Debra L. Wiegand, PhD, RN, CCRN, CHPN, FAHA, FPCN, FAAN of North Wales, Pennsylvania, beloved wife of James Wiegand, passed away peacefully on November 13, 2018. Born June 15, 1958 in Amherst, OH, she was the daughter of the late Theodore and the late Lucille (nee Krieg) Lynn. Debra is survived by her children, Michael McHale, of Baltimore MD, Shannon Cattie (Sean), of Perkasie PA, Scott Wiegand (Katie), of Collegeville PA, and her grandson, Ryder. She is also survived by her sister Kathy Kreeger (Bob), of Amherst OH, brother, Dale Lynn (Dana), of Alliance OH, sister, Rebecca Lengyel (Ken), of Lorain OH, 12 nieces and nephews, and many close friends.
She will always be remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, colleague, and friend who cared deeply about others, both in times of joy and sorrow. Debra will also be remembered by those she taught, by example, as a role model, as a mentor and by those she taught simply by living her life and career in service to so many.
Dr. Wiegand received her Diploma from the MB Johnson School of Nursing in Ohio, her BSN from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and her MSN from Wayne State University in Michigan. She earned her PhD in Nursing and Masters in Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania and completed post-doctoral work in Nursing at Yale University.
Dr. Wiegand was an associate professor with the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. She taught palliative care, end-of-life, and bioethics courses for undergraduate and graduate students across the campus. Her program of research focused on improving care provided to families of patients with acute and chronic life-limiting illnesses. Dr. Wiegand was a pioneer and a visionary researcher regarding family decision-making and the dying process in the ICU setting, having led or participated in nearly 20 projects. She also studied family-focused interventions to facilitate the physical and psychosocial adaptation of families both during the dying process and after their loved one’s death. Her prospective, observational studies of families in the ICU were among the first such studies that laid the foundation for our science. Her research also illuminated ICU nurses’ experiences of providing care to individuals near death and their families and the toll such care takes on nurses. She published her work in nursing and medical journals and was a highly sought-after speaker at national and international nursing and medical conferences.
Her past and current doctoral students across the globe carry on her legacy of conducting research with families of seriously ill adults and children, as well as her desire to understand and support families as they live with and survive the death of their loved one. As one student shared, “Dr. Wiegand always stopped to check in with me and had a smile on her face.” She was a trusted mentor, providing career guidance and moral support to junior faculty.
Debra’s clinical background was in cardiac critical care nursing. She “retired” from being a staff nurse at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia in the Cardiovascular ICU in January 2017.A clinician colleague commented, “Her professional influence extends far, far beyond her individual work. By the example she set for others, she raised the standard for cardiovascular care, critical care, and end-of-life care. The great good she has done will live on and continue through the multitude of others she influenced, taught, and mentored.”
In addition to her positions in academia and clinical practice, Debra contributed enormously through her tireless work and leadership in national and international organizations related to family nursing, hospice and palliative care, critical care, and heart disease.
Dr. Wiegand was a loyal member of the International Family Nursing Association (IFNA) and faithfully participated in IFNA conferences and actively collaborated with IFNA members.Debra contributed much to our understanding of family involvement and decision making related to end-of-life experiences. She published conceptual, integrative, and data-based articles in the Journal of Family Nursing(4 total) that advanced knowledge of the importance of trusting relationships between family members and health care professionals, family processes related to withdrawal of life sustaining therapy, and family response to sudden death. She presented at all 3 International Family Nursing Conferences sponsored by the International Family Nursing Association. She continually pushed us to address topics and generate knowledge that would contribute to supporting families during profoundly difficult experiences.
She advocated for professional standards and education regarding end-of-life care not only for the family but also for the patient. She was the President of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) at the time of her death. She served on the organization’s Governance, Audit and Assessment, and Research Committees, and was the Co-Chairperson of the Bioethics Special Interest Group. She served on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursingand was the HPNA representative to the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation. In 2014, she was inducted as a Fellow in Palliative Care Nursing by HPNA for her leadership and pioneering spirit. Dr. Wiegand was also a philanthropist, having been recognized as a Florence Wald champion of HPNA. She served as a faculty member for the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium and a faculty scholar of the Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice at the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care.
Dr. Wiegand was active in the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) where she was a member of the Board of Directors from 1991 to 1994. She was co-editor and editor of 4 editions of the highly acclaimed AACN Procedure Manual for Critical Care– the clinical bible adopted by thousands of hospitals throughout the world to ensure safe quality care for patients. Debra received the Circle of Excellence Award from AACN in 2014. This award recognizes nurses who exemplify excellence in the care of acutely and critically ill patients and their families.
Dr. Wiegand served on the Program Planning Committee of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing of the American Heart Association for 10 years and as its chair for 3 of these years. In recognition of her contributions to cardiovascular nursing, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Heart Association in 2001.
In 2018 Dr. Wiegand had the joy of becoming a member of International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement, beingrecognized for her many contributions to thanatology and for being endorsed by her peers as an international scholar.
The American Academy of Nursing recognized Debra’s cumulative global contributions and leadership in nursing education, practice, research, and health policy that benefit the public and the nursing profession when she was named a Fellow in 2003. The old Quaker saying”Let your life speak” exemplified Debra. She let her life speak through her compassion, scholarship, curiosity, and spirit.
Debra’s family has respectfully requested that those desiring to do so may make a memorial contribution in her name to The American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org
