FORMER ASSISTANT SURGEON GENERAL AND CHIEF NURSE of the US Public Health Service Carol A Romano, PhD, RN, has joined the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) as associate dean for Academic Affairs. In her new capacity, Romano has direct responsibility for all GSN academic programs and also serves as the selected senior executive to liaison between the GSN’s Dean’s office and the Federal Nursing Service Chiefs. Romano earned her bachelor’s (1977), master’s (1985), and doctoral (1993) degrees in nursing from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. A pioneer in nursing informatics, she helped design and implement one of the first computerized medical information systems, which provided electronic medical orders and clinical documentation for patients in ambulatory and hospital environments. She was instrumental in creating the world’s first graduate curriculum in nursing informatics for the University of Maryland School of Nursing. Romano advised the World Health Organization on the management of human resources and health information in developing countries.

THE CHARLES WILSON VA OUTPATIENT CLINIC in Lufkin, TX, unveiled a statue of Charles Nesbitt Wilson, a congressman and Navy veteran. The “Standing Tall with Charlie Wilson” statue by artist David Adickes towers more than 10-feet at the main entrance of the clinic. Adickes, a local southeast Texas sculptor whose work includes the 67-foot-tall Sam Houston at Huntsville, an eight-foot bronze statue of
former President George HW Bush in the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, and the 36-foot-tall cellist at Houston’s Lyric Centre, came out of retirement to complete this monument. Born in Trinity, TX, Wilson received a bachelor’s degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1956 and served in the United States Navy, with rank of lieutenant from 1956 to 1960. He was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1960 and then elected to the Texas Senate in 1966. In 1973, Wilson was elected to the 93rd United States Congress and served as a US Representative until 1997. Wilson died on February 10, 2010 at the age of 76. In 2004, Congress passed a law officially changing the name of the Lufkin healthcare facility to honor him.

VICKIE WALKER HAS BEEN APPOINTED CHIEF OF THE PROSTHETICS and Sensory Aids Services at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center. Walker was the chief of Prosthetics at the Fort Meade, SD, VA Medical Center for nine years before accepting her current position, and has more than 16 years of prosthetics experience. She is a graduate of North Carolina Central University with a degree in business administration. The Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service provides a full range of equipment and services to veterans. These range from items worn by the veteran, such as an artificial limb, hearing aids, or eyeglasses; those that improve accessibility such as ramps and vehicle modifications; to devices surgically placed in the veteran such as hips and pacemakers. They also provide electric wheelchairs, bath safety equipment, and walking aids.

back to March articles