Catherine Waters
By
Shipra Shukla
Mayor Gavin Newsom recently appointed Catherine Waters, RN, PhD, associate professor, UCSF School of Nursing, to the San Francisco Health Commission.
The health commission oversees the Department of Public Health and its $1 billion annual budget.
"Dr. Waters' community-based research on health promotion brings unique expertise to the health commission," said Catherine Dodd, RN, PhD, deputy chief of staff to Mayor Gavin Newsom.
As the governing and policymaking body of the Department of Public Health, the San Francisco Health Commission is mandated by the City and County Charter to manage and control the city and county hospitals, and to monitor and regulate emergency medical services and all matters pertaining to the preservation, promotion and protection of the lives, health and mental health of San Francisco residents.
"Mayor Newsom made a wise selection in appointing Dr. Waters to the San Francisco Health Commission," said Carmen J. Portillo, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor and interim chair of the Department of Community Health Systems in the UCSF School of Nursing. "From the time she began her career at UCSF in 1996, she went straight to the community - to get to know them. Her commitment to the community of San Francisco, as much as to nursing, has been relentless."
Waters' commitment is represented through her activities as a volunteer on the African American Community Health Advisory Committee, which represents a composite network of many partners that include community residents, churches, businesses, civic organizations, community centers, clinics, hospitals and other local health departments. It represents 12 cities in four counties, working to increase health information, health care access and self-responsibility in African Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"As San Francisco undertakes the implementation of universal health coverage, it is essential to have commissioners who understand the complexities of the health care system and the needs of our residents," said Dodd. "Catherine Waters has both, and we are grateful for her service."
Health commissioners are appointed by the mayor of San Francisco to four-year terms. Waters will serve along with six other commissioners, who include representatives from St. Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation.
Waters' research focuses on interventions that help people solve problems related to the long-term maintenance of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors within the context of their daily lives, taking into account individual and public-private community partnerships and resources. Waters' current Nutrition and Fitness for Life Cancer Prevention Study is funded by a $1.5 million grant from the American Cancer Society.
Waters has been honored several times over the years for her service to the community by the Ivy Alpha Kappa Alpha Academy Foundation of San Francisco and by San Francisco Business & Professional Women. For excellence in teaching, in 1999 she was the recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award and the Excellence in Teaching Award from the UCSF School of Nursing and UCSF Black Student Health Alliance, respectively. In 2006, Waters was awarded the Mentor of the Year award by UCSF School of Nursing graduating doctoral students.
She has also served on the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Diversity and was the president of the Alpha Eta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Waters is a member of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bay Area Chapter of National Black Nurses Association, Association of Community Health Nurse Educators and the Diversity-Disparities Team of the American Cancer Society, California Division.
