country.”

“I am honored to have been chosen for this extraordinary program,” Rutherford said. “I look forward to engaging with the impressive community of current and alumni fellows, to work in the national arena and with policy-makers, and to develop opportunities to document the value of nursing to the health care industry.  I expect to use this fellowship to enhance my knowledge of reimbursement policies and finance, and to identify effective ways to give new nurses a foundation of knowledge that helps them engage in the redesign of our nation’s health care system.”

Executive Nurse Fellows hold senior leadership positions in health services, scientific and academic organizations, public health and community-based organizations or systems, and national professional, governmental and policy organizations. They continue in their current positions during their fellowships, and each develops, plans, and implements a new initiative to improve health care delivery in her or his community.

The full list of 2013 RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows – selected from more than 100 applicants – includes:

• Susan Apold, Ph.D., M.S.N., B.S.N., dean, health and human services, Concordia College, Bronxville, New York;
• Colonel Rachel Armstrong, Ph.D., M.S.N., M.B.A., U.S. Army, Northern Regional Medical Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia;
• Lynn Babington, Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N., dean and professor, Fairfield University School of Nursing, Fairfield, Connecticut;
• Margaret Baker, Ph.D., R.N., associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor, University of Washington School of Nursing Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, Seattle, Washington;
• Susan Bauer-Wu, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Tussi and John Kluge professor in contemplative end-of-life care, University of Virginia School of Nursing, Charlottesville, Virginia;
• Katherine Bechtold, M.H.A., B.S.N., senior vice president and chief nurse executive, MultiCare Health System, Tacoma, Washington;
• Joan Ching, M.N., R.N., C.P.H.Q., administrative director of quality & safety, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington;
• Angela Green, Ph.D., M.S.N., B.S.N., director of professional practice, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas;
• Deborah Green, D.N.P., R.N., C.E.N.P., vice president, nursing and patient services, Cone Health System Annie Penn Hospital and Penn Nursing Center, Reidsville, North Carolina;
• Kristi Henderson, D.N.P., A.P.R.N., F.A.E.N., chief advanced practice officer and director of telehealth, University of Mississippi Medical Center Hospital Administration, Faculty-School of Nursing and Medicine, Jackson, Mississippi;
• Cheryl Jones, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., associate professor and chair, division of health care environments, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina;
• David Keepnews, Ph.D., J.D., R.N., associate professor and director of graduate programs, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, New York;
• Erin Maughan, Ph.D., M.S., R.N., director of research, National Association of School Nurses, Silver Spring, Maryland;
• Melinda Noonan, D.N.P., R.N., N.E.A.-B.C., assistant vice president for hospital operations and executive director, Rush Children’s Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois;
• Raymond Phillips, Ph.D., R.N., M.S., chief nurse for inpatient nursing and nursing research, Veterans Administration Northern California Health Care System, San Francisco, California;
• Marcella M. Rutherford, Ph.D., M.B.A., M.S.N., dean, Nova Southeastern University, College of Nursing, Fort Lauderdale, Florida;
• Susan Schrand, M.S.N., C.R.N.P., executive director, Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania;
• Marni Storey, B.S.N., M.S., interim director, Clark County Public Health and 2013 Chair-Elect, Association of State and Territorial Public Health Directors, Vancouver, Washington;
• Janis Sunderhaus, M.S.N., R.N., N.E.A.-B.C. , chief executive officer, Health Partners of Western Ohio, Lima, Ohio; and
• Yvonne VanDyke, M.S.N., R.N., vice president, nursing education and administrator, Clinical Education Center Brackenridge, Seton Healthcare Family, Austin, Texas.

The fellowship is supported through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

For more information about the RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program visit:  www.ExecutiveNurseFellows.org.

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About The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable, and timely change. For more than 40 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook.

About Nova Southeastern University: Situated on 300 beautiful acres in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic fully accredited research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at all levels.  NSU is a not-for-profit independent institution with an enrollment of 27,000 students. NSU awards associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, doctoral and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields. NSU is classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and it is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification. For more information, please visit www.nova.edu

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