Hahn to Resign as Director of Yakima Nursing Program, Remain Nursing Faculty

YAKIMA, Wash. – Laura Hahn, MN, ARNP, who has served as director of Washington State University’s Central Washington nursing programs in Yakima since 1998, has announced that she will step down from that position and remain a faculty member in the WSU College of Nursing.

Hahn said the change will take effect June 1 and Debra Franck will replace her as interim director. Franck is currently an instructor at the college.

Hahn will continue teaching at the college and will focus more on advising and recruitment for all the college’s programs. She also plans to work more hours in Yakima’s People’s Clinic, an on-site clinic which serves WSU students, faculty and staff.

“My greatest love is patient care and interacting with people,” said Hahn. “However, I wouldn’t trade these past 10 years as director.” In addition, Hahn will now have more time to travel internationally. For the second summer in a row, she plans to travel to Peru with a group of faculty and students from the Colleges of Nursing and Pharmacy to provide health care to the people of Iquitos as part of a three-credit course offering.

“During Hahn’s tenure as director, she has greatly advanced the college’s mission in the Yakima Valley,” said Anne Hirsch, interim dean for the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing. “Under her leadership, enrollment in the nursing undergraduate, RN to BSN, and graduate programs has doubled. Further, she has spearheaded the Valley’s commitment to develop a community-based clinical simulation lab that will be accessible to healthcare educators and providers throughout the region.”

Hahn has taught for the WSU College of Nursing since 1991. She received a bachelor’s degree from the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing, a master’s degree from the University of Portland, and a post-master’s certificate from Gonzaga University.

WSU’s Central Washington Nursing Program is located on the Yakima Valley Community College campus. The WSU College of Nursing offers baccalaureate, graduate and professional development course work to nursing students in Spokane, Yakima, Vancouver, Tri-Cities and Walla Walla through on-site instruction and using WSU’s Academic Media Services’ interactive video system, as well as videoconferencing, video streaming and Web-based instruction. For more information, visit https://nursing.wsu.edu.