Dr. Patricia Lawrence was appointed as the next director of Project Healthy Grandparents (PHG), effective September 1. She also holds an appointment as a clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing. Dr. Lawrence recently received her Ph.D. in nursing from the Georgia State and has extensive experience as a pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) in pediatric cardiology and primary care. She has published numerous journal articles and has made presentations at many professional meetings. In 2020, Patricia received the Doctoral Nursing Student Research Award from the School of Nursing, and in 2015 the March of Dimes “Nurse of the Year” in the advanced practice category for the state of Georgia.
When Dr. Lawrence was the clinical program manager for the pulmonary hypertension program at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta, her responsibilities included program development, medical management, and managing staff. She will continue practicing as a PNP one day a week at Children’s.
In addition to her Ph.D., Dr. Lawrence earned a master’s degree in nursing from Boston College and an undergraduate degree in nursing from the University of Rochester. She is married with two daughters. The oldest attends Georgia State University, and the other is in high school.
Dr. Lawrence assumed the director role from Dr. Susan Kelley, the founder of PHG and director for 27 years. Dr. Kelley retires in December 2022 but will continue to serve on PHG’s Community Advisory Board. PHG is a research and community service program sponsored by the School of Nursing.