Dr. Helene Moriarty receives Suzanne Feetham Nurse Scientist Family Research Award from Eastern Nursing Research Society
Dr. Helene Moriarty (right) receives the ENRS award from Dr. Anne Marie Mauro, chair of the ENRS Awards Committee.
Helene Moriarty 鈥�77 BSN, PhD, RN, FAAN, professor, received the 2018 Suzanne Feetham Nurse Scientist Family Research Award from the Eastern Nursing Research Society (ENRS) on April 12. She was honored during ENRS鈥檚 Annual Scientific Sessions 30th Anniversary Celebration Reception at the Newark Liberty Marriott in Newark, N.J. Dr. Moriarty is the Diane L. & Robert F. Moritz Endowed Chair in Nursing Research at the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. She is also a nurse researcher at Philadelphia鈥檚 Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, as well we co-chair of the ENRS Family Research Interest Group.
The Suzanne Feetham Nurse Scientist Family Research Award is given annually in recognition of outstanding contributions by a Junior Investigator (earned doctorate in last 7 years with a developing program of family research and scholarship) OR Senior investigator (has a well-established program of family research and scholarship).
"I have been honored to serve those who have served our country through my work at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center over many years. The 2018 Suzanne Feetham Nurse Scientist Family Research Award is very special to me because it affirms the importance of research that addresses the needs of both veterans and their families," explains Dr. Moriarty.
Dr. Moriarty comes from a family systems background in the field of psychiatric-mental health nursing. She is a highly regarded and collaborative researcher and prolific scholar with numerous publications and presentations. Dr. Moriarty has been Editorial Board member of the Journal of Family Nursing since 1995, and Chair of the Research Committee of the International Family Nursing Association since 2013. She also is a long-standing member of the NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health at University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.
Dr. Moriarty鈥檚 entire career has focused on improving our understanding and care of individuals and families experiencing severe stressors, with a special emphasis on veterans and their families. Her recent NIH-funded study evaluates the impact of an innovative in-home intervention for veterans with traumatic brain injury and their families.
In her VA role, Dr. Moriarty created a robust nursing research program that developed national and interprofessional research capacity to address the health of our nation鈥檚 Wounded Warriors and their families. She also served on the VA Research Council that published a book on outcome measurement, as Expert Researcher for the VA Nursing Indicator Development Group, and as Co-Director for a VA Interprofessional Fellowship in Patient Safety. Through these leadership roles and serving as primary investigator, co-investigator, or mentor on over 100 studies within the VA, Dr. Moriarty鈥檚 work has advanced science and practice around the complex challenges faced by veterans and their families. In her position at the College of Nursing, Dr. Moriarty鈥檚 deep commitment to veterans continues, as she educates students about the unique health concerns of veterans and engages doctoral students in veteran-related research.