Nursing head named hero 
June 15, 2009 by Saba Tesfay
Carolyn Yucha named 2009 Healthcare Hero
They fly around and wear capes on the big screen, but heroes at UNLV have an even bigger impact.
The Nevada Business Journal named Carolyn Yucha, a certified nurse educator and dean for the UNLV School of Nursing, a Healthcare Hero for 2009.
Yucha won the educator’s award after five years at UNLV. “I am honored to have my work as an educator of Southern Nevada recognized,” she said.
Tarah Figueroa, managing editor for the Nevada Business Journal, explained that industry professionals, healthcare workers and patients fill out ballots to determine the winners of the title. A team counts all of the ballots and deliberates which candidates deserve to be named Healthcare Heroes.
Yucha recognized the contructive efforts of the Journal. “I am pleased the Nevada Business Journal recognizes the hard work of people in the community working to improve healthcare,” she said.
According to Figueroa, the panel looks for individuals who are not new to Nevada and who have the biggest impact on students and patients. Yucha said she thinks of nursing as her way of giving back to the city and that the opportunities made available at UNLV have allowed her to do so. “The community has a lot of needs for nursing and [UNLV] gives us the opportunity to play our part [in helping the Valley],” Yucha said.
In her time at UNLV, the nursing faculty and school enrollment has doubled. The master’s program has been expanded and a Ph.D. nursing program has been instituted.
The School of Nursing has more external funding now than ever before and the school has received support from the university to grow and develop. Since 2004, Yucha has been the dean of the School of Nursing. She ensures that the faculty and staff have all the skills and resources they need to do their jobs.
The Healthcare Heroes awards include accolades for an administrator, entrepreneur, innovator, humanitarian and care provider. Yucha is the third UNLV nursing professor to receive this award. Previous UNLV recipients include Rosemary Witt in 2007 and Lori Candela in 2008.
Alongside nine other recipients from the Southern Nevada region, Yucha will be honored as a Healthcare Hero at an award ceremony on July 29 in Las Vegas.
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