REPORT: October/November 2006

Brewer and Li named distinguished nurse researchers

by Nancy Webber

Carol Brewer and Hong Li were honored as distinguished nurse researchers for 2006 at the NYSNA Convention in New York City. The award is presented each year by the Foundation of New York State Nurses and the NYSNA Council on Research.

A few days after the ceremony, on Oct. 15, Li died after a courageous battle with cancer. She was unable to attend Convention due to her failing health, but the nurses gathered at the awards dinner warmly applauded her accomplishments as a photograph of her accepting the award was projected on a large screen.

Li sent a message to the group expressing her pleasure with the award: “I’m so honored to receive the 2006 Distinguished Nurse Researcher Award . . . I’m very excited to hear this great news from you, and thank you and the Foundation for granting me such an honor to be the recipient of this prestigious award.”

Hong Li, PhD, RN
Loretta C. Ford Professor of Nursing
University of Rochester School of Nursing

Hong Li developed a nationally and internationally recognized program of research dealing with hospitalized elders and their caregivers. Highly respected for her imaginative, meticulous, and rigorous scholarship, Li is remembered for the international scope of her research.

She graduated from the Beijing Medical University School of Nursing and went on to earn advanced nursing degrees from the Oregon Health and Science University.
Li’s doctoral dissertation was the first nursing research to be completed by a native of mainland China and recorded in the National Library of China in Beijing. Li later conducted research in China and the United States aimed at improving patient outcomes by teaching and empowering families to assist in the recovery of ill, hospitalized elders.

The research-based intervention she developed is an innovative, original contribution to the health care of older adults. According to a statement released by the University of Rochester, the Center for Research and Evidence-Based Practice in the School of Nursing will support the completion and dissemination of her unfinished work in order to assure continuation of Li’s rich research legacy.

Carol S. Brewer, PhD, RN
Associate Professor
University of Buffalo-SUNY School of Nursing

In addition to her faculty duties, Brewer is statewide director of the New York State Area Health Education Center System (AHEC). She is a respected investigator focusing on the nursing workforce.

Through her work with AHEC and the New York State Nurses Association, Brewer has contributed research data that have significantly improved understanding of the nursing shortage in New York State. Her research has been funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Policy, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AHEC, the U.S. Public Health Service, and numerous other prestigious organizations and academic institutions.

Brewer’s county-level analysis of data drawn from the State Education Department 2002 survey of nurses has been an invaluable resource to other researchers and to policymakers seeking causes and solutions to the statewide nursing shortage.

Brewer publishes prolifically and is a sought-after speaker, consultant, and manuscript and research journal review board member.