Beth Haney and Judy Harris Named as Recipients of 2018 CANP Awards
Recognized by their peers for outstanding achievement in advancing the role of nurse practitioners, Beth Haney and Judy Harris were honored as the recipients of the 2018 CANP Awards, presented during CANP’s 41st Annual Educational Conference.
Haney, a former President of CANP, was presented the Nurse Practitioner of Distinction honor. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, Irvine, and is the founder and CEO of Luxe Aesthetic Center, located in Yorba Linda. She created the first online and hands-on aesthetics courses on neurotoxins and dermal fillers in the entire University of California system, is the author of a book on cosmetic treatments and procedures, and was a contributing author for a nursing textbook on dermatology practices. She currently holds 10 professional memberships, and was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in 2016.
Beyond her accomplishments as a working NP, Haney has forged a reputation as a staunch advocate for the profession. A longtime member of CANP’s Orange County Chapter, she served for eight years on the CANP Board of Directors, including two years as CANP President (2013-2014). During her term as President, she helped lead the pursuit of full practice authority for California NPs by spearheading CANP’s support for Senate Bill 491. Though the bill did not advance, her leadership in support of the bill helped build critical momentum that has snowballed into CANP being regarded today as one of California’s leading voices in the health care policy arena.
In 2016, Haney was elected to the Yorba Linda City Council, part of an incoming wave that established an all-female majority on the council for the first time in the city’s history. Through her public service, she has continued her commitment to advancing the nurse practitioner profession.
Harris was awarded the Bridging Health Care Needs award in recognition of a career that has included 23 years as a military Nurse Corps Officer, 12 years as a Foreign Service Health Provider, and nearly 10 years in the academic world.
Her achievements include coordinating and assuring health care to culturally and financially at-risk populations by training professional and paraprofessional staff. In exercising her imagination and skills to provide care in non-traditional settings to diverse, underserved communities, she has frequently represented the role of nurse practitioners to people who were completely unfamiliar with what an NP is. In the process, she has personified the profession in the eyes of government officials and health care leaders.
Serving in challenging settings in Africa, she modified health education strategies and educational material for populations of various cultural backgrounds and diplomatic personnel in exotic, sometimes austere settings. Frequently, her staff was comprised of local residents, some with limited medical experience, which required creative strategies and negotiating skills. Overseas, on many occasions, Harris has had to use her clinical skills and expertise managing atypical situations with sparse traditional resources.
Within the college campus setting, she championed the policy that the Director of the Student Healthcare Center should be a nurse practitioner. She reasoned that the NP training and health care model is imperative to the administration of a health care organization to meet the evolving needs of college students.
Since her relocation to the San Diego area, she has become an active member of CANP, the Health Services Association of California Community Colleges, the Mental Health and Wellness Association of Community Colleges and Program Directors of California.
The Nurse Practitioner of Distinction Award specifically recognizes a CANP member who demonstrates excellence in furthering the nurse practitioner role either in legislative efforts or clinical application. The Bridging Health Care Needs Award recognizes nurse practitioners who are active as a catalyst for positive change in the health care system and who demonstrate the value of the care nurse practitioners provide to their patients.
See the list of CANP Award winners.