News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Angey Saucier Date: 2/28/03   Click on image for publication quality photo Two Southeastern School of Nursing Faculty were recently recognized with Nightingale Awards by the Louisiana State Nurses Association Foundation. Barbara Moffett received the Nursing Educator of the Year award and Ann Carruth was named the Outstanding Nursing Researcher. SOUTHEASTERN NURSING FACULTY HONORED      HAMMOND – Two members of the Southeastern Louisiana University’s School of Nursing faculty have received Nightingale Awards from the Louisiana State Nurses Association Foundation, the association’s highest recognition for quality service.      Barbara Moffett received the Nursing Educator of the Year award while Ann Carruth was named the Outstanding Nursing Researcher. The honors were announced at the association’s recent Louisiana Awards Gala for Nursing and the Health Care Industry held in Baton Rouge.       Moffett, who serves as department head of the nursing program, was chosen based on her positive impact on students entering the nursing profession and her excellence in both classroom presentation and clinical expertise. Moffett’s work has included published articles in several nursing journals and authorship of several chapters in nursing textbooks. She also has made presentations at the national and international level.       Moffett was acknowledged for her participation in professional organizations including the American Nurses Association, Louisiana State Nurses Association, Tangipahoa District Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. A graduate of Northwestern State University and Louisiana State University, she has served as head of the department since 2000.      Carruth, a professor in the School of Nursing, was recognized for her research capabilities, the significance of her research on the nursing profession and community, and her research funding success. She leads the university’s Farmworker’s Health Initiative, an educational, medical and agricultural partnership with Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes designed to educate, prevent and detect health problems among agricultural-related workers. The partnership was developed by the School of Nursing under a $560,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration. She has published numerous journal articles and presented extensively at national and international conferences.      A graduate of Southeastern, the University of Mississippi and Louisiana State University, Carruth joined the Southeastern faculty in 1990. She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Louisiana Rural Health Association, Southern Nursing Research Society and the American Nursing Association.     “The School of Nursing and Southeastern are extremely proud of these faculty recognitions,” said Donnie Booth, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. “The reputation and quality of our faculty has contributed greatly to our increased enrollment in the nursing program. Southeastern is helping to address the nursing shortage faced today throughout the nation.”      According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Southeastern is one of only 30 percent of nursing schools in the nation with baccalaureate or higher degrees to attract more than 20 new students last year. Enrollment in the Southeastern nursing program increased by 191 students, with the current enrollment at 1,371 undergraduate and graduate students at the Hammond and Baton Rouge campuses. Southeastern provides clinical training for students in hospitals in Tangipahoa, St. Tammany, East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes.      Last year, Southeastern’s nursing program was named Nursing School of the Year by the foundation. The program was also selected as honorable mention from the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing/American Association of Colleges of Nursing Award for Exceptional Curriculum in Gerontologic Nursing.       According to John Crain, Southeastern provost and vice president for academic affairs, graduates of Southeastern’s nursing program consistently score in the upper 90 percent range on the state licensure exams. The department recently gained another eight-year accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, the maximum time period for which a school can be accredited.  Return to News Releases