WHO: OHSU's School of Nursing Dean Michael Bleich, Ph.D., plus three top nurse scholars and teachers at the school (Judith Baggs, Ph.D., an international expert on the ICU; Theresa Harvath, Ph.D., president of the John A. Hartford, Inc. Center for Geriatric Nursing, and Carol Howe, D.N.Sc., director of the nurse midwifery program) will connect with the arts and sciences, energy and timber in these local economies. They will focus on workforce access to care and how nurses influence the quality of life in these communities.
WHAT: The bus departs Portland for a three-day tour, with stops in Corvallis at the Oregon State University College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, a Shakespeare theater in Ashland, and finally Oregon Institute of Technology's campus in Klamath Falls for an open house in the School of Nursing's new building and panel discussion on health challenges in the Klamath Basin.
WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, Oct. 14, 10:30-11:30 a.m., OSU College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, "Climate and Disease Forecast," by OSU Assistant Professor Jeffrey Shaman, Ph.D.
Thursday, Oct. 15, 10-11 a.m., Black Swan Theatre, Ashland, "Shakespeare on Nurses, Health, Tragedy and Triumph in the Human Spirit," and "Linking the Theatre Arts to Teaching/Learning," by a docent/actor
Thursday, 4:30-6 p.m.,E237 Auditorium, "Nursing's Contribution to a Reformed Health System," by Dean Bleich and with panelists Howe on primary care, Harvath on aging, a student, Klamath Falls faculty, and Annette Cole, vice president, Sky Lakes Medical Center, Klamath Falls
Friday, Oct. 16, 9-11 a.m., E35, OIT, panel discussion, "Health-Related Challenges and Innovation in the Klamath Basin," with Belinda Stewart, Klamath Water Users Association, on water and farming; Ed Caleb, Klamath County District Attorney, on meth and drug problems; Christa Runnels, Klamath Tribal Health & Family Services, on health initiatives for the tribe; and Paul Kaiser, Jeld Wen, on employee health insurance and health promotion.
DETAILS: This is the first bus tour of its kind since Dean Bleich assumed the OHSU School of Nursing's top leadership position a year ago. Reporters can arrange one-on-one interviews with the dean or other leaders by calling the contacts above. The bus departs Portland at 7:30 a.m. on the 14th and leaves Klamath Falls at noon on the 16th. Copies of the full itinerary are available.