JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Drs. Katie Baker and Patricia M. Vanhook have been named the 2016 recipients of the Notable Women of ETSU awards to be presented by East Tennessee State University’s Women’s Studies Program.
The two award recipients will be honored at the annual Notable Women of ETSU Colloquium on Wednesday, Nov. 16, from 5-7 p.m. in the D.P. Culp University Center’s East Tennessee Room. The awards and colloquium highlight the expertise and accomplishments of women academicians at ETSU; provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, research and projects generated by women faculty; and identify women faculty whose work advances understanding of women and their lives.
The public is invited to this free event, and current and former students of the honorees are encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be served.
Baker is an assistant professor in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health in the College of Public Health. She is a member of ETSU’s Interprofessional Education and Research Committee and Institutional Review Board, and is chair of the College of Public Health Faculty Council.
Baker has an active research agenda that advances understanding of women and girls, especially in the area of mother-daughter health communication. She has served as co-investigator on grants totaling over $5 million, many funded by the National Cancer Institute, to develop and implement a social media campaign advocating adolescent girls avoid indoor tanning, to promote diversity in health-related research and to reduce teen skin cancer risk. She was also instrumental in ETSU’s recent designation as the nation’s first Indoor Tan-Free Skin Smart Campus by the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention.
The Greeneville native has published 15 articles in respected journals in her field and has given over 50 professional and public presentations.
Baker “has earned respect in such a way that advances equality, acceptance and key services within the community,” one nominator wrote. “(She) has the rare and wonderful ability to bring people together, sometimes from disparate backroads and interests, to make a real difference in the world.”
Vanhook, of Kingsport, is associate dean for Practice and Community Partnerships in the ETSU College of Nursing. Her efforts to improve the health of regional citizens have resulted in 13 successful grants in the last seven years totaling more than $11.9 million, many of which were funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Vanhook’s work has had a positive impact on the region through the operation of 14 nurse-managed health clinics, located throughout Washington, Johnson and Hancock counties. These clinics have provided over 30,000 primary care and outreach visits annually to underserved clients.
Recognized as an expert in her field, Vanhook has been invited to deliver lectures across the U.S. and as far away as Turkey and China. On top of her active research and administrative agenda, she teaches health outcomes and geriatric clinical courses to Ph.D. and doctor of nursing practice students and serves as a family nurse practitioner at the Mountain City Extended Hours Health Center.
“Her involvement in health care is exemplary,” a nominator wrote. “Dr. Vanhook’s passion for nurse-led care and her vision for improving access to care have brought her respect from colleges around the region, country and world.”
“She is an inspiration for many women,” wrote another, “to push, to grow, and to give to the community.”
For more information, contact Dr. Phyllis Thompson, director of the ETSU Women’s Studies Program, at 423-439-4125 or thompsop@etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.