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Four recognized for ties to Miami University's Nursing program

On April 21 four people with ties to the Department of Nursing in Miami University’s College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science, were recognized for their history of service to the program during the Nursing Alumni and Friends Dinner.

Excellence and Expertise Student Success

Four recognized for ties to Miami University's Nursing program

Evan Hingsbergen ‘15, Brooke Flinders AS ‘94, BS ‘03, Kimberly Marcum-Mercier ‘18
Evan Hingsbergen, Brooke Flinders, and Kimberly Marcum-Mercier

Distinguished. Advocate. Service excellence. Consummate cheerleader. These adjectives describe the qualities of four people with ties to the Department of Nursing in Miami University’s College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science, who were recently recognized for their history of service to the program. 

Speaking at the Nursing Alumni and Friends Annual Dinner, Miami University President Gregory Crawford said Miami has been educating nurses for 53 years. This focus is a deep expression of our mission and purpose. 

“We admire our nurses and nursing students from Miami and are beyond grateful for how they live Love and Honor,” President Crawford said. “Miami nursing graduates are frontline heroes, lifesavers, and compassionate caregivers.”

Brooke A. Flinders, AS ‘94, BSN ‘03, received the Distinguished Alumni Award, which is given to a practicing nurse that has provided distinguished service to the community in a way that enhances the visibility of nursing as a profession in a way that furthers the discipline at Miami. 

Over the past 15 years, Flinders has dedicated her time to serving as a nurse educator and leader. She was the primary author and co-Principal Investigator of a $2.1 million Teen Pregnancy Prevention grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which served more than 1,600 teens across southwestern Ohio using a service-learning model in partnership with the YWCA Hamilton.

In her role as Chair and Associate Professor of the Department of Nursing, Flinders has helped orchestrate expanding the program to include offering the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in Oxford, doubling enrollment, and the opening of the Nursing Innovation Hub. She has also been an active contributor to a shared vision for the Clinical Health Science and Wellness building, opening in Oxford in 2023. 

After earning her Associate and Bachelor of Science degrees from Miami, Flinders completed her Master of Science at Frontier School of Midwifery Family Nursing and her doctorate in Nursing Practice from Frontier Nursing University in 2006 and 2016, respectively. 

The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Kimberly Marcum-Mercier BSN ‘18, the founder and vice-chair of Sarah’s House, a pediatric respite care facility in Cincinnati that serves as a home-like environment for children and young adults to provide respite for caregivers. 

Sarah’s House is a labor of love for Marcum-Mercier, who birthed the idea for the house as a result of the loss of her daughter, Sarah, who died from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 16. She also advocated for and won passage of House Bill 303, or “Sarah’s Law,” which requires the State of Ohio to regulate pediatric respite care programs.

The Distinguished Service Award is given to someone who has served and supported nursing's mission at Miami by using caring, creative problem-solving, and critical thinking reflection in their daily practice. While the awardee does not necessarily need to be a Miami University graduate or a practicing nurse, Marcum-Mercier graduated with her bachelor’s degree in nursing in May 2018 on the 20th anniversary of her daughter’s passing.

Evan Hingsbergen, BSN ‘15, earned the Graduate of the Last Decade Award, which is given to an alumnus from the past 10 years who is currently engaged in practice and has shown excellence in their respective field.  

An externship during his junior year with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center was the impetus for Hingsbergen’s eventual career as a registered nurse at Cincinnati Children’s in the Specialty Resource Center. He has worked in every care environment in the hospital including the ICUs, acute care units, emergency room, and between hospital campuses. 

Hingsbergen recently graduated with a Master of Science in the Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner track from the University of Cincinnati. He has passed the Nurse Practitioner certification exam with plans to continue his work at Cincinnati Children’s as a Nurse Practitioner.

 

Jackie Webb and Ande Durojaiye, dean and vice president for Miami University Regionals
Jackie Webb and Ande Durojaiye, dean and vice president for Miami University Regionals

The Founders Award, which recognizes an individual who has contributed significantly to the creation, development, or advancement of the annual nursing alumni dinner, was given to Jackie Webb, AA ‘96, BS ‘17. A magna cum laude graduate of the College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science’s Department of Commerce with a degree in business, Webb has worked closely with Regionals alumni staff to coordinate and execute the Nursing Department’s annual award dinner for a number of year, touching hundreds of graduating nursing students and alumni.

“Always cheerful, helpful and gracious, she is the consummate cheerleader for Miami University Regionals,” said Ande Durojaiye, dean and vice president for Miami University Regionals. “In her new role as the assistant to the vice president, I see her care and compassion on a daily basis. She is always willing to lend a helping hand to students, faculty, and staff, as well as alumni, community members, and donors.”

The awards, which were given out on April 21, were sponsored by Kettering Health Hamilton. Other sponsors for the evening included Dayton Children's Hospital and Mercy Health Fairfield Hospital.

View photos from the 2022 Nursing Alumni and Friends Dinner