ESU Backup Insider

Ann M. Kolanowski, Ph.D., RN, FGSA, FAAN, an Elouise Ross Eberly professor in the college of nursing at Pennsylvania State University; center director of the Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing at Pennsylvania State University; professor of psychiatry, college of medicine; and adjunct professor, associated faculty, school of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, inspired ESU nursing students during her presentation, “Promoting Behavioral and Cognitive Health in People Living with Dementia,” last evening at East Stroudsburg University’s Innovation Center, 562 Independence Road in East Stroudsburg.

The lecture was part of the Yvonne Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Lecture Series for Nursing Enrichment at ESU, supported by the Niedbala Family Foundation and its founders Linda (Troiani) Niedbala ’83 and her husband, Sam Niedbala ’82. The lecture series began three years ago as a tribute to Linda’s sister, Yvonne Troiani-Sweeney ’78, an ESU nursing alumna who held numerous leadership roles throughout her career before being diagnosed with a form of early onset dementia called posterior cortical atrophy. This endowed lecture series is a lasting tribute to Sweeney’s devotion to others while making a significant contribution to the education of healthcare professionals and the community-at-large about the cognitive impairment associated with dementia and other diseases of a similar nature.

Pictured at last night’s lecture are, from left: ESU President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D.; Sam Niedbala’82, Ph.D., ESU alumnus; Linda (Troiani) Niedbala ’83, ESU alumna; Ann M. Kolanowski, Ph.D., RN, FGSA, FAAN, keynote speaker; and Laura Waters, Ph.D., ESU associate professor and chair of nursing.