| Nurse, educator, volunteer, advocate, pioneer, and friend are just a few words that describe Tina Russo Quirk ’70 this year’s recipient of the Nursing and Health Sciences Award. It is clear to those who have had the privilege of knowing and working with Tina that nothing is impossible. Never afraid to step out into uncertain terrain and always willing to take a chance, especially in service to the most vulnerable and marginalized members of society, Tina has demonstrated that not only the power of knowledge and continuing education in the field of nursing, health, and wellness, but also the power of compassion and human touch. Tina is a hands on-learner - literally. Tina learned Therapeutic Touch, a hands-on healing method developed by Dolores Krieger, RN, PhD. She did five years of Human Energy Field study and became certified in Reiki. Tina's open attitude toward other forms of complementary medicine was fortuitous. |
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Never afraid to think outside the box, always able to adapt to new situations, and always the adventurer, Tina studied homeopathic medicine and promoted its use as a legitimate option of alternative and complementary medicine.
Passion for others and service are the hallmarks of Tina’s professional career. From the earliest days of her nursing career, Tina tried to make a difference in the lives of those society would like to forget. Volunteering at Haley House in West Roxbury, MA, serving as a nurse on the Mass General Mobile Clinic Van in Boston and Cambridge, comforting families and offering emotional support to families going through the trauma of miscarriages and stillbirths at Perinatal Bereavement Clinic in New York City, or traveling to Tanzania and setting up her outdoor clinic under the shade of an acacia tree.
While in Africa, Tina continued to volunteer and treated people of all ages in rural villages, orphanages, schools for the deaf, shelters for children with albinism, and hospital-based HIV/AIDS clinics. The project has treated about 15,000 patients over the past 12 years, even extending their services to the distant Maasai villages. She also began teaching homeopathy to the residents. While in the States, Tina was President of the National Center of Homeopathy until she knew she would be returning for an extended time to Tanzania. Tina continues to serve on its Board of Directors.
One of her nominators wrote, "There is a group of six of us that maintain close contact and were blessed to be classmates of Tina’s from 1966-1970. We all remember our first month at the then Notre Dame Hospital in a three-story dorm we shared with nuns. (Not the typical college experience!) We all recall one morning when Tina apologetically said, 'I hope I didn’t wake you guys last night. My leg fell off the chair.' Even after being with her for three weeks, we had not realized she had a prosthesis! She is ever grateful to St. Anselm Nursing Program for accepting her without bias, when other colleges questioned how she could be a nurse with her disability."
While age and physical limitations should not be a reason for receiving this award, it is noteworthy that at 74 years of age with a prosthetic leg, Tina’s work continues to be remarkable.
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