Sadly Sharing the Loss of a Fellow Member

ASPMN_GLC Members,

It is with a heavy heart that I share the sudden passing of arguably one of our most dedicated and engaged fellow members, Dr. April Vallerand.  Linda shared with me late Saturday evening and the arrangements for her celebration of life are yet to be determined but likely will be later this month as much of her family is from California.  I didn't know April well but from what I did know of her, she was a dedicated expert in the field of pain management nursing. She was a passionate educator, researcher and cat lover and we will greatly miss her expertise in the Great Lakes Chapter as well as ASPMN as a whole.  She was looking forward to retirement in May.  I put her professional biography below as a tribute to her legacy.  Please join me in lifting up April, her friends and family during this difficult time.

April Hazard Vallerand PhD, RN, FAAN, College of Nursing Alumni Endowed Professor at Wayne State University has focused her research on understanding the factors that affect functional status and the barriers to improving pain management in patients with pain in a variety of settings. Her current research project, which was funded by the National Cancer Institute, focuses on improving functional status in African Americans with cancer pain.

A recognized nursing leader and scholar, Dr. Vallerand is widely published on the topic of pain management, including: the maintenance and improvement of functional status in patients with chronic pain, pain-related disparities, cancer pain management, symptom clusters in patients with cancer, pharmacological management of pain, the use of opioids in the management of chronic pain, self-treatment of pain in the community, and the perceived control and coping in patients with chronic pain.

Dr. Vallerand earned her BSN from Mount St. Mary’s College, MSN from California State University, and PhD in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania. She also held a postdoctoral fellowship in Psychosocial Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

Sincerely,

Ashley Meyers

on behalf of the ASPMN Great Lakes Chapter