2020
Health Care Without Harm and the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) annually present the Charlotte Brody award to a nurse who promotes and protects environmental health. We are proud to present Dr. Ruth McDermott-Levy with the 2020 Charlotte Brody Award for exemplary environmental nursing leadership.

2020 Charlotte Brody Award Recipient

Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Health and Environmental Sciences Award

The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) "Nurse as Global Citizen" Award

Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, Board of Directors, Secretary

American Public Health Association (Public Health Nursing, Environmental, and International Sections)

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE): Education Working Group and Steering Committee

Pennsylvania State Nurses’ Association (PSNA) Environmental Health Committee Member

Effect of an Education Intervention on Nursing Students' Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Caring for Transgender and Nonbinary People

Intervention studies to reduce the impact of climate change on health in rural communities in the United States: a systematic review

Health Concerns of Northeastern Pennsylvania Residents Living in an Unconventional Oil and Gas Development County

Developing Curriculum Recommendations for Environmental Health in Nursing

Challenges and successes in making health care more accessible to rural communities in Waslala, Nicaragua using low-cost telecommunications

Promoting cultural understanding through pediatric clinical dyads: An education research project

Fracking, the Environment, and Health

Villanova University was founded in 1842 by the Order of Saint Augustine. To this day, Villanova’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition is the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. Villanova prepares students to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them.


The strength of the Villanova experience comes in part from the University’s welcoming community. All members are bonded together by a shared responsibility to uphold the ideals of Saint Augustine and let the principles of truth, unity and love guide their lives. The Villanova community helps students grow intellectually, professionally and spiritually, and challenges them to reach their full potential.


The University’s rigorous academic experience, rooted in the liberal arts, forms an environment in which students and professors are partners in learning. The Villanova community is dedicated to providing a personalized experience that fosters every student’s intellectual and spiritual well-being. As part of their education, students are encouraged to enrich their own lives by working for those in need. Through academic and service programs, students use their knowledge, skills and compassion to better the world around them.


There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University’s six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. These colleges are the setting for an experience that develops both the heart and the mind, and creates the atmosphere where students are called to ignite change.


Villanova University is located in a suburban community 12 miles west of Philadelphia, Pa.

Villanova University

An expert in environmental health, global health, and public health nursing, Dr. McDermott-Levy has taught and conducted research in Philadelphia’s Arab-American and immigrant communities, with community health workers in Nicaragua, and in the Marcellus Shale region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. She has advocated for health protective regulations for those who live in oil and gas development communities. With nurse colleagues around the U.S., Dr. McDermott-Levy has developed recommendations and teaching strategies to incorporate environmental health and climate change into the nursing curricula. 

Dr. McDermott-Levy is a co-editor of an open-access environmental health textbook for nurses, Environmental Health in Nursing. In 2018, she received the Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Health and Environmental Sciences Award for teaching and research. She spent August to December 2018 at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), where she used this grant to research the health impact of climate change in Finland, which is at risk due to significant increases in air temperature.

Children's Environmental Health

Climate Change

Community & Public Health Nursing

Environmental Health/Health impacts of UOGD

Epidemiology

Fracking and Health

Global Health

Health Disparities

Immigrant Health

Lead Exposure

Public Health

Co-Director, Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and the Environment

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Villanova Nursing Expert Warns of Climate Change Effects on Older Adults

CDC Word Ban: Public Health is Jeopardized When Individuality is Ignored

Get to Know a Climate Champion: Ruth McDermott-Levy

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Wolf Budget Includes $100K for Marcellus Shale Health Registry

About 70 Hospital Staffers Cared for Ebola Patient

Groups Call for Investigation into Health Department’s Handling of Drilling

Widespread COVID Vaccinations in U.S. May Not Mean an End to Travel Restrictions

Model Finds Midwest and Southern States at Risk for COVID-19 Surges as They Reopen

Screening and Health Access for Immigrants in Philadelphia: Impact Evaluation Project

Ethical Principles for Global Health Nursing Practice: A Delphi Study

sport-and-study-villanova-university-faculty-offer-academic-lens-to-paris-olympics-storylines

Professor; Co-Director, Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and the Environment | M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering | College of Engineering

Microbial Water Quality

Renewable Energy from Waste

Wastewater Treatment

Water Pollution

Associate Professor | M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing

Health Policy

Healthcare Simulation/VR

Human Milk

Lactation Consultation

Neonatal Intensive Care

Nursing Workforce Issues

Perinatal Outcomes

Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Human Factors in Transportation Engineering

Transportation Safety

Human Centered Design

Human Sensing

Naturalistic Driving

Driving Simulator Research

Well-Being

All eyes are on Paris: more than 10,000 athletes from 206 nations are set to compete in the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, the third Olympics in the City of Love and the first since 1924. Below, Villanova University faculty members provide their academic expertise on the unique storylines and narratives already taking place as Paris 2024 gets underway. Portraying a National Image in the Opening Ceremony  Étienne Achille, PhD  Director of French and Francophone Studies After months of speculation, the daily Le Parisien has officially confirmed that renowned French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura will lend her vocals to an opening ceremony featuring an iconic backdrop steeped in history.

“Nakamura is the most-streamed Francophone singer in the world, embodying France’s culture on a global stage, and she’ll be paying homage to one of the most cherished representatives of the chanson française,” said Dr. Achille, referring to reports she will sing one of beloved French crooner Charles Aznavour’s greatest hits.

According to Dr. Achille, the pop star’s presence is significant and symbolic. “A performer, or even a flagbearer, can easily become the face of a global event like the Olympics,” he said.

 
The details of the setting for the ceremony – in the heart of Paris, along the Seine – are just as intentionally symbolic.

 
“Not only will this be the first opening ceremony to take place entirely outside of a stadium; its location along the river and the fact the delegations will be on boats are key.

“It represents movement and connection to the world,” Dr. Achille said. “And Nakamura’s performance projects the image of a modern, multi-ethnic nation building on tradition while proudly marching into the future.” 
Swimming in the Seine: Safe or Not? Metin Duran, PhD  Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering It is, perhaps, the most-asked question of the last few weeks. Is the Seine River, set to host multiple swimming events, safe? The river has been illegal to swim in for a century due to the presence of harmful bacteria such as E. Coli, and recent testing has reaffirmed this concern. The Seine, which had undergone an expensive cleaning to mitigate this issue, received the endorsement of Paris Mayor Ann Hidalgo, who personally took a dip in the water herself to attest to its safety. 

The stunt did little to convince experts such as Dr. Duran, who studies wastewater, to abandon concern about the potential health risks of athletes being exposed to pathogens in the water. 
“When we have fecal pollution, there is a high likelihood of pathogens being present,” Dr. Duran said. “Those could be viral, like a norovirus, or protozoan.

“If you’re swimming in that water, you run the risk of ingesting it. Once you ingest that polluted water, you’re likely to contract some of those disease-causing pathogens. Ingesting this water doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to get sick, but based on the number of people in a big city like Paris, there is a very high likelihood of some of these pathogens existing now in the river.”
Accommodations for Breastfeeding Athletes Sunny Hallowell, PhD, APRN, PPCNP-BC  Associate Professor of Nursing The IOC and Paris 2024 Organizing Committee is providing support to all breastfeeding athletes competing in the Games. A few national governing bodies, like the French Olympic Committee, are going a step further and offering hotel rooms near the Village for their country’s breastfeeding athletes to share with their children and spouses.

  
“A few decades ago, the idea of a female athlete who also wanted to breastfeed their child was so taboo it may have prevented an athlete from competing,” said Dr. Hallowell. “Now, many female athletes who choose to breastfeed their newborns or toddlers conceptualize breastfeeding as another normal function of their remarkably athletic bodies.”

Accommodation for breastfeeding athletes and increased awareness are needed more than ever. Dr. Hallowell notes that in addition to changing views on breastfeeding, the needs for such accommodations are increasing as the age of peak athletic performance also increases.
“Advances in sports nutrition, wellness and lifestyle have extended the longevity and performance of many athletes into adulthood,” she said.

 
And while some athletes with rigorous training regimens might feel “frustrated incorporating breastfeeding into the routine,” Dr. Hallowell says that for others, “breastfeeding provides both physical and socio-emotional benefits for the mother and the infant that allow the athlete to focus on the job of competition.”
Protecting Against the Parisian Heat Ruth McDermott-Levy, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN  Professor of Nursing The potential for extreme heat in Paris has been a topic of concern for athletes and organizers, prompting certain outdoor events to be proactively scheduled at times to avoid the day’s worst heat. 

Current forecasts predict temperatures in the 90s for several days early on in the Games, which could be exacerbated by Paris’ reputation as an urban heat island, unable to cool due to lack of green space and building density. 

Dr. McDermott-Levy says the athletes are inherently vulnerable, because “the added stress of physical exertion during their events puts them at greater risk of heat-related illness.” But she also notes that many of the athletes have likely undergone pre-competition training in extreme heat conditions to acclimate and will have trainers and health professionals monitoring them frequently. 

“The group of concern are the workers at the stadiums, outdoor workers and spectators who are there to enjoy or work at the events and may have had little to no acclimation,” Dr. McDermott-Levy said. “They need to follow local instructions and take frequent breaks from the heat, seek shade and maintain hydration by avoiding alcohol and sugary drinks and drinking water.”
How Nature Can Inspire Future Use of Olympic Infrastructure Alyssa Stark, PhD  Assistant Professor of Biology Gone, hopefully, are the days of abandoned Olympic Villages and venues, overrun with weeds and rendered useless soon after the Games conclude. The IOC’s commitment to sustainability has been transparently relayed ahead of the 2024 Games, featuring a robust range of initiatives and programs. 

Dr. Stark is particularly interested in one aspect of ensuring a sustainable Olympics. 

“How will the structures, materials and systems they developed for the Olympics be re-used, re-shaped or re-worked afterward?” she posed. “This could include re-using buildings to larger scale or re-working transportation systems set in place for the Games that could then integrate into day-to-day life post Olympics.”

At the root of her interest is the concept of biomimicry. “A lot of the way we think about designing, if we’re using this biomimicry lens, is how do we learn from nature to solve problems that we have in a sustainable way, keeping in mind the environment we are in?” Dr. Stark said. 

In this case, consider how something like a dwelling of a living creature might be repurposed to fit the needs of another creature, or serve another natural purpose, without harming the ecosystem. Could that inspire a way to re-use the Olympic infrastructure?

“There are a ton of examples of [biomimicry] being used and working in products,” Dr. Stark said. “But I would say the next step is looking at the social levels of these big ecosystems – building architecture, city planning, flow of information and, in this instance, repurposing what was created for the Olympics.”
Paris Could Be a Transportation Model for Major City Events in the United States Arash Tavakoli, PhD  Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Paris has invested 250 million Euro the last several years to transform the city to a 100% cycling city, making it one of the most bike-friendly municipalities in the world. Currently, more trips are being made by bicycles in Paris than by cars (11% vs. 4%), a trend that has permeated to the surrounding suburbs as well. 

With an influx of travelers in Paris for the Games, Dr. Tavakoli, an expert in human transportation, said, “The Olympics will be a test for how well these kinds of systems respond to high fluctuations in the population as compared to vehicle-centric systems.”

While Paris is thousands of miles away from the United States, how bicycle, pedestrian and vehicle systems work during the Games could provide helpful insight ahead of major events in American cities. 

“With the World Cup coming to the U.S. in a few years, it will be interesting to compare [Paris] with how our own system responds to people’s needs,” Dr. Tavakoli said. “Not just based on traffic data and congestion, but also considering factors like how comfortable the transportation system is, how much it affects our well-being and how much it attracts a nonresident to enjoy the U.S. when their only option, for the most part, is a vehicle.”





Sport and Study: Villanova University Faculty Offer Academic Lens to Paris Olympics Storylines

climate-change-a-direct-threat-to-older-adults

Climate change will impact the health of all populations, but older adults are uniquely vulnerable because of the physiological changes of aging.

More than half of older adults in the United States live in areas that disproportionately experience the effects of heat waves, forest fires, hurricanes and coastal flooding. Pennsylvania, New York, California, Florida and Texas account for the top five states where older adults are concentrated. Older adults who live in urban areas are vulnerable to heat island effect—the concentration and retention of heat in urban areas compared to rural areas—which places older residents in cities at increased risk of heat related illnesses and death.

“Gerontological nurses need to be prepared to address the specific issues of older adults,” says Ruth McDermott-Levy, PhD, director of the Center for Global Health at Villanova University’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. “We want to help nurses understand climate change and the need for specific interventions to support climate adaptation for the older adult population.”

Climate change impacts require modifications in health plans for older adults. Prolonged heat will require greater needs for hydration, but the patient’s other conditions need to be considered as well. Elders with heart disease and renal failure will require astute nursing assessments to monitor the balance of hydration and electrolytes while not leading to fluid overload or electrolyte imbalances in the presence of extreme heat.

With their research, practice and influence over policy, gerontological nurses are in an important position to be changemakers by measuring and documenting the harm and impact of climate change on older adults. They can advocate for measures that support older adults in disasters or extreme weather events. Nurse researchers can collaborate with climate scientists and policy makers to develop initiatives and programs that rely on climate and health evidence to support climate mitigation and adaptation for the older adult.

“It is everyone’s responsibility to learn about climate change and to participate in slowing the trajectory of climate change,” Dr. McDermott-Levy says. 

Climate Change: A Direct Threat to Older Adults

from-asthma-and-tick-bites-to-dengue-fever-nurses-tackle-health-impacts-of-climate-change

According to statistics compiled by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), carbon dioxide levels are at their highest in more than 650,000 years. In addition, 18 of the 19 warmest years ever have occurred since 2001, according to NASA. The World Health Organization reports that between 2030 and 2050 climate change is expected to cause 250,000 additional deaths per year from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.   “Many people don’t realize how much climate change can affect their health,” says Ruth McDermott-Levy, PhD, MPH, MSN, RN, director of the Center for Global and Public Health at Villanova’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing. “We see increases in ground level ozone from the changes in our climate here in the United States and in Europe. And we see the impact of climate change on our patients every day.”   Earlier this year, Dr. McDermott-Levy spent several months in Finland collecting nurses’ observations on the impact of climate change. “In Finland extreme cold causes deaths, but increasing heat waves have become a health risk, too. This is especially a risk for the chronically ill and the elderly. And nurses will need to consider heat-related issues when they discharge elderly patients from the hospital to their homes.”   In addition to health issues related to climate change, the increasing extreme weather events that bring on flooding and wildfires also disrupt the health care delivery supply chain, making much needed medications, medical supplies, and access to health care providers a greater challenge in delivering care. 

From Asthma and Tick Bites to Dengue Fever, Nurses Tackle Health Impacts of Climate Change

Freedom School Ruth McDermott Levy

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