Board of Directors

Heather E. Norman is a highly experienced healthcare leader with over 20 years of dedication to the field. She began her career in healthcare as a combat medic during her active duty in the US Army. Currently, Mrs. Norman serves as the Chief Nursing Officer for Wellpath, providing executive leadership and strategic direction for nursing services. She is passionate about addressing the social determinants of health and advocating for both nurses and patients. She is a strong advocate for the specialty of correctional nursing and strives to advance its professional recognition through research, education, and advocacy. Her overarching goal is to partner with stakeholders to strengthen the quality of nursing care for incarcerated patients.

 Mrs. Norman earned a Master of Science in Clinical Nurse Leadership from the University of Virginia and a Master in Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Administration from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Mary Muse is a consultant in the specialty area of Correctional Health. In her work she serves as an expert for the legal field in correctional health, correctional institutions, public health, and academia. Ms. Muse has been involved in the specialty of correctional health for twenty-nine years. She has served as the chief nursing officer in both jails and prisons. Ms. Muse holds and has held academic appointments in several colleges and universities, including Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri.  She is the Immediate Past President of the American Correctional Nurses Association, an organization she co-founded in 2019-2020.

 From 2015-2023, Ms. Muse served as the American Nurses Association representative on the board of the National Commission for Correctional Health Care. In addition, she is a surveyor for the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. She also is a representative on the Nursing Advisory Committee for Correctional Health and Committee on Racism in Corrections. She previously served as chairperson for this committee.

 Her professional career includes 29 years advocating for justice populations and elevating and leading nursing services in corrections.

Mary has published several articles and a book chapter on professional nursing in corrections. She has presented on nursing leadership, nursing practice, legal implications of nursing practice in corrections, ethics, and moral distress. Her contributions to the field of nursing have been impactful. “Muse’s Framework for Correctional Nursing Practice” serves as a guide for implementing nursing practice in corrections. In 2021, Ms. Muse received the “Outstanding Woman of Color” award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mary Muse served twice as President of the Academy of Correctional Health Professionals, chaired the RN certification committee for correctional nurses, and has written a chapter on “Professional Practice” for the textbook “Essentials of Correctional Nursing.

Mary Muse has long been interested in developing nurse leaders and elevating correctional nursing through enhanced practice, visibility, and voice. Her goal is to be impactful and have influence in care delivery and reimagining correctional nursing.

I have 53 years of experience as a Registered Nurse and 30+ years’ experience as a correctional nurse, starting as a staff nurse in a state prison setting and continuing as a nurse administrator and then as a nurse educator in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. 

While working in the ODRC, I was one of the first designated infectious disease coordinators and AIDS counselors. As a nurse administrator and educator, I revised and redesigned the ODRC Nursing Protocols to improve their clinical decision-making support.  I used the knowledge gained from my correctional clinical nursing experiences when I wrote Chapter 10, Infectious Diseases and Chapter 15, Nursing Sick Call for The Essentials of Correctional Nursing (Schoenly & Knox, eds).

Since retiring from the Ohio DRC, I became more involved with professional organizations including ANA, ANPD, and the Ohio Nurses Association.  My correctional nurse professional associations include the American Correctional Nurses Association (founding member, Secretary, and Chairperson of the Program Committee), the Academy of Correctional Health Care Professionals (Board member and Education Committee Co-chairperson), and the Nurse Advisory Council. I have been a member of the workgroup assembled to revise the Scope and Standards of Correctional Nursing three times.  I have developed educational presentations and written short articles addressing Nurse Sick Call guidelines, malingering, and nursing interventions. I have written or co-written four journal articles related to correctional nursing. Being retired has allowed me time to spread my wings and develop my knowledge and expertise as a correctional nurse. However, the most wonderful thing about being an older correctional nurse is helping young correctional nurses navigate and find their place in correctional nursing.  I received the first Margaret Collatt Service Award from the Academy of Correctional Health Professionals in 2019.

Ms. Olson is a registered nurse with over fourteen years of nursing experience. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing Executive Leadership from Chamberlain University. As the Regional Director of Nursing, she brings experience from adult and juvenile facilities in California. Ms. Olson is passionate about correctional nursing, educating other correctional nurses, and advocating for patients. She feels it is essential to be a voice for correctional nursing. Ms. Olson previously served as a Nurse Manager in a 27-bed CVU, ICU, and Neuro ICU Unit in Carson City, Nevada. Before becoming a nurse, she worked as a Marketing Manager for an information technology consulting and integration firm focused on application development, deployment, and management. Throughout her career, she has cultivated positive and successful relationships by listening to their needs, delivering quality results promptly, and providing continued customer service during and after projects.

Dr. Janet Jowitt has 29 years of nursing experience with expertise in geriatric and correctional nursing care. She is inaugural faculty in the UNTHSC College of Nursing after serving as an Assistant Professor at Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. She received her Doctorate degree in Health Administration from University of Phoenix.  She has dual Master’s degrees. She received her Master’s in Science in Nursing degree from University of Texas at Arlington and her Master’s in Science in Administration – Healthcare Management from California State University – Bakersfield. She is board certified in Adult/Geriatric Primary Care as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. She is dedicated to building strong team foundations, education, and high quality, safe healthcare delivery. She has a passion for older adults and correctional health and continues to share her expertise through education and clinical practice.

Dr. Patricia Blair is a Registered Nurse and an Attorney with a Masters in Laws (LLM) Health Law Degree. She received her PhD in Clinical Science Research (Health Services Research) from the University of Texas Medical Branch Preventive Medicine and Community Health Department with a focus on health disparities in underserved and marginalized populations. She also received her LLM from the University of Houston Health Law and Policy Institute. Dr. Blair is a Certified Correctional Healthcare Professional – Registered Nurse and Advanced Correctional Health Care Professional. She is the 2024-2025 Chair of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) Board of Representatives (American Bar Association (ABA) Representative) where she serves on the Policy & Research Committee and Chairs the Correctional Nurses Certification Committee. She is a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Correctional Health Care. She is a Founding Member of the American Correctional Nurses Association. She serves on the ABA Health Law (Policy Division), and Criminal Justice (Corrections Committee).

Dr. Blair is an Associate Professor at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston School of Nursing, Graduate Program. She teaches across Programs and is currently the coordinator of the RN-BS Legal and Ethical Issues in Nursing, and co-coordinator of the Graduate Program Public Policy Course. She consults with other faculty on student clinical rotations in correctional health care. She is consulting with health administrators in Texas Department Criminal Justice-Correctional Managed Care (TDCJ-CMC) to identify, prioritize, and develop strategies to address health care issues in correctional health care. In spring 2022, Dr. Blair was instrumental in revising the Hospital Galveston Student Nursing Orientation to focus on nursing care with an overlay of security rather than an orientation exclusively devoted to security issues. The revisions were accepted and adopted in their totality. Dr. Blair is also co-developing a Correctional Health Care Center with health professionals from other disciplines on the UTMB Campus, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and community leaders. Other collaborative works include (1) developed a correctional nursing care certificate program that has its inaugural launch in January 2025, and (2) hosted a UTMB Correctional Health Care Consortium with stakeholders in Texas to develop a continuum of health care that meet community health care standards for justice-involved persons from incarceration to reentry into the community.

Dr. Blair is a frequent presenter at NCCHC National Conferences.  She is a member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, Galveston and Brazoria Counties Bar Associations, The American Association of Nurse Attorneys, the American Correctional Nurses Association, the American Nurses Association, and the Texas Nurses Association.

I have 53 years of experience as a Registered Nurse and 30+ years’ experience as a correctional nurse, starting as a staff nurse in a state prison setting and continuing as a nurse administrator and then as a nurse educator in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. 

While working in the ODRC, I was one of the first designated infectious disease coordinators and AIDS counselors. As a nurse administrator and educator, I revised and redesigned the ODRC Nursing Protocols to improve their clinical decision-making support.  I used the knowledge gained from my correctional clinical nursing experiences when I wrote Chapter 10, Infectious Diseases and Chapter 15, Nursing Sick Call for The Essentials of Correctional Nursing (Schoenly & Knox, eds).

 Since retiring from the Ohio DRC, I became more involved with professional organizations including ANA, ANPD, and the Ohio Nurses Association.  My correctional nurse professional associations include the American Correctional Nurses Association (founding member, Secretary, and Chairperson of the Program Committee), the Academy of Correctional Health Care Professionals (Board member and Education Committee Co-chairperson), and the Nurse Advisory Council. I have been a member of the workgroup assembled to revise the Scope and Standards of Correctional Nursing three times.  I have developed educational presentations and written short articles addressing Nurse Sick Call guidelines, malingering, and nursing interventions. I have written or co-written four journal articles related to correctional nursing. Being retired has allowed me time to spread my wings and develop my knowledge and expertise as a correctional nurse. However, the most wonderful thing about being an older correctional nurse is helping young correctional nurses navigate and find their place in correctional nursing.  I received the first Margaret Collatt Service Award from the Academy of Correctional Health Professionals in 2019.

Lori Roscoe is a nationally recognized expert in the field of correctional nursing and correctional healthcare.  She has participated as an expert in the review and revision of the ANA publication Correctional Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice for the past two editions and is currently a member of the workgroup conducting  the current revision.  Dr. Roscoe is also a member of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s expert workgroup currently reviewing and revising the Standards for Health Services in Jails and the Standards for Health Services in Prisons.   

 Dr. Roscoe is also a clinical nurse practitioner and educator.  She maintains Correctional Nurse.Net, a blog about correctional nursing, and Nursing Behind the Wall, a free website that presents various clinical scenarios for correctional nurses and providers with which they can hone their clinical judgment skills.  Dr. Roscoe has also developed and maintains The Correctional Nurse Educator, an online education program that offers accredited continuing education classes specialized for correctional nurses.  In addition, through her company, Correctional HealthCare Consultants LLC, Dr. Roscoe provides consulting services to jails and prisons across the United States in all aspects of healthcare operations and nursing practice.  

Dr. Roscoe is a founding member of the American Correctional Nurses Association, a national professional organization for all licensures of nurses working in corrections.

Dr. Maruca is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. Dr. Maruca is ANCC Board Certified in psychiatric mental health nursing, NLN certified in nursing education, and NCCHC certified as a correctional health professional. Receiving her PhD in Nursing in 2014, her research evolved to incorporate justice involved persons with behavioral health issues and eventually to the addressing the growing concerns regarding the nursing workforce meeting the health care needs of the nation particularly underserved populations and concern for the wellbeing of the profession of nursing.

At the School of Nursing, Dr. Maruca provides leadership and oversight to the undergraduate programs ensuring teaching-learning excellence, professional development, pursuit of scholarship, and fostering a culture of caring, community, and innovation. Dr. Maruca has extensive experience in preparing undergraduate students for the health care workforce integrating health, wellness, mentorship, and social justice into nursing science. She serves as a leader in shaping innovative educational opportunities for aspiring and current nurses. Dr. Maruca’s scholarship focuses on developing a healthcare workforce prepared to address professional wellness and health equity for the underserved populations. She is a founding member of the American Correctional Nurses Association (ACNA) and continues with leadership roles in ACNA and several national and regional organizations. Dr. Maruca maintains her scholarship with international and national presentations and peer-reviewed publications.

Heather E. Norman is a highly experienced healthcare leader with over 20 years of dedication to the field. She began her career in healthcare as a combat medic during her active duty in the US Army. Currently, Mrs. Norman serves as the Chief Nursing Officer for Wellpath, providing executive leadership and strategic direction for nursing services. She is passionate about addressing the social determinants of health and advocating for both nurses and patients. She is a strong advocate for the specialty of correctional nursing and strives to advance its professional recognition through research, education, and advocacy. Her overarching goal is to partner with stakeholders to strengthen the quality of nursing care for incarcerated patients.

 Mrs. Norman earned a Master of Science in Clinical Nurse Leadership from the University of Virginia and a Master in Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Administration from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.