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Dorothy C. Hall and Ruta at McMaster University

Dorothy C. Hall and Ruta at McMaster University

Terms of the Dorothy C. Hall Chair in Primary Health Care Nursing

  • Stimulation of research in primary health care and educational methodologies
  • Establishing partnerships with local, regional, national, and international stakeholders interested in advancing the concepts of primary health care
  • Disseminate information about collaborative programs that relate to health promotion and disease prevention
  • Collaborate with community volunteers groups in developing models of primary health care nursing or new models of health promotion and disease prevention and evaluate the interventions
  • Disseminate scientific information in primary health care and educational strategies related to it
  • Develop workshops on educational and train-the–trainer methodologies and evaluate those methodologies
  • Take responsibility for the provision of primary health care nursing to clients thus providing an example in which the principles of evidence-based learning are applied in practice
  • Play an advocacy role for primary health care nursing
  • Share information about international initiatives in primary health care nursing
  • Develop and evaluate primary health care nursing models and intervention programs
  • Develop programs that lead to a higher quality of life
  • Develop strategies to promote public participation in health care decisions and provision of services
  • Collaborate with partners to disseminate information in a timely fashion through joint publications and linked websites
  • Strengthen collaborative relationships among faculty members with educational and research expertise in primary health care nursing, agencies providing community-based care and other decision-makers
  • Develop strategies for strengthening interdisciplinary collaborative working relationships between primary health care nursing, medicine, and other disciplines
  • Provide mentorship and promote opportunities for students in practice settings
  • Provide mentorship and promote opportunities for volunteer trainers in the community.
Photo Credit: Tony Hoang, Science Media Lab, McMaster University

Photo Credit: Tony Hoang, Science Media Lab, McMaster University

Dr. Ruta Valaitis, Associate Professor and Dorothy C. Hall Chair in Primary Health Care Nursing

Dr. Ruta Valaitis is the inaugural holder of the endowed Dorothy C. Hall Chair in Primary Health Care Nursing. Ruta has a long-standing history of contributions to community health nursing practice, education, and research. After working in acute care following completion of her undergraduate nursing degree in 1977, Ruta moved to home care nursing at St. Elizabeth’s Visiting Nursing Association in Toronto. Following this, she worked as a public health nurse at the Etobicoke Public Health Unit and then the City of Hamilton Public Health Services. Ruta quickly moved into a management position there developing and or supervising specialized programs: hearing and vision screening, prenatal, hospital liaison, and immunization. Ruta launched the first public health birth control clinic in Hamilton and was the first manager to obtain a cross-appointment with McMaster’s School of Nursing in one of Ontario’s original “teaching health units”. Having gained university experience in teaching and research, Ruta was drawn to academic life. Ruta joined the University in 1987, while maintaining her “teaching health unit” appointment with the City of Hamilton. Ruta has held this position for 16 years.

Dr. Ruta Valaitis obtained a BScN (Nursing) and BA (Psychology) from the University of Windsor in 1977, a Masters in Health Sciences (Health Care Practice) from McMaster University in 1982, and a PhD from the University of Toronto in 2002.

In 2007, Ruta was awarded the Dorothy C. Hall endowed Chair in Primary Health Care Nursing. A Professor in the School of Nursing, she is also the Deputy Director of the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre on Primary Care Nursing and Health Human Resources.

She is Professor in the School of Nursing and a Scientific Director of the Aging Community and Health Research Unit. She also is an Associate Member in the Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton ON. 

 

Learn More about Ruta