Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, will be the next national nursing leader to inspire a new generation of GW Nursing students at the school’s graduation ceremony held on the university’s Washington, D.C. campus Saturday, May 19.
Dr. Hassmiller currently serves as the senior adviser for nursing at Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the nation’s largest philanthropy focused solely on health issues.
She directs the RWJF Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, which seeks to ensure that everyone in America can live a healthier life, supported by a system in which nurses are essential partners in providing care and promoting health. This 50-state and District of Columbia effort strives to implement the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine’s report on the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.
With a long history of involvement with the Red Cross, Dr. Hassmiller was a member of the National Board of Governors for the American Red Cross, serving as chair of the Disaster and Chapter Services Committee and national chair of the 9/11 Recovery Program. Through the Red Cross, she has responded to disasters in the United States and abroad, including tornadoes in the Midwest, Hurricane Andrew, September 11th, the 2004 Florida hurricanes and Katrina, and the tsunami in Indonesia. She is currently a member of the organization’s National Nursing Committee.
Dr. Hassmiller is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, formerly known as the Institute of Medicine; a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing; and a member of the Joint Commission’s National Nurse Advisory Council. She is also the 2009 recipient of the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international honor given to a nurse by the International Committee of the Red Cross.