LSU Health New Orleans Nursing Faculty Inducted as AANP Fellows

NEW ORLEANS — LSU Health New Orleans faculty are two of six nurse practitioners nationally and the only ones from Louisiana who became Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) at the 2023 Induction Ceremony. The ceremony was held on June 22, 2023, in New Orleans.

Leanne Fowler, DNP, MBA, APRN, AGACNP-BC, CNE, FAANP, Associate Professor of Clinical Nursing, serves as Program Director for Nurse Practitioner (NP) academic and post-graduate programs at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing. She is a health policy leader and recognized advocate for NP practice serving on the governor-appointed Louisiana COVID-19 Health Equity Taskforce. Fowler leads educational initiatives focused on Doctor of Nursing Practice educational outcomes and is the principal investigator for more than $3.6 million of grant-funded educational projects. Her clinical expertise focuses on acute and critically ill adults within hospital settings. Fowler is a collaborative leader who impacts thousands of Nurse Practitioners through strategic and relevant policy and education initiatives.

Sherry Rivera, DNP, APRN, ANP-C, FNKF, is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing and Program Director of the Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Concentration at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing. She is a Fellow of the National Kidney Foundation and the Chair of the National Kidney Foundation Council of Advanced Practice Providers Spring Clinical Meetings. She serves on the National Kidney Foundation Council of Advanced Practice Providers Executive Committee, is chair of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty Gerontology Special Interest Group and is a New Orleans City Business Healthcare Hero. Rivera’s research interests include improving patient and provider knowledge about issues related to chronic kidney disease, patient-centered care, patient-reported outcomes and nephrology NP workforce development.

According to the AANP, the Fellows of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners program was established by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 2000 to recognize nurse practitioner (NP) leaders who have made outstanding contributions to health care through NP clinical practice, research, education or policy, and to provide a forum to extend and enhance such efforts. FAANP members are visionaries impacting national and global health through priority initiatives such as creating and developing leadership and mentorship programs to foster the advancement of NPs and NP students.“Our School of Nursing is known for leadership and excellence in nursing education, practice, research, and public service,” says Demetrius J. Porche, DNS, PhD, ANEF, FACHE, FAANP, FAAN, Professor and Dean of LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing. “This latest honor recognizes two outstanding nurse leaders who will shape the profession at both the state and national levels.”

LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSU Health New Orleans) educates Louisiana’s health care professionals. The state’s health sciences university leader, LSU Health New Orleans includes a School of Medicine with campuses in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, the state’s only School of Dentistry, Louisiana’s only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSU Health New Orleans faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research, the LSU Health New Orleans research enterprise generates jobs and enormous annual economic impact. LSU Health New Orleans faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment or cure disease. To learn more, visit http://www.lsuhsc.edu, http://www.twitter.com/LSUHealthNO, or http://www.facebook.com/LSUHSC.

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