By Erica Techo
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing is hosting the 29th Dr. Jean A. Kelley Endowed Lecture on June 10, 2020 with Johns Hopkins University Schools of Nursing and Medicine Professor and Program Director Jason E. Farley, PhD, MPH, ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, AACRN.
This year’s lecture will take place virtually via a Zoom meeting, on June 10 from 9-10 a.m. To join the Zoom meeting, please contact Lauren Antia at lar@uab.edu for the link.
Farley is the program director for Johns Hopkins’ PhD/DNP and post-doctoral fellowship program, and is an infectious disease trained nurse epidemiologist and nurse practitioner in the Division of Infectious Diseases.
Farley’s keynote address, “Bridging the Great Divide: Models to Engage People Across the Infectious Disease Care Cascade,” will discuss the timely topic of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as Farley’s research.
His research seeks to streamline care approaches that optimize navigation, linkage, engagement and retention in care for persons with infectious diseases – including studies designed to keep patients engaged in care over long periods of illness.
Notably, Farley is also the Director and Founder of The REACH Initiative serving Baltimore City residents who are living with and at risk for HIV and associated co-infections. He is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, most recently serving as the chair of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Expert Panel. As a seasoned infection prevention expert, Dr. Farley was part of a Johns Hopkins team evaluating the SARS response in China at an affiliated institution as well as country-level health system responses to tuberculosis and HIV. He maintains a clinical practice as a nurse practitioner in The John G. Bartlett Specialty Clinic for Infectious Disease. He has previously served as a nurse infection control epidemiologist for The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Farley’s program of research parallels the knowledge work needed by nurses to lead and manage today’s public heath COVID-19 pandemic.
The Dr. Jean A. Kelley Endowed Lectureship was established in 1989 to honor the School’s retiring Associate Dean for Graduate Studies. As an educator and dean, Kelley shaped the School’s graduate and doctoral programs, establishing the foundation of excellence that has helped propel the School higher in national rankings. She also pioneered the first doctoral nursing program in the Southeast, carried the School’s master’s program to outlying communities and educated nurses to aspire to the highest levels of achievement. Kelley died April 8, 2018.
“Dr. Jean Kelley inspired generations of students, faculty, alumni, practicing nurses and colleagues nationwide through her personal example,” said UAB School of Nursing Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN. “She enriched countless lives throughout her 60-year career, and the impact of her leadership and contributions to nursing are still felt today. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of epidemiology and nursing have come to the forefront of conversation. Through this year’s Dr. Jean A. Kelley Endowed Lecture, Dr. Farley’s message can continue Dr. Kelley’s legacy of sharing the best of nursing science to reach all populations and promote higher education for continuous improvement in health care.”