Welcome

NABN Welcomes New Officers
New officers of the National Association of Bariatric Nurses were inaugurated at the fall meeting and conference.
 

President
Kim Joyner
Kim graduated from UNC-Wilmington in 1984 and began an internship at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in the operating room. There, she found her life’s work. She served as a staff nurse in the OR until 1998. At that time, she became the General, Bariatric, Pediatric Coordinator in New Hanover’s surgical services; serving 18 operating room suites, 27 general surgeons, and 35 staff members. Kim witnessed the benefits of bariatric surgery via two close friends, four cousins, and one sister. In 2008, she chose to leave her beloved OR and build New Hanover’s bariatric program with New Hanover’s two bariatric surgeons, Jim Harris and David Miles. New Hanover is an ASMBS Center of Excellence, having recertified in August 2009. Kim has been a member of the NABN board of directors since its inception in 2004. Her passion for the bariatric population is recognized in her community. This passion will be her greatest asset in the role of Vice President of the National Association of Bariatric Nurses.

Treasurer
Elizabeth Rochin, MSN, RN, NE-BC is the Clinical Manager for 7 East at Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, North Carolina, specializing in Bariatric Surgery and General Surgery. She graduated from the University of Virginia School of Nursing (BSN) and received her Master of Science degree from East Carolina University College of Nursing with a concentration in Nursing Administration. Elizabeth is currently pursuing doctoral study at East Carolina University with a research focus in Patient Activation. In addition, she serves as a Clinical Instructor for Nursing Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her leadership and clinical expertise in the care of the bariatric surgical patient has evolved over the past five years, and has shaped a robust framework to advocate for and explore the complexities of morbid obesity. In addition to her responsibilities as Treasurer for the National Association of Bariatric Nurses, Elizabeth is the Secretary for the Great 100 Nurses of North Carolina, and active in many professional nursing organizations. 

Past President
Sharon Isenhour Sarvey, PhD, RN is the Dean of the School of Nursing and has oversight of the Department of Gerontology at Barton College located in Wilson, NC. Dr. Sarvey is a specialist in pediatric nursing and is recognized for her work with children who are overweight and obese. She has published and presented on various topics including childhood and adolescent obesity, residential weight loss camps and resources for parents and professionals managing children with weight issues. Dr. Sarvey serves on the Advisory Board of the Healthy Children’s Foundation and spends many summer hours as the camp nurse for Camp Shining Stars, a residential weight loss camp home-based at Barton College. Dr. Sarvey earned her BSN and MSN from East Carolina University and her PhD from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She previously served as a faculty member at Barton College (then Atlantic Christian College) from 1988-1994, Berea College in Berea, Kentucky from 1994-2000 and East Carolina University 2002-2010.


Founding President and Emeritus Board Member
Dr. Mary Ann Rose
Graduate of Georgetown University School of Nursing (BSN), Case Western Reserve Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing (MSN), and North Carolina State University (EdD)
Current Position: Professor of Nursing and Chair, Department of Graduate Nursing Science
Teaches in the masters program in nursing
Leads the nursing research group, the Bariatric Nursing Consortium
NABN experience: Founding president of the National Association of Bariatric Nurses