DR. LORRAINE S. EVANGELISTA
BSN '85, MSN, PhD, RN, CCNS, CCRN FAHA, FAAN
Associate Professor, UCLA
2010 Julita V. Sotejo Medallion of Honor Awardee
For her work on understanding the nature, causes, symptoms and prevention of cardiovascular infirmities, including self-care and symptom management.
There is a biblical saying: "Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flows the spring of life," (Proverbs 4:23). Recognizing this truth, people spend a lot of time and money on numerous efforts --- exercise, food regimen, herbals, prescriptive medicine --- to maintain a healthy heart However, it is also true that heart failure is one of the most dreaded chronic diseases in the world today.
Countless studies are made that focus on every facet of human life, individual life styles, perceptions of the malady and attitudes of patients, in an effort to unravel the mystery of the disease and find answers to a lot of issues. One such researcher is a U.P. nursing alumna, Dr. Lorraine S. Evangelista, RN, now an associate professor at UCLA.
Skilled and experienced in her work in the medical and nursing field and an illustrious career in the academia, Dr. Evangelista profusely produced and published a trove of scholarly treatises, research studies on a number of subjects, and of course wrote more emphatically on her preferred topic, "cardiovascular nursing." Perusing her publications, the UPNAAI Committee found key elements in her work that they consider very important in achieving her objective, and is significantly beneficial to man and humanity --- the understanding of the nature, causes, symptoms, prevention, care and cure of cardiovascular infirmities, namely:
- Understanding attitudes and behavioral patterns of patients with heart disease and their adherence to self-care management to avoid the economic hardship of hospital admission and/or re-admission.
- Determining the elapsed time between the onset of symptoms and the actual episode to be able to warn and teach patients the alert and correct management of such symptoms in order to decrease if not totally avert incidence of emergency situations.
- Exploring the influence of weight on the disease, including the usefulness of diet and exercise as preventative measure, adhering to the old saying: "An ounce of prevention is worth the pound of cure."
Lorraine S. Evangelista graduated from UPCN in 1985 with BSN degree, cum laude. After graduation she migrated to the United States and landed a job at Glendale Memorial Hospital as staff nurse. In 1987 she transferred to St. Joseph Medical Center, Burbank to become assistant nursing manager. Dedicated in her pursuit for further studies, she enrolled at UCLA School of Nursing and in 1993 graduated with her Masters degree. The following year she moved to Glendale Adventist Medical Center and worked as clinical nurse specialist, and later became a researcher holding various research positions at different institutions. Her busy schedule did not deter her from pursuing higher education that in the year 2000, she obtained her PhD (Doctorate in Nursing) from UCLA. Dr. Evangelista became an assistant professor, then an associate professor at UCLA and continued her research work on cardiac-related ailments. While at UCLA, she also endeavored in building a foundation for more international collaboration between institutions of learning under an outreach program to underdeveloped communities and countries across the globe.
During the span of Dr. Evangelista's schooling and career she received many scholarships, awards and citations, among them: Audriene Moseley Scholarship Award, Post Doctoral Fellowship Award, and the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award from UCLA, to name a few --- and more significantly her becoming a fellow of both the American Heart Association (FAHA) and the American Academy of Nurses (FAAN) a feat her alma mater and co-graduates of U.P. can be proud of.
On recommendation of the Awards and Citations Committee headed by Lyvia M. Villegas, Chairman, the members of Board of Directors of UPNAAI voted unanimously in favor of very deserving nominee, Dr. Lorraine S. Evangelista, as the 2010 Julita V. Sotejo Medallion of Honor recipient for her service to the nursing profession, her country and humanity - Medallium Honoris Servitium Patriae et Humanitate.
On behalf of the association, its directors and officers, and the membership as a whole, Congratulations.
