Lori Jones nominated for prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leader

Lori (Pankonin) Jones, 85’, RN, BSN, Sanford RN Case Manager of the CareSpan Community Nursing Clinics for the last eight years at various locations in Sioux Falls, was recently honored as an accepted nominee for the prestigious 2007 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leader Award.  This nomination uplifts mid-career community health leaders from across the United States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico who have an outstanding record of accomplishment in the field of community health.  Accepted nominees have demonstrated commitment to working with people especially in need of access to health services, and to directly providing those services to neighborhood communities.  Lori has provided exemplary care to the community through her work with CareSpan, a free, walk-in, preventive services clinic for older adults.  The free nursing clinics are sponsored by Sanford USD Medical Center.  To congratulate Lori, or for more information about CareSpan, please call 605-328-4222.


Tatum Olson Witt,  December 2001
I've been with Children's Hospital in Omaha since February 2002 in NICU.  I became interested in the NICU during SDSU Clinicals at McKennan Hospital.  As a NICU nurse I work with critcally ill and premature babies.  I have been ventilator trained and participate in the transport team that attends high risk deliveries.  I also assist with resusitation if needed.  My case load for each day consists of 2 little ventilator patients or 4 babies if the focus is primarilly feeding and growing.  I have been trained as a preceptor for new nurses and will begin this new part of my job in March.  I do a lot of parent teaching about the NICU environment and how to care for baby when he/she gets home. 

Omaha, Nebraska's Children's Hospital is a 48 bed level 3 NICU.  I feel very blessed to have found a job that I love, working with little patients who are so helpless.  I feel that my clinicals at SDSU in NICU opened a door to nursing that I had never even considered.  My area of nursing is always changing and each day is different than the one before.  I am now one of the more experienced nurses in the NICU.  Many of our nurses move to a different area of nursing due to the higher stress in our NICU unit.  So we would always be happy to have applicants interested in this line of nursing.    

I have just recently returned to my job after a 2 month maternity leave when my husband Evan, who is in sales with Omaha Steaks, and I welcomed our own little man, Mason Harris.  Mason was born November 10, 2003.  We completed a move into a house shortly before Mason was born.  If you are ever in the Omaha area stop by and see us at 13955 Meadow Ridge Rd., Omaha, Nebraska 68138. 

Johnathan Prins, December 2002
Just thought I would write you a quick note to say Hi! I really like it down here at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, TX. It is an awesome place to work. The thing that gets me is that all the nurses really "love" to work here and they are hard working and love what they do. Just wanted to thank you for your help and advice for my graduate school application. Something must have gone right because the director called me last Friday and told me that I was accepted into Texas A & M University for the Fall term.

Bruce Kyllonen, February 2007
Just a quick update on my family and I.  Jacki and I have two adorable little girls now – Sophie (3) and Elle (1).  We have been back home in SD near Brookings since the summer of 2005 after a tour on active duty with the Army in Washington at Walter Reed, and have put down roots in the Brookings area when we bought our 1^st and hopefully only home in Bruce.  I worked at the Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls for 1&1/2 years and am now learning what small town SD hospital nursing can be like in Clear Lake.  Future plans include a MSN at SDSU, most likely in the NP track, hopefully to be completed in the next 5-7 years.  I also wanted to give high commendation to the SDSU faculty for the strong basis in learning with which you provided me for the first few years of clinical practice that I have had.  You are the best!
All the best,
Bruce Kyllonen

Jodi Kennedy (Oberstein) class of December 1998
Hello to former classmates and faculty of SDSU.  Thank you for a excellent nursing education that has lead to many wonderful experiences.  I became a monitored acute care nurse at Rapid City Regional Hospital from December 1998 to April 2004.  Furthermore , in January 2004 I began working as a clinical nurse instructor for SDSU-west river.  In April of 2004, I relocated to Lawrence Kansas.  I got married in November of 2000 to a family practice doctor.  We have two wonderful children that keep us very busy.  Nicholas was born August 2001 and Natalie was born December 2004.  Here is my current contact information.
Jodi Kennedy
3012 West 28th Street
Lawrence KS 66047
jodieoberstein@hotmail.com

Michelle (Walter) Peterson, December 1997
Just wanting to send a hello out to faculty and former classmates. I have been in Omaha, NE the past five years after graduating in December of 1997. I've been working on a medical/surgical floor at Clarkson Hospital (Nebraska Medical Center) for most of this time. I just became faculty as a clinical instructor on staff at Clarkson College. Along with this, I will be starting the nurse educator master's program here. May 31st of this year I married Kevin Peterson here in Bellevue (Omaha). I'm also busy singing on the worship team at my church. Thanks for a wonderful education at SDSU. I'm proud to say I'm a graduate of the nursing program.


Sarah Ellis (Snow) BS 1996 and Jason Ellis BS Pharmacy (1995) welcomed their third boy, Landon, on December 30, 2002. Sarah works on-call in the ER at Spencer Hospital and Jason is the pharmacy manager at Wal-mart super center in Spencer, Iowa. Big brothers at home are five year old, Dylan, and three year old,

SDSU Nursing graduate LTC Elizabeth Mittelstaedt (B.S. 1978) was honored on November 10, 1999, as the recipient of the United States Clinical Nursing Excellence Award. This award, established in 1989, recognizes and honors the accomplishments and performance which has resulted in significant contributions of an outstanding and sustained nature. The nurse honored must have demonostrated a substantial impact on the mission of a federal health agency.

LTC Mittelstaedt is a 1974 graduate of Beresford (SD) High School, received her bachelor's degree in nursing from SDSU in 1978 and a master's degree in Nursing Administration from the University of Washington in 1993. In the Army since her graduation from SDSU, LTC Mittelstaedt's assignments have included Fort Lewis, WA; Fort Irwin, CA; Korea; Hawaii;Panama and Washington, D. C.

Currently LTC Mittelstaedt is the Chief of Maternal Child Health Nursing Services at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, WA. In 1997, LTC Mittelstaedt was named as the Consultant to the (Army) Surgeon General for Maternal Child Health Nursing issues. In 1995 she was presented the prestigious Order of Military Medical Merit.

LTC Mittelstaedt is the daughter of Eleanor Lass of Beresford, SD and is married to Paul E. Mittelstaedt, Jr.

Not long after her graduation in May 2000, SDSU nursing alumna Wendy Holthe performed CPR on a doctor (father of former SDSU College of
Nursing faculty member Carman Timmerman) who had collapsed on a golf
course in Rapid City. We're proud of you, Wendy!

Kenneth Hargens, BSN (SDSU '06); BS-Chem/Biol (SDSM&T '96)
Hello Fellow Alumni. As I am writing this I am also taking note of the fact that this is the first day of the year 2008. This is my first position as an RN since graduating and I am a staff nurse on the Medical/Surgical Unit at the historical Ft. Meade, SD, Veterans Administration Hospital. I am fulfilling a night tour requirement as I write and our patient census is lower than normal. This is the first RN position I applied for and I certainly enjoy my duties. I recently semi-retired from my military obligations and after 37 years and 16 days service, I can readily relate to my patients here. When performing initial assessments, I never fail to ask the veteran to relate some aspect of his or her military service.  My youngest patient has been 23 and my oldest has been 97.