Mason Alumni

Mason Nursing Alumna, Deborah Bundy-Carpenter, Featured in The Scroll

John Brandon Cantrell — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 18:46:19 +0000

Mason Nursing Alumna, Deborah Bundy-Carpenter, Featured in The Scroll John Brandon C… Tue, 06/01/2021 - 14:46

Topics

Bundy Carpenter earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Mason in 1979.

Article originally published by Mason's Alumni Association.

For Deborah Bundy-Carpenter, BSN ’79, there was no doubt about going to George Mason University as soon as she decided she wanted to go into nursing. The program offered her the opportunity to pair hands-on clinical experience with the theoretical knowledge she would learn in the classroom, which would prepare her well for a career in nursing and public health. She also loved Mason’s diverse campus community, and it prepared her for caring for people from a variety of different backgrounds.

“All of the clinical experience we received at Mason taught us to get our hands dirty,” said Bundy-Carpenter, “and with that came lessons in humility that were really important.”

As a nursing student, she had clinical rotation placements at Fairfax Hospital (now a part of the Inova hospital system), the Arlington Health Department, DeWitt Army Hospital at Fort Belvoir, and in Manassas for public health rotations, where she was able to learn practical skills, like starting an IV and working in the delivery room. After graduating from Mason, Bundy-Carpenter worked in a pediatric unit in Charlottesville for a year before she began working at the University of Virginia’s medical center, where she largely worked in the operating room and emergency room.

“In the operating room, it was like all of the anatomy and physiology that I learned in school had come alive,” Bundy-Carpenter said. “It was such an education, especially at a trauma center like UVA, and being able to actually put eyes to what you had read about was one of my favorite things.”

After ten years at UVA, Bundy-Carpenter transitioned from the operating room to public health. As a nurse manager for the Virginia Department of Health, she was responsible for seven health departments across five counties in the Central Shenandoah Health District. In this role, she was responsible for engaging the various communities in the health district. Bundy-Carpenter traveled to communities to educate groups on public health initiatives, managed nursing and nutrition programs, wrote and managed the grants needed to fund local health programs, performed community needs assessments, and strategized with local coalitions to decide which health focuses needed to be prioritized in their communities. And while a lot of her work was administrative, Bundy-Carpenter also trained new public health nurses as part of their year-long orientation and continued with hands-on nursing herself, like administering flu shots. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Bundy-Carpenter, as a public health nurse senior manager, was tasked with leading the health district’s coronavirus response team. Her team has managed strategic planning for pandemic response, testing, contact tracing, community outreach, and now vaccination efforts.

“To this day, I still remember the nursing school’s mantra about self-care and people being their best selves,” said Bundy-Carpenter. “I still talk that talk with patients about self-care and reaching your optimal level of health.”

For all of her public health efforts, Bundy-Carpenter, received the highest honor for a state employee in Virginia: the 2020 Governor's Honor Award in the category of Personal and Professional Excellence. She was recognized for her dedication and excellence in her profession, public health, and collaborative spirit with other healthcare entities and agencies.

Bundy-Carpenter recently retired after more than thirty years of service with the Virginia Department of Health, but she is keeping busy by serving on the boards of local nonprofits organizations. She is currently studying to be a mentored counselor for hurting women.

Written By: Kristen Greiner, MFA '20

Three-time Mason Nursing Alumna, Theresa Davis, Featured in The Scroll

John Brandon Cantrell — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 18:07:57 +0000

Three-time Mason Nursing Alumna, Theresa Davis, Featured in The Scroll John Brandon C… Tue, 06/01/2021 - 14:07

Topics

Mason Alumni

CHHS Alumni

Nursing Alumni

coronavirus; covid-19

Alumni Spotlight

CHHS News

Article originally published by Mason's Alumni Association.

Theresa Davis has earned a BSN (’98), an MSN in Nursing Administration (’02), and a PhD in Nursing (’13) from Mason.

As the clinical operations director of enVision TeleICU at Inova Health Systems, Theresa Davis, BSN ’98, MSN Nursing Administration ’02, PhD Nursing ’13, has been incredibly busy since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. She leads the telemedicine division that supports the intensive care units across the Inova hospital system. Since last March, the ICU has grown from 61 beds to 102 beds as patient acuity increased and more resources were needed. Davis’ unit also became a transfer center to move patients across the hospital system as the need arose.

Davis has been a nurse for over thirty-five years. She earned her associate’s degree from Northern Virginia Community College before transferring to George Mason University, where she has earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, and the combination of working and learning throughout her career has been invaluable. Before the pandemic, Davis even taught classes on organizational learning and nursing informatics as an adjunct professor.

“I think being in school for a good part of my career has made my whole nursing experience very enriching because I love to learn, and it has allowed me to have a different way of looking at things and not get too focused in one area,” Davis said. “I grew up as a trauma nurse and I’ve been working in telemedicine for sixteen years. It’s been a very exciting adventure.”

Over the last year, hospital visitor guidelines became more restrictive due to COVID-19, making it difficult for family members to be at the bedside with their loved ones. This made the use of voice and video technology an essential capability. Over 1,000 iPads—some provided through donations to Inova—have been distributed across the Inova hospital system to support technology needs to bring families together.

“We connected families to their loved ones and clinicians to patients,” said Davis. “It was just incredible what you could do with the technology to create those connections.”

In addition to her role at Inova, Davis also had the opportunity to speak at the White House in March 2020 as a representative for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, where she is on the board of directors. Davis sat across the table from President Trump and Vice President Pence, where she had the opportunity to brief the Coronavirus Task Force and answer questions about the issues nurses were facing in the early days of the pandemic. After the meeting, President Trump signed an executive order that invoked the Defense Production Act to expedite the production of critical medical supplies.

A year later, as the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, Davis looks to the future with hope. The pandemic has changed how she sees the world—after such a turbulent year, it will take time to fully heal and become whole again, but she sees it as a chance to learn and grow as we enter our new normal. One way Davis plans to do this is by promoting diversity and working towards eliminating disparities and unconscious bias in healthcare. Inova has created many opportunities for this important work.

“I think that we have great opportunity to look at our future and the new world and what it should look like, and what we’ve learned,” said Davis. “We have to make sure all patients receive the care that they need, no matter who they are or where they come from. We have to think strongly about what we’ve just gone through and how we can create a better world for everybody. We will get through this!”

Written By: Kristen Greiner, MFA ’20

Dr. Zobair Younossi Research Scholars Award is First Student Research Scholarship at CHHS

dhawkin — Wed, 22 May 2019 13:20:18 +0000

Dr. Zobair Younossi Research Scholars Award is First Student Research Scholarship at CHHS dhawkin Wed, 05/22/2019 - 09:20

By Emily Cooper

In 2019, the first research scholarship for students at the College of Health and Human Services was established in honor of Dr. Zobair Younossi, a 1984 George Mason University alumnus and recipient of the 2008 Alumnus of the Year Award in recognition of his pioneering research in liver disease and contributions to the health care field. Younossi is currently the professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus. After earning his medical degree from the University of Rochester in 1989, he also earned a master of public health degree from San Diego State University.

Younossi joined Inova in 2000 and was appointed executive director of the Center for Liver Diseases. In 2006, he was appointed as the medical director of research and was promoted to the vice president for research for Inova Health System. Younossi’s clinic research focuses on chronic liver disease, specifically non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and other liver complications of obesity. He has also pioneered application of health services research and patient reported outcomes research in the field of hepatology. Beyond his accomplishments at Inova, Younossi has also authored over 500 articles and published three textbooks, becoming a voice in the field of medicine and public health.

Much of Younossi’s research is conducted at the Beatty Center for Liver and Obesity Research, where he is the founding member. The Beatty Center has been a home for undergraduate and graduate students for more than 10 years. Many of these students are from George Mason University. The research opportunities have included clinical and translational research. Some have been sponsored to attend national and international meetings to present their work. Some students have been able to continue their research through Beatty supported summer research stipends. Some of these students have made life career choices based on these experiences.

“I am honored to be acknowledged for the work the Beatty Center for Liver and Obesity Research program and Inova Health System have done in support of student research experiences. I am committed to continuing these efforts and with the establishment of this research award, we will be able to include more students and enable those with financial need to participate” said Younossi.

The Dr. Zobair Younossi Research Scholars Award is a lasting and perpetual way to support undergraduate or graduate students with financial need who are participating or interested in health-related research in biomedicine or a health-related field. To support this fund, please make a donation today.