Connie Henke Yarbro, MS, RN, FAAN, Receives 2010 Oncology Nursing Society Lifetime Achievement Award
Thursday, May 13, 2010
SAN DIEGO, CA – May 13, 2010 – Connie Henke Yarbro, MS, RN, FAAN, of Destin, FL, is the recipient of the 2010 Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Lifetime Achievement Award. Yarbro is the editor of Seminars in Oncology Nursing and an adjunct clinical associate professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia Sinclair School of Nursing. The award, presented today at the ONS 35th Annual Congress held in San Diego, CA, recognizes her outstanding contributions as an oncology nurse researcher, mentor, and educator as well as her service to ONS and the community at large.
In 1975, Yarbro co-founded ONS and has served in leadership roles within ONS since then to help continue to advance the mission and vision of the Society. She served as president and treasurer of ONS. Yarbro realized that ONS needed a way to raise funds and receive donations to expand educational opportunities and resources for nurses and in 1981 helped found the ONS Foundation and became the Foundation’s first president. To date, the ONS Foundation has distributed more than $22 million in research grants, research fellowships, academic scholarships, lectures, public education projects, career development awards, and national conference scholarships. Yarbro also is active in the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care and has served as their president. She was instrumental in raising funds to support nurses from developing countries to attend disease and treatment based educational offerings.
“This award causes me to look back with pride and satisfaction at a long journey that began 35 years ago when four of us sat down and planned the creation of the Oncology Nursing Society, which now serves more than 37,000 cancer nurses,” said Yarbro. “That journey continues.”
Yarbro received her diploma in nursing from Moline Lutheran Hospital in Illinois, her bachelor of science in nursing degree from Samford University School of Nursing in Birmingham, AL, and her masters of science degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing.
She is an affiliate member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, a member of the American Academy of Nursing, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
ONS is a professional organization of more than 37,000 registered nurses and other healthcare professionals committed to excellence in oncology nursing and to leading the transformation of cancer care by initiating and actively supporting educational, legislative, and public-awareness efforts to improve the care of people with cancer. ONS provides nurses and healthcare professionals with access to the highest quality educational programs, cancer-care resources, research opportunities, and networks for peer support. Learn more at www.ons.org.
Celebrating 35 years of supporting oncology nursing’s future
