By Amanda E.H. Pritchard
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Alumna Ardie Pack-Mabien, PhD, FNP-BC (PhD 2018), was recently named Interim Director of the Johnson Haynes Jr., M.D., Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at the University of South Alabama.
The Center, named for its founding director, provides clinical care, basic and clinical research, and patient, professional, and community education.
Pack-Mabien worked under Haynes, and with the team, developed its pediatric to adult care transition program in 2012.
“My focus is being an advocate for our patients, facilitating a successful transition, and providing quality comprehensive care with a personal and caring touch,” she said.
In the PhD program at the UAB School of Nursing, Pack-Mabien’s doctoral studies focused on examining the impact of a transition program following the process from pediatric to adult care in sickle cell disease, including medication knowledge and development of self-care and self-advocacy skills to navigate the adult health care system. She said her UAB School of Nursing education informed how she treats her patients, just as if she would like her own family members to be treated, and how she was treated at the School.
“Although UAB and the SON are large in size, I felt like Dr. Marie Bakitas and everyone at the School all knew me as an individual. I did not feel like a number among many others,” Pack-Mabien said. “The instructors and staff at the SON took time to familiarize themselves with who I was as a person and individual. During my doctoral studies I experienced several personal and family hardships. There were hurricanes in Mobile and its surrounding areas, and Dr. Karen Heaton and other members of the SON reached out to me to make sure my family and I were safe. As a distance learner, that personal touch is what stands out about UAB. The SON faculty and staff cared about me as a person and supported me through my journey.”
