October 20, 1997
School of Nursing’s Nancy Woods receives Vivian O. Lee Women’s Health Award from U.S. Public Health Service
Dr. Nancy Woods, associate dean for nursing research and director of the University of Washington School of Nursing’s Center for Women’s Health Research, is the first recipient of the Vivian O. Lee Women’s Health Award.
The award, to be given annually by U.S. Public Health Service Region X, honors individuals “who have shown leadership, creativity and vision in improving the health of women and their families.”
“This is a great description of Nancy’s work,” commented Dr. Sue T. Hegyvary, dean of the School of Nursing. “We congratulate her on this award.”
“This award belongs to all the people in the region whose collaboration makes possible the delivery of health services to women,” said Woods. “Vivian Lee left a rich legacy of service to women most in need.”
Woods joined the UW faculty in 1978. She and colleagues established the Center for Women’s Health Research in 1989 to study women’s health across the lifespan. Her current research focuses on midlife women, their health and health-seeking behavior. She has been especially interested in women who experience threats to health due to age, ethnicity, multiple roles and socioeconomic status. She was named associate dean for research earlier this year.
Woods has been president of the American Academy of Nursing and was a member of the Women’s Health Task Force for the National Institutes of Health and of the Advisory Council for the NIH Center for Nursing Research. She was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine in 1993.
The award is named for Vivian O. Lee, a graduate of the UW School of Nursing who was director of the Office of Women’s Health of the U.S. Public Health Service Region X until her retirement in 1995. The school named her a distinguished alumna in 1993, and created a scholarship fund in her name in 1995.
