Gail Brown
Certified Nurse Practitioner
What does ‘higher education’ mean? Is it personal achievement, or is it aspiring to contribute to a greater good? The University of Phoenix, Spirit of Education Award embodies the true spirit of higher education.
Gail Brown was awarded the honor in March 2009. She is a Nurse Practitioner promoting women’s wellness, which is her true passion.
“I was totally taken off guard,” she explains. “I feel like I’m just like everybody else—I wanted to further my career in nursing and do more in the field I love … [it] is such a fabulous honor.”
She works in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department, and the Cancer Center at St. Joseph’s hospital in Phoenix. She also sees patients at the St. Joseph’s women’s wellness center which provides cervical and breast exams for uninsured, low income women. The center sees 1,200 to 1,500 uninsured women, but the care doesn’t stop at screenings.
“Anywhere there’s an abnormal breast exam, we follow through — giving them the care they need,” Brown explains. That includes treating the cancer, even if the hospital must absorb the $25,000 - $75,000 in treatment costs. “We’ve never not taken on a patient, we just find a way.”
