Speakers
Victor M. Montori M
Professor of Medicine Mayo Clinic
Victor M. Montori, MD is a Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic. An endocrinologist and health services researcher, Dr. Montori is the author of more than 600 peer‐reviewed publications and is among the top 1% of researchers with most cited papers in clinical medicine worldwide in the last decade. He is a Senior Advisor in the Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement at the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research of the US Government. He also serves in the Editorial Advisory Board of the BMJ, and as Director of Late Stage Translational Research at the Mayo Center for Clinical and Translational Science. He is a recognized expert in evidence‐based medicine and shared decision making, and developer of the concept of minimally disruptive medicine. He works in Rochester, Minnesota, at Mayo Clinic's KER Unit, to advance person‐centered care for patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions. He recently published the book Why We Revolt – a Patient Revolution for Careful and Kind Care.
Gale Adcock MSN, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN
Chief Health Officer, SAS Institute Member, NC House of Representatives
Gale Adcock describes herself as a nurse by grace, a North Carolinian by choice and a politician by necessity. She received a BSN from ECU and an MSN from UNC Chapel Hill. In addition to being a primary care clinician, she is a writer, national speaker, advocate and activist. She is adjunct faculty at Duke, East Carolina University and UNC-Chapel Hill. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Adcock is Chief Health Officer for global software company SAS Institute where she leads a 58 member staff to deliver free primary care to 14,000 SAS employees and family members of all ages. Adcock’s multidisciplinary team consistently helps SAS stay in Fortune’s annual 100 Best Places to Work and saves the company $8 Million a year in avoided medical claims costs. Adcock served 7 years on the Cary Town Council before running in a competitive race for the NC House in 2014. She is now serving her third term. She is the first advanced practice registered nurse ever elected to the North Carolina General Assembly. Representative Adcock has been recognized by the NC League of Conservation Voters for her pro-environment record, by Democracy North Carolina for transparency in campaign finance reporting, as a ‘Champion for Health’ by the NC Alliance for Health and as the 2017 ‘Legislator of the Year’ by the NC Nurses Association. She is recognized as a common sense leader, a health care expert and a local government advocate who successfully works across the aisle.
Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk PhD, CPNP/PMHNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN
Executive Director & Founder, Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare The Ohio State University
Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from West Virginia University, her Master of Science degree with a specialization in nursing care of children and pediatric nurse practitioner from the University of Pittsburgh and her PhD in clinical research from the University of Rochester where she also completed her post-master’s certificate as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. She is a nationally/internationally recognized expert in evidence-based practice, intervention research, child and adolescent mental health, and health and wellness, and is a frequent keynote speaker at national and international conferences on these topics.
Melnyk has led the EBP movement in nursing for the last two decades and consulted with hundreds of healthcare systems and colleges throughout the nation and globe on how to improve quality of care and patient outcomes through implementing and sustaining evidence-based practice. Her record includes over $33 million of sponsored funding from federal agencies and foundations as principal investigator and over 400 publications. She is co-editor of seven books, including Evidence-based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice (4th Ed), and Implementing the Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) Competencies in Healthcare: A Practical Guide for Improving Quality, Safety, and Outcomes, both American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award winners.
Melnyk is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Nursing, the National Academies of Practice, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She served a four-year term on the 16-member United States Preventive Services Task Force and the National Institutes of Health’s National Advisory Council for Nursing Research. She currently serves as a member of the National Quality Forum’s (NQF) Behavioral Health Standing Committee. Melnyk is editor of the journal, Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, a board member of the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-being and Resilience.
Melnyk has received numerous national and international awards, including the Audrey Hepburn Award, Mary Tolle Wright Excellence in Leadership Award, the International Nursing Research Hall of Fame Award from Sigma Theta Tau International, the Jessie Scott Award from the American Nurses Association, the Midwest Nursing Research Society Senior Scientist award, the NIH/National Institute of Nursing Research’s inaugural director’s lectureship award, and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Lifetime Achievement Award. She also has been recognized as an Edge Runner three times by the American Academy of Nursing for founding and directing the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners’ KySS child and adolescent mental health program, her COPE Program for parents of preterm infants and critically ill children, and her COPE programs for decreasing depression/anxiety and improving healthy lifestyle behaviors in children, teens and young adults.
Lynn Gallagher-Ford PhD, RN, NE-BC, DPFNAP, FAAN
Senior Director Clinical Core Director Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare The Ohio State University
Lynn Gallagher-Ford is senior director and clinical core director, Fuld Institute for EBP at The Ohio State University, where her work is dedicated to research, education and consultation focused on the development, promotion, integration, implementation and sustainability of evidence-based practice in both academic and clinical settings. Gallagher-Ford’s clinical background in maternal-child health and nursing administration spans 30 years. She served in a variety of roles ranging from bedside clinician to chief nursing officer, in which she gained extensive experience and expertise in teaching and implementing evidence-based practice in real-world clinical settings. Gallagher-Ford is currently active as a consultant, facilitator and keynote presenter at national and international conferences and education programs. Gallagher-Ford co-edited the book Implementing the EBP Competencies in Healthcare; A Practical Guide for Improving Quality, Safety & Outcomes. Her publications include co-authorship of multiple studies that have had a dramatic impact on the current body of knowledge about evidence-based practice and influenced strategic imperatives to address new challenges. She also contributed as a lead author in the American Journal of Nursing EBP Series, which received the Sigma Theta Tau Publication Award for 2011. She serves as assistant editor of Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing and is the editor of the column “Implementing and Sustaining EBP in Real-World Healthcare Settings,” which features best evidence-based strategies and innovative ideas on how to promote and sustain evidence-based practices and cultures in clinical organizations. Gallagher-Ford’s research is focused on the science behind evidence-based practice, with particular focus on the influence of nurse leaders and contextual issues. She was inducted into the National Academies of Practice and the Nursing Academy as a Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow in 2013 and the American Academy of Nursing as a fellow in 2017.
Sharon Tucker PhD, APRN-CNS, NC-BC, F-NAP, FAAN
Implementation Science Core Director Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare The Ohio State University
Doctor of Nursing Practice Program Nurse Executive Track Director and Grayce Sills Endowed Professor in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, College of Nursing, and Implementation Science Core Director, Helene Fuld Heath Trust National Institute for Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare, all at The Ohio State University. A board (ANCC) certified adult psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist, licensed APRN-CNS in Ohio and behavioral researcher, Tucker focuses on behavioral interventions to promote health and wellness, prevent disease, and reduce stress and risks among families, particularly among working mothers and children. Her interventions include environmental strategies, cognitive behavioral interventions, and motivational interviewing, which she teaches, studies and practices.
In addition to being recognized as an expert in health and wellness interventions and strategies, Tucker is a known leader in evidence-based practice (EBP), implementation science, and quality improvement. She served as director of research, EBP and quality for two Magnet-designated, large hospitals in academic medical centers (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Mayo Clinic) for 15 years prior to joining OSU in 2017. Research and EBP outcomes were recognized by the Magnet surveyors as exemplary for both hospitals. Dr. Tucker led her team at the University of Iowa (UI) Hospitals and Clinics in the writing of a successful competitive application for the prestigious Magnet Prize, which was awarded in 2014 for their legacy work in EBP. In partnership with the UI College of Nursing, they were also awarded recognitions for collaborative partnerships by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in 2014 and the Midwest Nursing Research Society in 2017.
Tucker developed and published the Evidence-Based Practice Self-Efficacy Scale in 2009, and since tracking its use beginning in 2013, the scale has been requested over 1340 times coming from 40 countries. She is co-author of two books on EBP, one published in 2008 titled Evidence-based nursing care guidelines: Medical-surgical interventions (St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier) and one published in 2018 titled Evidence-based practice in action: Comprehensive strategies, tools and tips from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (Indianapolis: Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing). She has written multiple papers and chapters on EBP and implementation aimed to advance safe, high quality clinical nursing care.
Tucker earned her BSN from the College of Saint Teresa in Winona, Minnesota, a MSN from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, and her PhD in Nursing from Rush University in Chicago. She is an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program (2007 Cohort) and was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2014 and as a fellow to the National Academies of Practice in 2019. In addition, T5:06 PMucker has been on the Board of Directors for the Midwest Nursing Research Society since 2015, currently serving as treasurer, and is the Chair of the Health Behavior Expert Panel of the American Academy of Nursing. She is the associate editor of Worldviews in Evidence-based Nursing, a member of the Advisory Board for Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare 4th Edition (Melynk & Fineout-Overholt), and appointed member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of School Nursing. She regularly reviews conference abstracts, grants, and manuscripts for several interdisciplinary and nursing journals.
Cindy Zellefrow DNP, MSEd, RN, LSN, PHNA-BC
Academic Core Director Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare The Ohio State University
As Director of the Academic Core, Cindy Zellefrow has travelled the world presenting, teaching, consulting and collaborating with faculty about Evidence-based Practice (EBP) in both academic and clinical environments. She is actively engaged in research and publishing about various aspects of EBP, including EBP teaching, integration and competency. Her current work includes conducting the first U.S. national study on EBP in nursing academics. Zellefrow is a contributing author to several textbooks about EBP and has created online interactive EBP education resources for textbooks as well. As faculty in the OSU College of Nursing, she teaches EBP and mentors faculty from multiple disciplines on EBP integration into courses and across curricula. Her clinical practice background includes 15 years in adult ICU, ED and critical care transport and 15 years in school nursing.
Janice Kaczmarek, MS
Director, ECRI Guidelines TrustTM Center for Clinical Evidence and Guidelines
Janice Kaczmarek, MS, has worked in management with a focus in health care for nearly 20 years. Prior to working at ECRI Institute, Kaczmarek worked with clinician therapists, credentialing their practices and facilitating and conducting provider training to ensure they and their staff met required standards to maintain membership in the ECRI clinician network.Since 2001, Kaczmarek has worked in the area of guidelines and quality measures at ECRI. Her guideline experience includes assessing the quality of guidelines using specific rating instruments, performing audits of medical/specialty societies’ guideline development processes and providing recommendations for improvement, as suggested by the 2011 Institute of Medicine’s Standards for Developing Trustworthy Guidelines, and serving as part of the research team providing guideline methodology support.Her current position as Director of the ECRI Guidelines Trust involves direct oversight of a publicly available online global repository hosting evidence-based clinical practice guidance used by providers, researchers, educators, and other allied health professionals. In this role, Kaczmarek is responsible for engaging multiple guideline developer organizations, overseeing the development of products and tools offered to the ECRI audience, and working with a technical advisory panel of thought leaders in the fields of guidelines, measures, methodology, clinical decision support, and healthcare informatics to enhance the visibility and utility of this new resource.
Judy E. Davidson, DNP, RN, MCCM, FAAN
Nurse Scientist, UC San Diego Health
Research Scientist, UC San Diego School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
Associate Editor, Journal of Nursing Management
Dr. Judy Davidson serves as a nurse scientist for the University of California San Diego Health System. In this role she supports 3500 nurses with research and project development, presentation and publication skills. She has conducted her own research since 1985 on topics of clinical interest. Recently her work has shifted from critical care to workplace wellness and organizational ethics. She has studied topics such as the consequences of being blamed for a negative patient outcome, how to produce the emotion of feeling cared for in the workplace, and the feasibility of a second victim prevention program. These projects led to her interest in nurse suicide and suicide prevention. Dr. Davidson has developed the first suicide prevention program for nurses, and conducted the first regional and national studies on the incidence of nurse suicide in the United States in over 20 years. She presents on the new findings from a longitudinal analysis of nurse suicide in the US.
Michael L Forbes, MD, FCCM, FAAP
Associate Chair, Department of Pediatrics, and Medical Director, Hospital-Based Services Akron Children's Hospital
Dr. Michael Forbes is a Pediatric & Adolescent Intensive Care Specialist (Intensivist). He is an avid child advocate and scientist dedicated to continuous improvement in pediatric healthcare and public policy. Forbes is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Northeast Ohio Medical University. In addition, he is an Associate Chair, Department of Pediatrics and Medical Director of the Hospital-Based Services at Akron Children's Hospital, and was voted Medical Staff President as of July 2019. Since 2006 he has served at Akron Children's Hospital as the Director of Clinical Research & Outcomes Analysis (Intensive Care). Forbes has authored many peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, and presentations in the areas of infectious diseases, sepsis, respiratory failure, pediatric care delivery models, and child abuse. He is a scientific reviewer for a number of journals including the Journal of Pediatrics, Critical Care Medicine, and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. After undergraduate education at the University of Pittsburgh, Forbes completed his Pediatrics Residency and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at the Children's Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). He served on Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County Child Death Review Team, and was Director of Pediatric Critical Care & Hospital Medicine at Allegheny General Hospital prior to his arrival in Akron, Ohio, in 2006. He was awarded a Fellowship in Biomedical Informatics from the National Institutes of Health in 2010 and was a member of the Pediatric Critical Care Scientist Development Program (NIH).
Victor M. Montori M
Professor of Medicine Mayo Clinic
Victor M. Montori, MD is a Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic. An endocrinologist and health services researcher, Dr. Montori is the author of more than 600 peer‐reviewed publications and is among the top 1% of researchers with most cited papers in clinical medicine worldwide in the last decade. He is a Senior Advisor in the Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement at the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research of the US Government. He also serves in the Editorial Advisory Board of the BMJ, and as Director of Late Stage Translational Research at the Mayo Center for Clinical and Translational Science. He is a recognized expert in evidence‐based medicine and shared decision making, and developer of the concept of minimally disruptive medicine. He works in Rochester, Minnesota, at Mayo Clinic's KER Unit, to advance person‐centered care for patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions. He recently published the book Why We Revolt – a Patient Revolution for Careful and Kind Care.
Sharon Tucker PhD, RN, APRN-CNS, F-NAP, FAAN
Implementation Science Core Director Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare The Ohio State University
Sharon Tucker, PhD, RN, APRN-CNS, F-NAP, FAAN is the Grayce Sills Endowed Professor in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing in the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University and Director for the Implementation Science Core of the newly established Helene Fuld Heath Trust National Institute for Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). A board (ANCC) certified adult psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist and behavioral researcher, Dr. Tucker studies interventions to promote health and wellness, prevent disease, and reduce stress and risks among families, particularly among working mothers and children. Her interventions include environmental strategies, cognitive behavioral interventions, and motivational interviewing, which she teaches and studies. Dr. Tucker is a recognized expert in evidence-based practice (EBP), implementation science, and quality improvement. She served as director of research, EBP and quality for two Magnet-designated, large hospitals in academic medical centers (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Mayo Clinic) for 15 years prior to joining OSU in 2017. Research and EBP outcomes were recognized by the Magnet surveyors as exemplary for both hospitals. Dr. Tucker led her team at the University of Iowa (UI) Hospitals and Clinics in the writing of a successful competitive application for the prestigious Magnet Prize, which was awarded in 2014 for their legacy work in EBP. In partnership with the UI College of Nursing, they were also awarded recognitions for collaborative partnerships by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in 2014 and the Midwest Nursing Research Society in 2017. Dr. Tucker developed and published the Evidence-Based Practice Self-Efficacy Scale in 2009, and since tracking its use beginning in 2013, the scale has been requested over 1340 times coming from 30 countries. She is co-author of two books on EBP, one published in 2008 titled Evidence-based nursing care guidelines: Medical-surgical interventions (St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier) and one just published titled Evidence-based practice in action: Comprehensive strategies, tools and tips from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (Indianapolis: Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing). She has written multiple papers and chapters on EBP and implementation aimed to advance safe, high quality clinical nursing care. Dr. Tucker earned her BSN from the College of Saint Teresa in Winona, Minnesota, a MSN from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, and her PhD in Nursing from Rush University in Chicago. She is an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program (2007 Cohort) and was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2014. In addition to her research and teaching responsibilities, she has been on the Board of Directors for the Midwest Nursing Research Society since 2015 and currently serves as treasurer. She is the associate editor of Worldviews in Evidence-based Nursing; a member of the Advisory Board for Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare 4th Edition (Melynk & Fineout-Overholt); and appointed member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of School Nursing. She regularly reviews conference abstracts, grants, and manuscripts for several interdisciplinary and nursing journals.
Paula E. Dunham, BSN, MS, ND, RN-BC
Nursing Instructor Dayton VA Medical Center
Paula Dunham is a Nursing Instructor for the Dayton VA Medical Center. She earned a BSN in Nursing from Wright State University, MSA in Health Care from Central Michigan University, and ND in Natural Medicine from Clayton College of Natural Health. She is certified in Nursing Professional Development (ANCC). In Dunham’s 38-year nursing career, she has worked in long-term, acute and critical care in a variety of management roles and has taught nursing and medical assisting in the academic setting. She has presented at regional and national venues. Currently serving as a professional development specialist, her passion is education and evidence-based practice.
Victor R. Knapp, MD
Chief of the Mental Health Service Dayton VA Medical Center
Dr. Victor Knapp is the Chief of the Mental Health Service at the Dayton Veterans Administration Medical Center in Dayton, OH; he has held that position since 2010. Previously he worked in Ohio’s state hospital system with the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH), where he was Chief Clinical Officer of Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare System, Dayton Campus, from 1997 until 2008, and Executive Clinical Officer of Summit Behavioral Healthcare from 2008 until 2010. Prior to joining the Ohio Department of Mental Health, Dr. Knapp served on active duty in the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1986 until 1997. He was stationed at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), TX, and at the Wright-Patterson USAF Medical Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. He held a number of clinical and leadership positions in the Air Force. Dr. Knapp earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. He also completed his residency in adult psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is Board Certified in Psychiatry.
Sandi L. Smart, MS, RN, NE-BC
Veteran Centered Care Coordinator Dayton VA Medical Center
Sandi L. Smart, MS, RN, NE-BC, began her nursing career at the Dayton Veterans Administration Medical Center in Dayton, OH, in 2014 as a Nurse Manager. She has subsequently served in the role of Nurse Coordinator, Mental Health. In 2018, Smart was appointed as the Veteran Centered Care Coordinator. As the Veteran Centered Care Coordinator, she applies the nursing process to education, training, and leadership of medical center staff including, but not limited to, Relationship Based Care and all other areas of the facility’s Veteran Centered Care programs. Additionally, she is responsible for developing veteran-centered programs and executing organizational goals. Smart earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and a Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration and Healthcare from Wright State University (WSU). She is Board Certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a Nurse Executive. Smart has over 19 years nursing experience and served in progressive leadership roles within various hospital settings. She is a member of the Ohio Organization of Nurse Executives. She is passionate and dedicated to high quality, evidenced-based patient care and positively influencing the veteran experience.
Kathryn Hils, MSN, RN
Chief Nurse of the Mental Health Service
Kathryn Hils, MSN, RN, began her nursing career at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where she served as the Clinical Manager in the Emergency Department. Hils was involved in the physical planning and educational transition to a critical care tower, Level II to Level I Trauma status, and initiation of unit and divisional shared governance structures. With a spirit of curiosity regarding outcomes of adolescents and children presenting with mental health concerns in the ED, Hils eventually transitioned to caring for people of all ages with mental illness and substance use disorders, serving as a Coordinator at the Lindner Center of Hope in Mason, Ohio.
Hils accepted the Nurse Manager position on the acute mental health inpatient unit at the Dayton Veterans Administration Medical Center in 2012, which evolved to include the Opioid Treatment Program. She currently serves as the Mental Health Outcomes Coordinator for four programs in the OTP, the 99-bed Residential and Rehabilitation Treatment Program, and the 25-bed acute inpatient mental health unit. In this role, she identifies gaps in nursing care and uses evidence to identify and implement best practice to improve the experience of veterans and nurses, including the reduction of stigma at all levels of treatment. Hils earned her BSN at Wright State University and MSN in Leadership and Management from Western Governors University. She is a member of National Alliance for Mental Illness and the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, where she has presented Code Acronym: An Organized Response to Behavioral Health Emergencies at their annual conference.