Grinslade selected as AAN fellow – UBNow: News and views for UB faculty and staff

UB faculty member Susan Grinslade has been inducted into the American Academy of Nursing’s 2023 class of fellows.

Grinslade, clinical professor in the School of Nursing, serves as associate director of UB’s Community Health Equity Research Institute. She is also the nursing school’s community engagement coordinator.

Invitation to AAN fellowship is one of the highest honors a nurse can receive. The 2023 class includes 253 distinguished nurse leaders who are recognized for their outstanding impact on health and health care; the AAN’s approximately 2,900 fellows include nurse executives; university presidents, chancellors and deans; elected officials; hospital chief executives; researchers; and other nurse leaders.

Grinslade was nominated by peers in the School of Nursing, who applaud her expertise in nursing education, “as demonstrated by her many leadership roles in organizations that impact, accredit and influence nursing educational programs.” They also highlight her work as a certified community health clinical specialist with “diverse clinical expertise in community health related to vulnerable populations, especially in relation to diabetes self-care management, end-of-life, bioterrorism and evacuation management during war time and natural disasters.”

Grinslade calls it “a distinguished honor and humbling to be nominated as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and to serve the nursing profession at another level. Throughout the years, I have challenged myself to provide the highest quality nursing care and nursing education, and to contribute to nursing research to improve overall health and mitigate health inequities and disparities.”

Grinslade joined the School of Nursing in 2009. She received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago; an MSEd, MSN and BSN from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville; and a nursing diploma from the Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College, where she was recognized as a distinguished alumna in 2019.

At UB, Grinslade’s work centers on community health projects that address health disparities and social determinants of health among underserved populations in Buffalo, particularly among African American communities. As a diabetes and population health expert, Grinslade works with the Buffalo Center for Health Equity, the African American Health Disparities Taskforce and Buffalo United Ministries to provide health screenings and health education to Buffalo community members as part of Million Hearts®, the CDC’s initiative to prevent strokes and heart attacks, and improve cardiovascular health.

Grinslade is also a U.S. Navy Nurse Corps Reserve veteran, having achieved the rank of lieutenant commander during her 17 years of service. While in service, she was deployed to the Middle East to active duty during Desert Storm. She oversaw the post-anesthesia care unit and the Intensive Care Unit and supervised CRNAs, Navy nurses, Navy corpsmen, and Marine Corps E1-3.

AAN’s 2023 class of fellows will be inducted during organization’s Health Policy Conference on Oct. 7 in Washington, D.C.