Sylvia Page voted Middlewest Regional Director Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc.

Sylvia Page, MSN, RN, MBA has been elected Middlewest Regional Director of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc. Page has been an active member of Zeta Eta Chapter, Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc. since 1991. She has held several positions on the local level, including President, Vice President, Dean of Membership, and secretary. On the Regional level, she held the position of Treasurer and Assistant Regional Director. Chi Eta Phi is an organization of professional nurses. Their motto is Service to Humanity. October 16 will mark the 90th year for Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc.

Page officially stepped into the role of Middlewest Regional Director on June 1. The Middlewest region includes 14 chapters, 9 states, and over 500 nurses. She will provide leadership on core projects related to health promotion and disease prevention. Particular projects include hypertension education, sickle cell disease awareness, reduction of infant mortality, senior outreach, and collaboration with the Alzheimer’s association.

According to Page, “…goals include increasing visibility of the sorority and increasing membership. I am really looking forward to getting more young nurses involved. If we can couple the energy of the young nurses with the wisdom of the seasoned nurses we can move the needle from an advocacy standpoint to make a difference in the community.

“We can get them involved in policy needs on issues like vaping, covid, and monkey pox. There’s a lot to do and we need more nurses to help do the work.”

Sylvia attended Purdue University Fort Wayne for her nursing degree. She also holds a graduate certification in informatics, a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University, and a master’s degree in Nursing Education from Western Governors University. Connect with her at spage@chietaphi.org

For more information contact Denise Jordan at 260-804-1594 or denisemjordan@msn.com

Indiana University Fort Wayne Hosts ADA Symposium 2022

On Monday, September 19, IU Fort Wayne hosted a Symposium focused on the Americans with Disabilities Act. The event featured Judy Huemann via zoom who has been called the Mother of the ADA law. On July 26th 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. This landmark piece of legislation has paved the way for Americans with disabilities to be fully included in our society but there is still more to do according to Judy.

During the event, the CEO of the League, John Guingrinch, told his own powerful story as a part of the program as well. The mission of the League is to provide and promote opportunities that empower people with disabilities to achieve their potential.

Judy talked about growing up during a time where no laws were in place to support those with disabilities. Her parents were told by the school district she was to attend in New York that her wheelchair was a fire hazard therefore she initially was not allowed to attend school. Once a college graduate she faced challenges getting her teachers license and thereby sued the New York City school system and became the first wheelchair user to receive their teachers license at that time. She also led the 504 sit-in in Washington which eventually led to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. The 504 Sit-in was a disability rights protest that began on April 5, 1977. People with disabilities and the disability community occupied federal buildings in the United States in order to push the issuance of long-delayed regulations regarding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Prior to the 1990 enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act was the most important disability rights legislation in the United States.

The event closed with a panel of athletes from Turnstone moderated by Rena Shown, Chief Development and Strategic Partnerships at Turnstone. The athletes included Eliana Mason, a two-time Paralympic medalist in Goalball along with her teammate Marybai Huking who is also a two-time medalist in Goalball; as well as Tom Davis, a seven-year member of the US Paralympic Cyclist Team and four time winner of the Boston Marathon and Jeff Butler a two-time medalist who all discussed their experiences as high level athletes, training amd winning along with challenges in different countries where they may not have ADA laws.

The closing remarks for the event were delivered by Thomas Foley, lead of IUFW Health and Human Sciences and President of the IUGW Faculty Council who was also the event planner for this event featuring various community members, students and organizations.