Keeping the Women we Love Healthy

National Nurse's week is celebrated May 6th to May 12th.  This incredibly noble profession isn't always recognized as it should.  Aside from treating patients that can be very sick or injured, nurses provide advice and sometimes much needed emotional support to patients and their families as well.  Being a nurse goes beyond helping doctors in the diagnosis and treatment of patients. In 2017, the Howell Foundation awarded Cheryl Boyd and Raelene Brooks the Chery A. Wilson Scholarship. Pictured Raelene Brooks (left), and Cheryl Boyd, Ph.D candidates from USD's Hahn School of Nursing In her dissertation, Cheryl Boyd is looking to bring an in-depth understanding of the major issues affecting victims of sex trafficking.  She mentions that the gap in nursing knowledge regarding how and why victims are lured into captivity in sex trafficking (entry), how and why they remain in captivity (progression), how they are able to exit captivity, and once out of captiv...

"What do you do when the phone rings at 11:00 at night, and it is the Emergency room telling you your parent fell, broke her hip, will have surgery and be discharged within a couple of days?", asks our own Cheryl Wilson, CEO for St. Paul's and Board Member of the Howell Foundation as she kicks off her presentation at the last Howell luncheon. According to Dr. Kawas, also a lecturer at the past Howell Luncheon, research is showing that half the children born today are expected to live past 103.  An estimated 2 million people in the US is over 90.  By 2050, it is expected that 3% of the population --around 6 million individuals-- will be part of the 'oldest old' segment of the population. That means that the need for care giving will also exponentially grow. Are you prepared? Cheryl Wilson, CEO, St. Paul's Working with senior citizens gives Cheryl the opportunity to share the most important things to make sure your loved one is taken care of wel...

Have you ever wondered what steps we can take to prepare ourselves for healthy aging? Do we even know where to start? What resources are available to us to ensure a happy aging process? What do we need to consider if we are taking care of a family member? The Howell Foundation will celebrate its last luncheon of the year on November 11 with a topic that concerns us all: 'Intelligent Aging".  We have the honor of hosting two experts that can give us a in-depth perspective on the intelligent steps to to take in our aging journey. Claudia Kawas, MD , Professor of Neurology, UCI School of Medicine, and lead investigator of the “The 90 + Study” (as seen on 60 Minutes) is dedicated to advancing knowledge about the cognitive and physiological changes that occur in aging.  Since 1989, hundreds of older adults have contributed their time and effort to helping scientists explore healthy brain aging. Claudia Kawas, MD, Professor of Neurology, UCI School of Medicine, is a geri...

Pictured above from left to right Noelle Lipkin Leveque, Dr. Patricia Roth and Tina Campbell. The health of the caregiver tending to Alzheimer's and dementia patients, and training for the health care provider in human trafficking victims as the 2016 Hahn School of Nursing research projects.   San Diego, CA - August, 2015 .   The Doris A. Howell Foundation announced the recipients of the Cheryl A. Wilson Scholarships to Ph.D. candidates Noelle Lipkin Leveque, sponsored by Cynthia D. Connaly, Ph.D. RN FAAN, and Trista Campbell, sponsored by Jane Georges, PhD.   Lipkin will be addressing care for victims of human trafficking while Campbell will addressing the health issues of the caregivers of dementia and Alzheimer's patients. In her project description, Lipkin mentions: " Published research shows between 68 and 97% of health care providers say they have had NO training in identifying or treating victims of human trafficking. This dissertation focuses on the...

On the road to celebrating our 20th anniversary we wish to recognize and celebrate the achievements of current and past Howell Scholars.  In this case, one of our 2014 scholars is focusing on making sure women are informed on HPV and the risk of cervical cancer.   The role Jennifer will be playing in women's health education is pivotal for women in the military. 2014 Scholar Jennifer Buechel and Howell Foundation Co Vice-chair Cheryl Wilson "Thank you to Dr. Howell and the members of the Howell Foundation! I was awarded a Howell Scholarship in 2014. The funding helped me to support my dissertation study on HPV knowledge and HPV vaccine uptake among U.S. Navy personnel. I have collected my data from over 350 participants in the U.S. Navy, and currently analyzing the results. The findings will help support preventive medicine and sexual health programs in the armed services. In addition, it will help the fight against cervical cancer (the #1 related cancer to HPV), both na...

Doctoral researchers  to focus on sleep disorders in pregnancy and breast feeding patterns  San Diego, CA - August, 2015 .   The Doris A. Howell Foundation announced the recipients of the Cheryl A. Wilson Scholarships to CDR Ryan Nations with the project entitled “Sleep disordered breathing and pregnancy: prevalence and outcomes at delivery”, mentored by Dr. Cynthia Connelly; and to Jodi O’Brien with the research project entitled “Examining breastfeeding patterns and nurse factors associated with in-hospital formula supplementation” sponsored by nursing faculty member, Dr. Mary Barger; both scholarship recipients are candidates for a doctoral degree at USD Hahn School of Nursing. CDR Ryan Nations and Dr. Doris Howell “There is an old joke that if you don't remember your anesthesia provider they must have done their job well. While there is a bit of truth and humor in that statement, it is my goal as a nurse anesthetist to disprove that joke. Every in...