Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education Visit
A 2-member evaluation team from the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) completed a 2.5-day onsite visit of the College of Nursing’s Nurse-Midwifery program, including the Doctor of Nursing Practice and Post-Graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Certificate pathways. During the visit, the evaluation team met with university and college leadership, program faculty, students, preceptors, and clinical partners to assess compliance with ACME criteria. The visit highlighted the program’s strengths in clinical education, faculty engagement, and collaborative support for nurse-midwifery students. Those who contributed to the visit included the following:
University Leaders
- Bob Carter: A. Lorris Betz Executive Vice President, Health Sciences; Chief Executive Officer, University of Utah Health
- Mitzi Montoya: Executive Vice President, Academic Affairs
- Lori McDonald: Vice President, Student Affairs
- Catherine Soehner: Associate Dean and Executive Director, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library
College and Nurse-Midwifery Program Leaders
- Dean Marla De Jong
- Dr. Julie Gee
- Dr. Cynthia Beynon
- Dr. Jessica Ellis
- Dr. Linda Hofmann
Nurse-Midwifery Faculty
- Dr. Jessica Ellis
- Dr. Erin Johnson Cole
- Claudia Gerard
- Dr. Katie Ward
Core Faculty
- Dr. Diane Chapman
- Dr. Christopher Macintosh
- Dr. Erica Nelson
- Dr. Amy Pasmann
- Dr. Rebekah Perkins
- Dr. Tom Rowley
- Dr. Emily Winn
Preceptors and Clinical Partners
- Dr. Emily Hart Hayes
- Hannah Sammons
- Mari Dean Smith
- Dr. Jocelyn Yale
Faculty and Staff
- Rebwar Baesmat
- Michael Brammer
- Dr. Ann Butt
- Heather Clarkson
- Jesse Diener
- Logan Hall
- Ruby Hocker
- Sonja Jensen
- Lauren Kelly
- Shelley Kern
- Lauren Schente
- Steve Seckinger
- Minhvan Thach
- Megan Whittaker
Current Nurse-Midwifery students and alumni also met with the evaluation team.
Rankings
U.S. News & World Report ranks Midwifery Programs. The College of Nursing is ranked #7 (5-way tie) among 39 ranked schools and is the only ranked Midwifery program in Utah.
U.S. News & World Report ranks Doctor of Nursing Practice programs. The College of Nursing is ranked #21 (3-way tie) among 159 ranked schools and is the only ranked Doctor of Nursing Practice program in Utah.
Award
The College of Nursing Alpha Chi Chapter of Sigma Phi Omega was selected as the First Place Winner of the 2026 Sigma Phi Omega Service Project Award for their project titled Holiday Writing Retreat: Connecting Community and University to Support Older Adults Across Care Settings. This project was recognized for its relationship-centered approach and meaningful engagement with older adults across care settings. The organization also highlighted the project’s sustainability and future growth. The award was recognized at the 47th Annual Meeting & Conference of the Southern Gerontological Society: Bridging Aging Research & Practice in Dallas. The conference theme was Navigating Pathways to Resilient Aging: Innovation in Community, Academia, Health Care, and Advocacy.
Professional Development
Dr. Laura Block, Postdoctoral Fellow, received a highly competitive $60,000 award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) IMbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory, the Nursing Home EXplanatory Clinical Trials Supporting Transformation by Enhancing Partnerships (NEXT STEPs) Network, and the Long-Term Care (LTC) Data Cooperative for her project titled Evaluating Nursing Home EHR Data for Emerging Palliative Care Needs. The Real World Data Scholars Program is a 1-year mentored training experience designed to build practical skills and professional networks for early-career investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students interested in using real-world data to improve care of people living with dementia and their care partners.
Presentations
Undergraduate students presented posters at the Spring 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium, held in-person at the Student Union Building.
- Barriers and Facilitators Women Faced When Assessing Gynecological Care at the Huntsman Cancer Institute: Rural vs. Urban Study. Sierra Douglas (Mentor: Dr. Deanna Kepka)
- Comparing Cancer-Related Symptoms in Hispanic and non-Hispanic White Adolescents and Young Adults. Lelia Kraut (Mentor: Dr. Lauri Linder)
- Cancer-related Financial Hardship in Rural Underrepresented Patients: An Analysis of Emotional and Behavioral Responses. Kenzie Mitchell (Mentor: Dr. Djin Tay)
- A Comparison Analysis of Symptom Prevalence Among Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Pediatric Oncology Patients. Ellie Roark (Mentor: Dr. Lauri Linder)
Dr. Lisa Taylor-Swanson presented Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) and Menopause at the Strengthening Women’s Reproductive Health Through TCIM: Public health Innovations Across the Lifespan webinar, which the World Federation of Public Health Associations Women, Children and Youth Working Group hosted as a part of Global Public Health Week.
Faculty and a PhD student gave podium presentations at the End Violence Against Women International Conference in New Orleans. The conference theme was Empowering Change: Innovative Response Strategies for Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
- Sexual Assault of Men: Empowering Change in Multidisciplinary Response through Research. Dr. Julie Valentine and Dr. Leslie Miles.
- Start by Believing Statewide Campaign: Transforming Responses to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. Dr. Julie Valentine and Sherry Huang.
- Empowering Safety in the Digital Era: Tackling Dating App-Facilitated Sexual Violence. Dr. Julie Valentine and Dr. Leslie Miles.
Student Recognitions
Jace Johnny successfully defended his dissertation titled Mortality and Debility Risk in ICU Patients Receiving High-Flow Nasal Cannula Therapy. Committee members were Dr. Kathy Sward (Chair), Dr. Bob Wong, Dr. Mollie Cummins, Ramkiran Gouripeddi, and Sean Callahan.
Adonica Ihilani Kauwe Tuitama successfully defended her dissertation titled An Intergenerational Family Diabetes Program with Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders. Committee members were Dr. Nancy Allen (Chair), Dr. Joseph Keawe'aimoku Kaholokula, Dr. Pearl Anna McElfish, Dr. Paula Meek, and Dr. Megan Thomas Hebdon.
Publications
Alexander R, Meek P, Stephens C. Palliative care stigma in oncology: An integrated systematic literature review. Eur J Cancer Care. 2026:6222421. https://doi.org/10.1155/ecc/6222421
Coaston A, Stephens C, Lee S-J, Weiss SJ, Johnson J, Hoffmann T. Examining the association between frequency of mobile clinic visits and diabetes and hypertension control. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2026;23(3):303. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23030303
Thompson R, Olanrewaju S, Stephens CE, Wagner LM. Long Term Services and Supports Policy Issues. In Mason DJ, Dickson E, Perez A, McLemore MR, eds. Policy & Politics in Nursing and Healthcare. 9th ed. 2026. Elsevier.
Utz RL, Hollingshaus M, Bandyopadhyay A, Supiano K, Clayton M, Ornstein KA, Tay D, Iacob E, Smith K, Stephens C. Hospice use by cause of death: A cohort study using Utah Population Database. Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2025. Epub ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091251338254