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HOLY CROSS HOSPITAL FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY
CHRISTINE E. LYNN COLLEGE OF NURSING
Gabrielle van den Eerenbeemt, RN

Canadian-born and now Pompano Beach resident Debra Hain, PhD, APRN, AGPCNP-BC,
Gabrielle van den Eerenbeemt has been with Holy Cross FAAN, FAANP, FNKF
Health for two years. She is an RN in the Cardiovascular
Intensive Care Unit providing care to critically ill patients with
cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgical issues. To Gabrielle, Dr. Debra Hain is a Professor and Graduate Coordinator
nursing means she is part of an amazing team of healthcare of the Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner concentration.
professionals at Holy Cross that help patients get through what Dr. Hain’s scholarship, practice and service are focused on
can be their most vulnerable state. Holy Cross Health has improving health outcomes of an ethnic and racially diverse
taught her how to care for the patients physically, emotionally and spiritually. Caring for older adult population living with chronic disease, such as
patients holistically has become an important aspect of her nursing career. Gabrielle diabetes, chronic kidney disease and memory disorder. Dr.
takes great pleasure and pride in being part of a team that is so dedicated and committed Hain has partnered with local, national, and international
in providing quality, compassionate care each and every day. She is grateful to be able to leaders to engage in activities that promote health and early identification of kidney
call Holy Cross Health her home. disease in those living with diabetes. In addition, she is collaborating with faculty in
Thailand to develop a palliative care program for adults living with chronic kidney
MORSELIFE HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE disease.

Karen Melvani, APRN Mary Ann Leavitt, PhD, RN, CCRN-K, CHFN-K
Dr. Mary Ann Leavitt is one of the first and last professors
Serving as the Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner for students meet in FAU’s College of Nursing. She teaches
Morselife Health System, Karen Melvani oversees the clinical Learning Strategies to help freshman nursing students tran-
team that provides comfort, care, and support to geriatric sition from high school into college. She also teaches seniors
patients with chronic and severe illnesses. She works to meet their last two medical-surgical courses. Dr. Leavitt’s exten-
patients' medical and psycho-social needs to enable them to sive acute-care practice experience in critical care and cardi-
live independently in their homes and prevent unnecessary ology provides a strong base for these courses. Her research
hospitalizations. Karen coordinates care with primary care work is in collaboration with FAU’s College of Engineering
providers and specialists to manage patient care. Karen also and Computer Science to develop a wearable sensor to help
educates patients to help them understand disease processes to assist in their care for patients with heart failure stay out of the hospital.
conditions that include Parkinson's disease, ALS, Alzheimer's disease, COPD, CHF, and
cancer. Karen previously worked in palliative care, geriatrics, and oncology at top hos-
pitals in New York, Connecticut, and Texas before relocating to South Florida. Karen is
an Adult and Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner with a specialty certificate in
Palliative Care and completed her education at New York University.

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