Loralie Woods MSN, RN-BC is the recipient of the 2019 Madeline Naegle Scholarship Fund Award for Mental Health Nursing. Loralie obtained her Bachelor of Nursing from Memorial University Faculty of Nursing in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. In 1999, she relocated to the United States and later earned her Master of Science in Nursing from San Diego State University School of Nursing in San Diego, California. Currently, Loralie is completing her second year of the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing program at the Hahn School of Nursing & Health Science University of San Diego and serves as the Director of Inpatient Services of a 158-bed behavior health hospital.

Loralie’s research focuses on identifying promoters and barriers to treatment for pregnant women with opioid use disorders. The goals of her research are to inform and assist healthcare clinicians tailor interventions to support pregnant women in seeking treatment and preventing death due to opioid overdose. After listening to the broken hearts of 2 children losing their mother to an opioid overdose, she was called to action. Loralie felt compelled to understand the driving forces beyond the opioid crisis and discover ways to prevent future children from experiencing these losses. The funding from the Nurses Educational Funds, Inc. will support her in her final year of doctoral education where she plans to analyze treatment use data collected through the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health.

Additionally, Loralie has served as an adjunct clinical professor for baccalaureate students completing their psychiatric-mental health nursing rotations and is passionate about influencing the next generation of nurses to advocate for policy change, address social justice and equity in mental health care at the local, national, and global level. Loralie is grateful to this country for the opportunities that she has experienced and feels privileged to be the provider of hope for patients with mental health and substance use disorders and leader of the next generation of psychiatric-mental health nurses.