Nursing Participates in Salem Wellness Fair

Once again, Nursing demonstrated strong support and active participation in the 4th Annual Salem Wellness Fair held on April 9th & 10th at the O'Keefe Center Complex. This event was sponsored by the City of Salem's Board of Health, Police and School Departments and Salem State College. Corporate sponsorship included: North Shore Medical Center, Eastern Bank, and AK Media. Additional funding was provided by O'Keefe Chevrolet, Northside Carting Inc., and the Salem Evening News. Students and faculty worked together to provide


(From left) Stephanie Fitzgerald, Angela Curtis, Sr. Marie Bransfield, Rehabilition Nursing clinical faculty, and Adama Khouma.

health assessments and screenings for skin cancer, diabetes, elevated cholesterol levels, hypertension, vision, hearing and general fitness assessments. Information was distributed on alcohol and drug awareness, prescription medication information, nutrition, elder issues, lead poisoning and other health related topics of interest to the general population. Professor Joanne Turco was the coordinator for the School of Nursing.

Grad Student Debuts on the Tonight Show


Jay Leno and Claire MacDonald

Claire MacDonald, a graduate student in the Salem State College MSN Program was a guest on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on February 14, 2000. Ms. MacDonald demonstrated and coached Jay, as he participated in learning proper hand washing techniques at a double sink. Jay received a "certificate for good effort" and an opportunity to repeat the course.

Ms. MacDonald received her BSN from the University of Lowell in 1985. She has worked in ICU and telemetry units at Malden Hospital. She has also been a part-time faculty member at Middlesex Community College in Bedford, Mass.

for five years, where she is the program coordinator for the Certified Nurses Aide (CNA) Training Program. She also teaches in the program and supervises the instructors who teach the CNA clinical practicum. She is also a part time nursing supervisor at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital in Melrose, Massachusetts. She will be inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau, Eta Tau Chapter, the International Honor Society in Nursing on May 10th. Claire will complete the Master of Science in Nursing Program at Salem State College in May, 2000.

When asked how her guest appearance came about, Claire explained that the Tonight Show contacted Middlesex Community College (MCC) and requested to have a hand washing professor appear on the show to give a demonstration to Jay. Apparently, Jay had seen the course listed in the College Catalogue and decided to have a faculty member appear on the program to give a demonstration. It just so happened that Claire MacDonald RN BSN, a graduate student as SSC was the faculty member selected to give the demonstration. She and her husband, Edwin, and sons Eddie, age 13, and Sean, age 7, were flown out to California and all arrangements were taken care of by the Tonight Show. Claire said, "We were treated like royalty - we were chauffeured in a stretch limousine everywhere we went! I had my own private dressing room with my name on the door. Jay even sent a basket of treats to my dressing room. I truly felt like a star for a day! Everyone from the show was wonderful to me and my family. It was an incredible experience and we enjoyed every minute of it." Claire also said she would be very happy to return at any time to teach Jay other important nursing skills!