News
 |
Dr. Harold Burdette Award Presented to IU Simon Cancer Center's Shedd-Steele |
| Rivienne Shedd-Steele |
Rivienne Shedd-Steele of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center recently received the Dr. Harold Burdette Award.
The award, presented by the Mary Margaret Walther Program of Cancer Care Research, housed in the IU School of Nursing, goes to those who continue to foster the ideals, beliefs, and values of Dr. Burdette. Dr. Burdette played a leading role in the support of behavioral oncology research at the Walther Cancer Institute, now the Walther Cancer Foundation. His professional life exemplified his belief in the importance of the patient and family -- not just the disease.
Shedd-Steele, director of the cancer center’s Office of Health Disparities and Outreach, works to improve the health and well-being of racial, ethnic and rural area populations.
As such, Shedd-Steele and colleagues develop programs that enhance patient-provider communication, improve cultural and linguistic competency in delivering health services, and develop a systematic approach to improving the coordination and utilization ofresearch and outcome evaluations. Shedd-Steele works with community partners that address, and ideally eliminate, racial and ethnic health disparities through community-level activities that promote health, reduce risks, and increase access to and utilization of preventive health care and treatment services
Shedd-Steele was previously outreach and diversity coordinator at the IU Simon Cancer Center, partnership program coordinator with the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service (NCI/CIS) Midwest Region, and minority cancer awareness director for the Little Red Door Cancer Agency.
The Indiana University School of Nursing is one of the largest nursing schools in the nation. Ranked 3rd among the Big Ten schools of nursing for National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, the school boasts a robust program of research focused on quality of life in chronic illness. A full 40% of Indiana’s nurses are IU School of Nursing alumni. Scientists in the Mary Margaret Walther Program for Cancer Care Research, which is housed in the IU School of Nursing, study human behavior to help patients and families with the many issues surrounding the prevention, diagnosis, symptom management and survivorship of cancer.
