UIC Nursing in the News

Faculty, students and alumni from the UIC College of Nursing are often featured in the media.

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Local News

Crain’s Chicago Business | March 6, 2026
Nursing schools are racing to stave off a looming workforce crisis
Dean Eileen Collins weighs in on an expected nursing shortage, artificial intelligence in health care and the use of simulation in nursing education.

Austin Weekly News | March 6, 2026
Erie opens health center in West Garfield Park
Alumna Kawana Tharps, DNP ’22, APRN, FNP‑C, is serving as the site medical director of the newly opened Erie Family Health Centers clinic at the Sankofa Village Wellness Center in Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood.

Nevada Today | March 5, 2026
Over-the-counter doesn’t mean risk-free: understanding overdose risks and key ingredients
Alumnus Charlie Yingling, DNP ’12, MS ’05, now dean of the Orvis School of Nursing, discusses acetaminophen, ibuprofen and combination cold medicines.

Crain’s Chicago Business | March 3, 2026
Illinois AG joins pushback from states, nurses against federal student loan change
Dean Eileen Collins is quoted, noting how limiting federal loans for graduate nursing degrees will have a negative ripple effect on the profession and on nursing education

GreatNews.Life (NW Indiana) | Feb. 9, 2026
Gabrielle Chandler brings experience, expertise, and a friendly face to NorthShore Health Centers
A local announcement about alumna Chandler, DNP ’22, joining the northwest Indiana system’s Gary location

Led by Dean Eileen Collins, UIC Nursing faculty and students have been in the news statewide, sounding the alarm about the U.S. Department of Education’s proposal to exclude nursing from the definition of “professional degree” programs:

State of Illinois Newsroom | Nov. 24, 2025
Gov. Pritzker Announces Two Appointments to Boards and Commissions
Alumna Susan Swider, PhD ’88, MS ’83, has been reappointed to serve as a member of the State Board of Health.

FOX 32 Chicago | Oct. 21, 2025
This Chicago classroom looks like a hospital — and that’s the whole point
Katie Vanderzwan, Lynn Ortiz and graduate student Ally Andreasen were all featured in an in-depth special report featuring the Schwartz Lab and UIC Medicine’s SAIL Institute.

RUSH Newsroom | Sept. 19, 2025
Trish Anen named chair of Rush Copley Medical Center board of directors
Anen, BSN ’78, RN, MBA, has served on the Copley board since 2011. As part of her new role, she will also serve on the Rush System Board. Anen is also a member of the UIC College of Nursing’s External Advisory Board.

WICS-TV and Capitol City Now/WTAX and WCIA-TV (Springfield) | Sept. 9 & 10, 2025
Nurse for a Day: Empowering high school students at UIC College of Nursing
The Springfield campus hosted a two-day, “Nurse for A Day” experience for more than 500 high school students from 20+ area schools to explore careers in nursing and health care.

QCPJ | Sept. 9, 2025
Award Winner: Jessica McKearney
McKearney, MS ’15, has been named to the list of “Forty Under 40″—40 leaders under age 40—who are making a difference in the Quad Cities. Winners are chosen by a panel that weighs business success and civic/philanthropic activities.

Crain’s Chicago Business and WBBM-AM (Chicago) | June 4, 2025
OSF, UIC video series tries to address an $18 billion problem for hospitals
A joint project between UIC Nursing’s Carolyn Dickens and OSF HealthCare is hoping to put a dent in the alarming rise of incivility and violence in health care.

WCIA, WICS, FOX Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) | May 6 & 7, 2025
SPLASH! 70 future nurses keep tradition alive as they prepare for UI graduation
Coverage of our Urbana BSN students as they dive in to the pool jump tradition.

Capitol News Now (Springfield) | May 1, 2025
New nurses take the Big Plunge
Our Springfield BSN students take their turn with our pool jump tradition.

CBS2, NBC5, ABC7, FOX32 | April 29, 2025
UIC Nursing grads celebrate with a plunge in their scrubs
Four TV stations in Chicago covered the senior class pool jump, a tradition where graduating BSN students jump into a pool while wearing their scrubs.

Block Club Chicago | April 17, 2025
West Side School Nurse Honored With International Award
Alumna Cassandra Walton, BSN ’91, a nurse for 27 years at Roswell B. Mason Elementary School in North Lawndale, received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in a surprise ceremony.

National News

The Conversation | Jan. 29, 2026
A growing nursing shortage is made worse by nurses’ daily challenges of patients and their families rolling their eyes, yelling and striking
Carolyn Dickens, associate dean for faculty practice and community partnerships, writes about how workplace violence and incivility against nurses has led to nurses leaving the workforce and what we can do about it.

BVM Sports | Nov. 10, 2025
UIC Women’s Soccer Achieves Academic Excellence
Alumna Katelyn Nardulli, BSN ’25, was among six UIC players named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team, an honor that recognizes athletic talent as well as exemplary academic performance.

New York Times | Sept. 24, 2025
Pregnant Women Are Pressured to ‘Tough It Out,’ Even by the President
Alumna and UI Health midwife Nicole Camardo, DNP ’21, MS ’16, is a source in this article about President Donald Trump’s recent address in which he discouraged women from taking Tylenol during pregnancy “based on unproven claims that acetaminophen is linked to autism.”

Telemundo  | Sept. 10, 2025
Cae la vacunación infantil en Estados Unidos
Gloria Barrera, a school nurse and director of the college’s RN to BSN program, was interviewed about trends in childhood vaccinations.

The Good Men Project | May 30, 2025
Chronic kidney disease often goes undiagnosed, but early detection can prevent severe outcomes
Assistant professor Eleanor Rivera explains how patients can take steps to minimize the chances early-stage kidney disease will progress to kidney failure

Prevention | Apr. 3, 2025
Could your heart be behind your snoring? Experts explain.
Features the expertise of Dean Emerita Terri Weaver

The Conversation/Seattle Post-Intelligencer/Caledonian Record (VT/NH) | March 28, 2025
Chronic kidney disease often goes undiagnosed, but early detection can prevent severe outcomes
Assistant professor Eleanor Rivera explains how patients can take steps to minimize the chances early-stage kidney disease will progress to kidney failure

International News

AFP | Nov. 21, 2025
Influencers tout unproven baking soda remedy for influenza
Prof Katie Stephens is an expert source in this art article examining the myth promoted on social media that baking soda fights the flu.

Independent (Nigeria) | Nov. 10, 2025
Academy of Public Health (West Africa) unveils 2025 Distinguished Fellowship Award recipients
Alumna Sheila Dinotshe Tlou, PhD ’90, is one of four recipients of the 2025 Distinguished Fellowship of the Academy of Public Health, the flagship body of the West African Institute of Public Health. The honor is awarded to individuals for exceptional leadership and impact in public health across Africa.

Press Trust of India | Mar. 30, 2025
Chronic kidney disease often goes undiagnosed, but early detection can prevent severe outcomes
Assistant professor Eleanor Rivera explains how patients can take steps to minimize the chances early-stage kidney disease will progress to kidney failure

Industry News

Becker’s Hospital Review | March 4, 2026
93 hospital and health system simulation and education programs to know
UIC Nursing’s Schwartz Simulation Lab was highlighted in Becker’s 2026 collection. The write-up noted an upcoming expansion of operating room spaces to accommodate the nurse anesthesia program and recent additions to birthing care training tools.

HRTLY Newsroom | Feb. 25, 2026
HRTLY announces new clinical and financial leadership
Alumna Beena Peters, DNP ’17, MSN ’94, was appointed chief clinical officer at HRTLY, a next-generation health and technology company built to advance how disease is detected, understood, and managed through continuous, technology-enabled care. Most recently, she served as chief nursing executive for Cook County Health System.

University Business | Feb. 3, 2026
These are the best online degree programs, says U.S. News & World Report
Summarizing new rankings in which UIC’s online RN to BSN program is ranked No. 3

The American Journal of Nursing | Jan. 22, 2026
Public Health Experts Worried About U.S. Withdrawal from the WHO
Rohan Jeremiah, associate dean for global health, provides expert commentary on the consequences for U.S. public health preparedness, global disease surveillance and the nursing workforce.

Yahoo! Finance | Jan. 21, 2026
Healthcare Technology Leader Elissa Baker, BSN, RN, Joins Nesa as President & Chief Clinical Officer
Baker is a 2011 graduate of UIC Nursing’s BSN program

Medscape | Dec. 10, 2025
Can Expanding the Scope of Advanced Practice Nurses Close Gaps in Clinical Care Delivery?
Carolyn Dickens, associate dean for faculty practice and partnerships, helps make the case for APRNs to be part of the solution to health professional shortages.

Clinical Advisor | Nov. 14, 2025
Establishing an NP Voice in Media With James Simmons
Alum Simmons, MS ’14, explains his multifaceted career and why he wants NPs to have a bigger role in health media

Nurse.org | Oct. 3, 2025
19 Trailblazing Nurses Who Changed Nursing History (Who Weren’t Florence Nightingale)
Alum Alison Hernandez, PhD ’18, RN, is cited for her history of pursuing health equity and her role as an advisor to the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.

Becker’s Hospital Review| Sept. 23, 2025
US News’ 21 best BSN programs
UIC Nursing was ranked as the No. 6 Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in the nation, tied with University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Onco Daily | Sept. 14, 2025
Proud to be elected to the IASLC Board of Directors
Alumna Mary Pasquinelli, DNP ’18, MS ’14, FNP-BC, CTTS, is in the news again! The director of the Lung Screening Program at University of Illinois Hospital & Clinics, has been added to the board of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

Cancer Nursing Today | Sept. 6, 2025
AI Lung Cancer Risk Model Validated in Real-World Setting With Diverse Patient Population
Alumna Mary Pasquinelli, DNP ’18, MS ’14, FNP-BC, CTTS, director of the Lung Screening Program at University of Illinois Hospital & Clinics, was the lead author on this study.

ACNM Quickening Newsletter | Aug. 6, 2025
Feasibility of Remote Intensive Monitoring: A Novel Approach to Reduce Black Postpartum Maternal Cardiovascular Complications
A study by postdoctoral researcher Michelle Villegas-Downs looking at the feasibility of remote intensive monitoring as an approach to reduce postpartum cardiovascular complications among Black mothers, published in the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health. Tara Peters, Anne Fink, Judy Schlaeger and Barbara McFarlin were UIC Nursing co-authors.

Morningstar | July 7, 2025
Absci Appoints Biopharma Leader Mary Szela to Board of Directors
Alumna Mary Szela, BSN ’85, MBA, was appointed to the Board of Directors of Absci, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing breakthrough therapeutics designed with generative AI. Szela is CEO, president and director of biomedical technology company TriSalus Life Sciences.

AACN News Watch Weekly Digest | April 2, 2025
Burt selected as Macy Scholar
Blurb in the Members News section highlights clinical assistant professor Leah Burt‘s selection for the 2025 Class of Macy Faculty Scholars, a highly selective program designed to identify and nurture the careers of promising educators in nursing and medicine.

Rush University | March 28, 2025
Julie Hoff, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN, Named Provost of Rush University
Alumna Julie Hoff, PhD ’99, MSN ’93, has been selected to serve as the next provost for Rush University following a national search.

OSF HealthCare Newsroom| March 27, 2025
OSF HealthCare names chief nurse executive
Alumna Melinda Cooling, DNP ’10, MSN ’03, MBA, FAANP, has been named chief nurse and advanced practice provider executive for OSF HealthCare, headquartered in Peoria.

On campus: See our news items in UIC Today