Wright State Nursing Chair Ann Stalter selected to advance environmental health nursing, research and education

Ann Stalter is professor and chair of nursing in the College of Health, Education and Human Services.

Ann M. Stalter, Ph.D., professor and chair of nursing at Wright State University, has been selected for a new program designed to advance environmental health nursing, research and education.

Stalter is part of the inaugural cohort of the Environmental Health Research Institute for Nurse and Clinician Scientists, which recruited clinician scientists from around the nation who educate, train and mentor registered nurses interested in research.

Stalter is focusing on integrating environmental health nursing and its research into undergraduate and graduate education curricula in the School of Nursing, Kinesiology and Health Sciences.

The Environmental Health Research Institute for Nurse and Clinician Scientists is a train-the-trainer program for faculty, scientists and educators to shape the next generation of environmental health nurse scientists.

The institute is supported by a $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The program was developed by a consortium of the Washington State University College of Nursing, Emory University, the University of Alabama Huntsville and Castner Incorporated in Grand Island, New York.

Over the past month, Stalter has completed the institute’s course work and will begin the laboratory component of the training in June. Her final project will be implemented in late 2022.

Through the institute, Stalter has been able to network with cutting-edge scientific leaders and laboratories across the nation and discover current health implications pertaining to health from daily exposures and the full range of geographically nested variables, such as soil, water and air, that are relevant to health policy and nursing research, education and practice.

Lessons about volatile organic compounds and soil and water contaminants compliment her work with community health such as local zoning, advisory boards and health departments, she said.

“This kind of information will upscale the quality of education nursing students and graduate programs here in Dayton and across the nation have to offer the future nursing workforce,” Stalter said. “The more knowledge nurses have about what impacts health, the better care can be given to those in need.”

James Denniston, Ph.D., dean of the College of Health, Education and Human Services at Wright State, said, “Nursing excels in interprofessional collaboration to advance health equity within an inclusive quality education system. Dr. Stalter is well-positioned to advance this comprehensive, innovative nursing curriculum.”

Stalter is chair of the Research Committee of the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing, a master’s degree in nursing administration and a master’s degree in education technology-health professions from Wright State and a Ph.D. in public health nursing from The Ohio State University.