Page 28 - SFHN518pagesfinal.qxp_SFHN 0608 Friday 5.0

Salute to Nursing... Salute to Nursing... Salute to Nursing... Salute to Nursing... Salute to

FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
CHRISTINE E. LYNN COLLEGE OF NURSING DOCTORS HOSPITAL
Laurencia Gonzalez, BSN, RN,
Andra Opalinski, PhD, ANRP, CPNP-PC, NC-BC
CNOR
Dr. Andra Opalinski, Assistant Professor, Florida Atlantic University Christine E. Lynn Business adminis-
College of Nursing, is dedicated to serving community health needs of vulnerable and under- tration was the first
served populations. By combining meaningful community connections, extensive clinical career choice for
experience in health coaching and pediatric care, and student learning experiences, she has clinical nurse Laur -
increased access to care for both adults experiencing homelessness and children in under encia Gonzalez. Then
resourced communities. Her drive to create solutions to care for the needs of persons experi- she discovered nurs-
encing homelessness has been recognized by the National Academy of Medicine. Her research ing through her sis-
looks at the challenges of experiencing homelessness in South Florida. Dr. Opalinksi is current- ter, who is a physi-
ly conducting a study exploring therapeutic alliance between persons experiencing homeless- cian. “I realized
ness and community health workers. In addition, given the tragic events in South Florida in patient care is much
recent months and the current call for increasing mental health services for children and ado- like customer service.
lescents within school environments, she is working with community partners to envision cre- I fell in love with
ative solutions to incorporating mental health promotion programs in schools and educational settings. Dr. Opalinski’s work being able to help
is framed in the perspective of social justice and pairing student learning experiences with meeting community health needs.
people and to make a
difference,” Laurencia says.
Beth King, PhD, PMHNP Her dedication, commitment and leadership as
a clinical nurse in the operating room was recog-
Dr. Beth King, assistant professor and coordinator of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse nized by her colleagues, who nominated her as
Practitioner program, is researching and advocating for mental health. Currently, she is con- the 2018 Doctors Hospital Nurse of the Year.
ducting a study with parents and guardians of children enrolled in Head Start. As part of the Laurencia, who is certified in perioperative nurs-
study, she is teaching HeartMath® as an intervention to cope with stress, anxiety and depres- ing, has worked since 2010 in the surgery depart-
sion. While the results have not been analyzed, narrative responses have been positive. ment, where presently she performs or alternates
Additionally, Dr. King, in coordination with Dr. Charlotte Barry, has been involved in an the roles of circulating and scrub nurse.
exploratory study to investigate the mental health strengths and needs of adults living in Laurencia earned her Bachelor of Science from
Bondeau, Haiti. The aims of the study are to determine the severity of depressive symptoma- Chamberlain University College of Nursing. She
tology, degree of anxiety and resiliency of persons. The results showed that the people in this received initial training in medical surgery nurs-
region have significant mental health needs, as almost 40 percent of participants experienced ing through the Versant RN Residency program at
moderate to severe symptoms of depression, 45 percent experienced moderate to severe levels Baptist Health South Florida. She received her
of anxiety, and the resilience level was low for the majority of participants. It is Dr. King’s hope associate degree from Miami Dade College.
that through her work she can organize activities to advocate, educate and change attitudes and the understanding of mental
health.

Celebrating National Nurses Week

It takes great nurses to make a great hospital. And Jupiter Medical Center has the

greatest of all. We are proud to have a team of talented and skilled nurses who
provide compassionate care each and every day.

Thanks for caring for our patients, their loved ones and our community!

Learn more at jupitermed.com

1210 S. Old Dixie Hwy. l Jupiter, FL 33458

28 May 2018 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News