Board of Directors
Connie Morain Baker, MS, CHTP
President and Executive Director
Connie was a rookie Child Life Specialist (Click for full bio) right out of graduate school when she met Donna Wong, a pediatric nurse consultant. Donna described Connie as her first “mentee,” the first person Donna mentored. And mentor she did. As they passionately pursued ways to help assess and manage pain in children, their relationship grew to a friendship in much the same way as with the other board members. With the help of many pediatric patients and families, they created the Wong-Baker FACES® Pain Rating Scale. Connie’s passion for providing excellent care for people in pain has expanded from pediatrics to people of all ages, through her love of speaking, writing, and consulting.
Lynn Clutter, PhD, APRN, CNS, CNE
Vice President
Lynn B. Clutter, PhD, APRN-CNS, RN, CNS, CNE has worked extensively in nursing care of the family. She is a full-time BSN Nursing Assistant Professor at The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma. She teaches at the sophomore, junior, and senior level with students in Nursing Science, Applied Science, Nursing Interventions, and Applied Health Care Research. Her clinical oversight is in the areas of Community Health and Pediatrics. She is a part-time Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) at Saint Francis Hospital.
Lynn’s PhD (2009) was in Nursing Science with a minor in Nursing Informatics at Indiana University. Formerly at Langston University-Tulsa, Lynn was Course Coordinator and taught Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family and Senior Research Seminar for over seven years. She was Founding President of the Upsilon Pi chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, the honor society of nursing and is currently a member of four chapters. She was on the 2013-2015 Research Advisory Panel and is Co-Chair of Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses and was a 2016 recipient of Oklahoma AWHONN Excellence in Research Award. She has held positions as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Certified Nurse Educator, IBCLC Lactation Consultant, Parish Nurse, and Certified Labor Support Doula. She and her husband of forty years have five children and three grandchildren.
Pamela A. Di Vito-Thomas, Ph.D., RN, CNE
Secretary
Currently, Pam is a practicing nurse, nurse researcher, and seminary student. Nursing practice and education have been woven throughout her professional career. As one who has participated in the research and practice of supporting the Wong-Baker FACES® Pain Rating Scale for pain assessment and pain management, her quest is to continue to imprint the legacy of the FACES Scale throughout the global healthcare environment.
Donna M. De Simone, APRN-CNS, MS, JD
Ms. De Simone is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse; Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, and an Attorney in private practice in Oklahoma where she practices Health Care Law, e-Discovery and Estate Planning. Ms. De Simone started her nursing career on the same pediatric nursing unit in which a pediatric nursing consultant named Donna Wong, and a child life specialist named Connie Morain, had a vision of atraumatic care for children. It was on this same pediatric nursing unit that the Wong-Baker FACES® Pain Scale was born. Being a nurse on that nursing unit under the tutelage of visionary individuals became a springboard of a varied and interesting career for Ms. De Simone.
Ms. De Simone’s vast experience in the Corporate and Litigation area as a Former Associate Counsel for a large Healthcare System, her prior Lead Counsel experience in cases involving Civil Rights, Toxic Tort, Environmental Law, and Medical Malpractice in addition to her Nursing Administration, Staff Development, and her Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist experience, form a unique mosaic and perspective on health care issues that has always focused on patient-centered atraumatic care.
Ms. De Simone has represented State Agencies, Corporations, Individuals, and Health Care Providers in Florida and Oklahoma. She is licensed to practice Law in the state bars of Florida and Oklahoma, the United States District Courts (Northern, Eastern, and Western Oklahoma), United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Ms. De Simone is the past proud recipient of the Elaine Osborne Jacobson Award for Women in Health Care Law from the Roscoe Pound Foundation & American Trial Lawyers Association.
In addition to her Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa, she holds a Masters of Nursing Degree; Clinical Nurse Specialist, from the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center and currently in the Post Masters Family Nurse Practitioner Program at George Washington University in Washington DC. Lastly, Ms. De Simone lectures nationally on a variety of nursing and legal issues, holds faculty positions at local universities, and is a Medical Consultant.
Nina Wong Morrisette, MD
David Wilson, MS, RNC, 1950-2015
With great sadness, we remember David Wilson for the great impact he had on our board, in pediatric nursing, and with his family and friends. Among the many contributions David made to our foundation is suggesting that we create podcasts so people can hear from experts around the world about pain care and atraumatic care. That is exactly what we are going to do.
Following is a beautiful tribute written by David’s friend, colleague, and fellow board member, Dr. Lynn Clutter:
I remember Pediatric Nurse Consultants meetings at Donna Wong’s house and learning of David’s skilled work in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I have observed his steady, masterful work with the worldwide most used pediatric nursing textbook, Nursing Care of Infants and Children.
I know that his teaching of BSN students at several universities brought some toward the care of children. His influence on students was evident in their skill acquisition and knowledge growth during the semester of his tutelage. Students listened to his near encyclopedic yet down to earth lectures, took his challenging examinations, and received mentorship during clinical experiences. David was a master in both clinical practice (the care of neonates, children, and teens) and as a skilled professor.
David’s board service on the Wong-Baker FACES Foundation has advanced the use of this facial recognition pain assessment scale. Many will identify this scale as it is used worldwide in hospitals, clinics, schools, and for research in the work to improve care of those in pain. I served with David on the board and he was valued for his depth of contribution.
Now, with students at the Children’s Hospital at Saint Francis, I am reminded of David’s influence on every unit. I regularly point students to the Wilson & Hockenberry text, Clinical Manual of Pediatric Nursing because the content is some of the most applicable for their equipping to give care to children with their families.
David will be long missed for his warm and friendly demeanor, his standard-setting expertise, mentorship, and contribution to the world of pediatric nursing care. He was beloved. David is now, “…away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8b). Thank you, David, for your impartations.
Betty M Rozier, Advisor to the Board of Directors
President-Emeritus of I.V. House, Inc.
Betty M. Rozier served as President of I.V. House, Inc. 1991 through 2012 and has been an entrepreneur for more than 25 years. Working with her daughter, now president of the company, Lisa Vallino, Rozier grew I.V. House, Inc. into the premier IV therapy organization that has provided millions of IV site protectors to hospitals throughout the U.S., Canada and worldwide. As a co-inventor, she continues to develop new products for the growing need of safe IV therapy. Betty served a two-year term as a Director at Large for the Association for Vascular Access (AVA) and has published articles in The Journal of the Association for Vascular Access (JAVA) as well as in other industry publications. Also, a public speaker, Betty’s speeches on entrepreneurship at national conventions and regional associations have inspired her audiences. Betty and Lisa distributed thousands of FACES pins that Donna provided at pediatric conferences in the past.