University of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff

September 14, 2000	Contact: Sharon Butler (312) 355-2522; sbutler@uic.edu
	Amy Schuppert (312) 996-5769; aschupp@uic.edu

NURSES: NOT JUST AT THE BEDSIDE

With their health care backgrounds, area nurses are launching new careers as business, technology and education leaders.

Cheryl Schraeder, of Carle Coordinated Care Services in Urbana, will be honored on Sept. 22 as the 2000 Illinois Nurse Leader. The award will be presented at the Power of Nursing Leadership Conference, an event that recognizes nurses who have used their nursing backgrounds to influence health care through business, hospital administration, politics, law and research. More than 500 people from across Illinois have attended previous events, including CEOs, COOs, CFOs, VPs of Nursing, professors, APNs, RNs and other friends of nursing.

Schraeder's career path is not unique. She is one of a growing number of women who have used their nursing backgrounds as a stepping stone to move beyond the confines of a traditional bedside role. Ann Scott Blouin, a partner at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, USLLP, began her career as a nurse, as did Kathleen Wong, president and COO of Rockford Memorial Hospital.

Advanced degrees in nursing, business or law have become increasingly common for nurses, growing at an annual rate of 8 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Ninety-five percent of nurses are women, according to the same study.

Schraeder will be recognized for her work in advancing nursing by applying research to primary care. She tests health care delivery models, especially collaborative team models. These models expand and distinguish the roles of nurses in caring for patients and their families. She is a patient advocate and role model for other nurses.

Schraeder started her career as a mental health specialist at Adolf Meyer Zone Center in Decatur. Today as head of outcomes/performance at Carle Coordinated Care Services, she manages research integration. Schraeder also teaches graduate-level courses at the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Nursing.

"Nursing has become a platform for women to move into all sectors of health care," says Joan Shaver, dean of the UIC College of Nursing. The Power of Nursing Leadership Conference was created by the UIC College of Nursing as a way to showcase nursing's accomplishments.

Advances by Illinois nurses will be celebrated at the Third Annual Power of Nursing Leadership Conference Sept. 22 at the Chicago Hilton and Towers with more than 550 health care leaders from across the state. The day includes an awards luncheon and a symposium entitled "Advancing Health Care: Trends Beyond Tomorrow," presented by Stuart Altman, a health care economist.

UIC is the source of nursing leadership in Illinois. Nursing alumni can be found across the globe in health care, academia, business, government and nonprofit sectors. Established in 1951, the College of Nursing is consistently ranked among the top 10 schools of nursing. In 1998, the college was sixth in total National Institutes of Health research dollars and ranked seventh out of 142 schools of nursing in "U.S. News & World Report."

With 25,000 students, the University of Illinois at Chicago is the largest and most diverse university in the Chicago area. Located just west of Chicago's Loop, UIC is a vital part of the educational, technological, and cultural fabric of the entire metropolitan region.

- UIC -