Jean Nagelkerk elevates health care

Jean Nagelkerk elevates health care

Jean Nagelkerk

Editor’s note: Each issue of the Influential Women enewsletter will feature a profile of one of the Business Journal’s reigning 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan. The profile first appeared in the event program.

Improving the outlook of the public’s well-being starts with successfully educating the area’s college students. Credit for achieving this vital task is partly due to Dr. Jean Nagelkerk, vice provost for health at Grand Valley State University.

Health care partners

Nagelkerk has strengthened and expanded initiatives with community partners and facilitated the development of new collaborations with GVSU nursing, as well as health professions and life sciences programs and centers.

This includes creating the West Michigan Interprofessional Education Initiative, establishing and implementing the Health Compliance Program, providing oversight to the Center for Health Sciences Simulation Center and developing and updating the strategic plan for health at GVSU.

Teaching

In the health education sector, Nagelkerk has served as an educator in diploma, associate degree, RN-BSN, baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs.

As an instructor, she has coordinated revisions, updates and clinical changes for Medical-Surgical Nursing II. She also assisted with analyzing and presenting nursing models for a proposed curriculum change and chaired the systematic evaluation plan committee.

As a professor, she has developed and updated courses in community health, management, clinical practice and research. Nagelkerk also has advised students, developed grants, chaired the personnel, scholarship and curriculum committees, served as a member of ECS/UAS and the administrative council of the KSON.

In the community

Nagelkerk extends her experience to benefit the community by serving on several boards: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Grand Rapids African American Health Institute, David D. Huntington YMCA and the Grand Rapids chamber’s health care and human resources committees.