Sharpest Scalpel Queries Dr. Delia
Santana About Life on Campus, 2022-23
Please give us a little background about yourself, including your professional training and previous experience, your work at CDU, and your primary responsibilities.
As far as my professional training goes, I received my Registered Nurse training at the University of Washington. I have a master’ s in nursing and Public Health from California State University, Long Beach. I am a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Community Health Nursing, and my PhD from Walden University is in Health Care Administration.
My original training was as a Lieutenant in the Army in the area of Public Health, specifically environmental health. After leaving the military, I spent 19 years with Los Angeles County Health Services, 16 of which were with the Department of Public Health. While there, I led nursing staff in the control and prevention of communicable diseases in the South Bay. I served through many communicable disease investigations to include outbreaks such as Hepatitis A, Measles, Tuberculosis, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, and even through the Ebola pandemic.
After years of this type of work, I was ready for a change. I had been an adjunct faculty member for several years and found that I really enjoyed teaching. After 19 years with LA County, I came to the School of Nursing here at CDU as an Assistant Professor and Clinical Coordinator. I took on several key roles to include Clinical Director, Assistant Director for the Entry Level Master’ s Program, and participated in several University committees such as the Academic Student Affairs and Academic Task Force Committee for Clinical Affairs, among others. I just really found my niche here at CDU where my love for the community, academia and teaching allowed me to grow.
Currently, I am the Chief Nursing Officer for the University. In this role, I am responsible for COVID-19 prevention and testing on campus, and I have been in this role for just over 2 years now. I am also the Associate Provost for
Academic Services here at CDU, providing leadership for Clinical Affairs, Library Services, International Affairs, and Simulation. My previous training and experience aligned me to be well suited for this additional responsibly. I have also previously held the position of Interim Dean for the Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing and Chief Nursing Administrator, during which time I learned so much and learned to appreciate CDU’ s unique value to the community and the nation.
You’ ve made a significant contribution to keeping CDU a safe and COVID-19 free campus. Why were you selected for this momentous responsibility?
During the height of COVID-19 in 2020 after all University campuses were shut down, CDU had a need for someone to lead the path in response to the rising COVID-19 infections. I stepped up to the charge. Becoming the Chief Nursing Officer to help with COVID-19 control and prevention on campus was a natural position for me. One of my goals has always been to provide leadership and oversight for diseases affecting Los Angeles County as it relates to California and the nation.
When I worked with the Department of Public Health, I was able to lead my team of public health nurses covering over 23 Los Angeles cities in managing communicable diseases. In my mind COVID-19, although being of pandemic proportions, was still only one disease. I was used to handling over 75 reportable diseases for over 16 years to include outbreaks on ships at the ports, schools, and even some on Catalina Island. I was ready for this task. What I was not prepared for was the emotions surrounding the illness and the suffering caused by COVID-19 especially for people here in South Los Angeles.
Is your vigilance about infectious disease a part of your professional training?
My training has been primarily in local and global public health sciences, and it helps that apart from being born in
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