Joanne Hill

Joanne Hill, APRN, MSN, CRNA, is the recipient of the Philip D. Raso Scholarship. Joanne worked as an Associate Degree Registered Nurse in a long-term care Alzheimer's and Huntington Chorea Unit before transferring to a Level 1 Academic Trauma Center in 1996. At this Trauma Center, Joanne started on an inpatient surgical unit and then transferred to a Surgical/Trauma Intensive Care Unit for ten more years working in the community she lived and grew up in throughout high school.

Joanne achieved her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at Winona State University, graduating on the Dean's list in 2004. In 2005, Joanne was accepted into the Nurse Anesthesia program at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (SMUMN). Graduating with an MS in Nurse Anesthesia in 2007, Joanne continued her career as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) in the same Trauma Center for 11 more years. Additionally, Joanne is an adjunct professor at her alma mater, SMUMN, teaching airway management skills to Student Registered Nurse Anesthetists. After 23 years in the same Trauma Center, Joanne transitioned to the Midwest's only eye hospital, Phillips Eye Hospital, and is a candidate for the Doctorate program at the University of Minnesota.

Joanne grew up as the youngest child of seven in a single-parent home. Joanne was raised on a small farm with her mother and siblings. Her mother volunteer for meals on wheels, 4H, and worked as a nursing assistant requiring government assistance to raise her seven children. Joanne has always wanted to help others and improve the health and well-being of those less fortunate. Pediatric mission work, population health, and academia remain Joanne's current and future goals to improve the health and well-being of diverse populations. As a DNP candidate at the University of Minnesota, Joanne is in a program with an emphasis on generating knowledge and preparing nurse leaders who will create, lead, and participate in holistic efforts to improve the health of all people within their communities. Through excellence in education, research, and community engagement, Joanne plans to advance the health and well-being of communities across Minnesota.

Throughout her career, Joanne has participated in many mission trips to the Philippines, Liberia, and Zimbabwe, providing anesthesia for pediatric patients in need. Additionally, Joanne is active in her community, participating in community programs that focus on decreasing healthcare disparities, as well as participating in many community initiatives to improve health and wellness, such as diabetes, blood pressure, and cancer screenings. Joanne volunteered for the past eight years on an annual college tour across the United States, taking 80+ high schoolers to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) every year to decease educational disparities and improve well-being in her community.

Joanne plans to use her DNP to become a leader in healthcare advocacy, nursing education, and healthcare practice in both anesthesia and population health. Joanne wants to broaden her skill set after 30+ years in inpatient, emergency, intensive care, and most recently, in anesthesia to make a more significant impact on health by reducing healthcare disparities within the community. She hopes to facilitate optimal health and well-being as well as lead collaborative efforts to meet the social determinants of health for all people on a local, national, and global scale.