About
Patricia Gerrity, PhD presently serves as Associate Dean for Community Programs at Drexel University’s College of Nursing & Health Professions. She focused her career on providing access to health care for underserved populations through the advancement of nurse-led health centers. Nationally known for her work in promoting health in diverse urban communities, and in trauma informed care, she received more than $23 million in grants from local, state and federal sources. She also serves as the director of the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services of Drexel University, a nurse-led, federally qualified health center in North Philadelphia operating in partnership with the Family Practice & Counseling Network. In addition to improving the health status of community residents, the center serves as a site for research, education and practice for the college’s faculty and students.
Gerrity completed a prestigious three-year fellowship through the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program where she conducted a leadership project to expand the health center into a healthy living center with a strong community-based health promotion component. From 1998-2000 she served as a fellow at the International Center for Health Leadership Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she explored the redirection of health professions education and health services through academic- community partnerships for health.
Academic Distinctions
- White House Champions of Change - Prevention & Public Health, 2013
- Roosevelt Award for Service to Humanity - presented by the March of Dimes on November 16, 2012
- Nursing Spectrum Excellence Awards - National Nurse of the Year Award for Advancing & Leading the Profession, October 2010
- University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Outstanding Alumni Award, May 15, 2009
- American Academy of Nursing - Edge Runner - 2007 "As part of Raise the Voice!, the Academy is showcasing stories of nurse 'Edge Runners' - the practical innovators who have led the way in bringing new thinking and new methods to a wide range of health care challenges."
- Health Resources & Services Administration - Community Service Excellence Award 2000.
Faculty Fellowships
- Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing
- Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows
- International Center for Health Leadership Development - University of Illinois, Chicago
Professional Society
American Academy of Nursing
American Nurses Association
Sigma Theta Tau
American Public Health Association