Ruth McDermott-Levy, PhD 
Associate Professor; Director of the Center for Global and Public Health | M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing | Villanova University
Villanova, PA, UNITED STATES
Dr. McDermott-Levy, PhD, MPH, RN is an expert in environmental health, global health, and public health nursing
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Areas of Expertise (9)
Climate Change
Fracking and Health
Immigrant Health
Public Health
Community & Public Health Nursing
Epidemiology
Global Health
Environmental Health/Health impacts of UOGD
Health Disparities
Biography
An expert in environmental health, global health, and public health nursing, Dr. McDermott-Levy has taught and conducted research in Philadelphia’s Arab-American and immigrant communities, with community health workers in Nicaragua, and in the Marcellus Shale region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. She has advocated for health protective regulations for those who live in oil and gas development communities. With nurse colleagues around the U.S., Dr. McDermott-Levy has developed recommendations and teaching strategies to incorporate environmental health and climate change into the nursing curricula.
Dr. McDermott-Levy is a co-editor of an open-access environmental health textbook for nurses, Environmental Health in Nursing. In 2018, she received the Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Health and Environmental Sciences Award for teaching and research. She will be at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) from August to December 2018, where she will be using this grant to research the health impact of climate changes in Finland, which is at risk due to significant increases in air temperature.
Education (4)
Villanova University: PhD
University of Massachusetts, Amherst: MPH
Villanova University: MSN
Wilkes University: BSN
Select Accomplishments (2)
Fulbright-Saastamoinen Foundation Health and Environmental Sciences Award (professional)
2018
The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) "Nurse as Global Citizen" Award (professional)
2011
Links (1)
Affiliations (4)
- Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project, Board of Directors, Secretary
- American Public Health Association (Public Health Nursing, Environmental, and International Sections)
- Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE): Education Working Group and Steering Committee
- Pennsylvania State Nurses’ Association (PSNA) Environmental Health Committee Member
Select Media Appearances (15)
CDC Guidelines for Fully Vaccinated People: What It Means for Masks, Travel, Gatherings
Newsweek online
2021-03-08
Those who have been vaccinated against the new coronavirus can ease up on some COVID-19 precautions, especially when interacting with other vaccinated people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC issued new recommendations on Monday for fully vaccinated people, meaning it's been two weeks since they received both doses of a two-shot vaccine or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. About 9 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated and as long as they've passed that two-week mark, it's considered safe for them to gather inside in a small group of with others who are fully vaccinated but now is not the time to take off their masks. "I use the example of a daughter coming in from out of town who is doubly vaccinated, and a husband and wife doubly vaccinated, and maybe a next-door neighbor who you know are doubly vaccinated," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said. "Small gatherings in the home of people, I think you can clearly feel that the risk—the relative risk is so low that you would not have to wear a mask, that you could have a good social gathering within the home."
SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies May Protect From Infection, but for How Long?
Reuters Health online
2021-03-03
Reuters Health) - SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were associated with protection from infection in a laboratory database study, but the duration of protection is unknown, researchers say. "Being antibody-positive is associated with a lower risk of new infection than being antibody-negative," Dr. Douglas Lowy of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda told Reuters Health by email. "People who have been infected once are less likely to be infected a second time. However, protection is not complete, so there will be some people who experience another infection." "Going forward, it will be important to determine the duration of protection, especially if waning of protection is associated with becoming antibody-negative," he said. "A potentially confounding issue is whether the virus strains in the US will change over time, and if they do, whether the protection against new infection by strains that are closely related to the first infection will also extend to variants that are less closely related."
FEMA Chief Says Coronavirus Funds Put Agency In 'Really Great Place' for Hurricane Season
Newsweek online
2020-05-28
"Because colleges have closed, unoccupied dorm rooms could be a way to provide a safe emergency shelter while social distancing, Ruth McDermott-Levy, director of Villanova University's Center for Global and Public Health, told Newsweek in April."
STIMULUS CHECKS COST $290 BILLION. A FRACTION OF THAT COULD HAVE CHANGED RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, EXPERTS SAY
Newsweek online
2020-04-08
"Had we invested from local all the way up to state and federal level, we wouldn't be here now," Ruth McDermott-Levy, the director for the Center for Global and Public Health at Villanova University, told Newsweek. "I strongly believe we would not be in this situation now. This is kind of the worst nightmare scenario that we've been talking about for many years."
AS AMERICA GRAPPLES WITH CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, OFFICIALS MUST PREPARE FOR HURRICANES, TORNADOES
Newsweek online
2020-04-07
Ruth McDermott-Levy, the director of the Center for Global and Public Health at Villanova University, told Newsweek that natural disasters complicating social distancing measures is a "real concern." Ahead of disaster striking, there needs to be special consideration to keep people separate in shelters. Since schools and colleges are closed, unoccupied dorm rooms could be a way to provide people with a safe place to go in an emergency while maintaining social distancing, McDermott-Levy said.
'Only a Matter of Time.' At This Washington State Immigrant Detention Center, Attorneys Believe a Coronavirus Outbreak Is Inevitable
TIME online
2020-03-13
Ruth McDermott-Levy, associate professor and director of the Center for Global and Public Health at Villanova University, says detained individuals are among the groups she and her colleagues at the school’s College of Nursing are most concerned about. “We would describe them as a very vulnerable population,” McDermott-Levy tells TIME. “For one, they’re all living in close proximity to one another… the other thing is we’re talking about an immigrant population. You don’t leave your country when things are good. We’ve got people who more than likely have poor nutrition and may have other health problems, and if our nutrition is poor our immune system is not as strong.”
Villanova nursing expert warns of climate change effects on older adults
KYW NewsRadio, Philadelphia radio
2019-11-04
Ruth McDermott-Levy, director of the Center for Global Health at Villanova's College of Nursing, is the lead author on an article published in the November issue of the Journal of Gerontological Nursing. McDermott-Levy explained more than half of older adults live in areas that experience severe weather caused by climate change like heat waves, wildfires and hurricanes. These areas include Pennsylvania, California, and Florida, and McDermott-Levy says these weather patterns are placing older Americans at increased risk of heat-related illnesses and death. "We're actually getting ready to do an epidemiological study where we're going to quantify the deaths, climate deaths," said McDermott-Levy. "But one of the problems is nobody is listening."
CDC word ban: Public health is jeopardized when individuality is ignored
Philadelphia Inquirer online
2017-12-27
When we allow words describing our fellow citizens to be stricken from the lexicon, we strike from the record their American experience; we strike from the record the factors that influence their health; we strike from the record our ability to learn the unique needs of specific groups of Americans; we strike from the record our ability to study groups of people – yes, groups of vulnerable Americans.
Get to know a climate champion: Ruth McDermott-Levy
Climate For Health
2017-05-25
This month's champion is Ruth McDermott-Levy, an associate professor and director of the Center for Global & Public Health at Villanova University’s College of Nursing near Philadelphia, PA. She holds a Ph. D. in nursing education from Villanova and an M.P.H. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Ruth teaches and conducts research with a focus on global and environmental health, helping to educate students in linking how they live and work to air emissions and the changing climate. She is also the Education Workgroup co-chairperson of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments and a founding member of Protect PA.
Philly's smog sickens thousands of city's asthmatic kids, report says
Metro Philadelphia online
2016-09-01
“Many days in Philadelphia ozone smog is so severe it is a visible haze over the city's skyline,” said Villanova University professor Dr. Ruth McDermott-Levy. “This potent air pollutant is responsible for increased asthma hospitalizations, increased school absences of students and teachers and lost production for workers.”
Wolf budget includes $100K for Marcellus Shale health registry
NPR's State Impact Pennsylvania online
2015-03-03
Public health advocates are encouraged by Wolf’s plan, but say $100,000 is not nearly enough money. Dr. Ruth McDermott-Levy teaches public health at Villanova University. “It’s seed money to get a health registry started,” she says. “But to consider the long term health impacts, then more money is going to need to be committed.”
About 70 hospital staffers cared for Ebola patient
Associated Press online
2014-10-14
“This is not something we can afford to experiment with. We need to get this right,” said Ruth McDermott-Levy, who directs the Center for Global and Public Health in Villanova University’s College of Nursing. Until now, the CDC has been actively monitoring 48 people who might have had contact with Duncan after he fell ill with an infection but before he was put in isolation. The number included 10 people known to have contact and 38 who may have had contact, including people he was staying with and health care professionals who attended to him during an emergency room visit from which he was sent home. None is sick.
Groups call for investigation into health department’s handling of drilling
NPR's State Impact Pennsylvania
2014-08-19
Despite calls from environmental groups, it is not clear that there will be an investigation into how the Pennsylvania Department of Health handled complaints about Marcellus Shale natural gas development.
Widespread COVID Vaccinations in U.S. May Not Mean an End to Travel Restrictions
Newsweek
2021-02-08
Vaccinating large swaths of the American population is the best defense against COVID-19 mutations, but the United States reaching herd immunity might not be enough to allow people to travel around the world free of restrictions. Bringing a true end to the pandemic will take a global vaccination effort because the virus spreading anywhere gives room for mutations to take place. Vaccines have largely been believed to be effective against variants so far, but the possibility that one could escape the vaccine and take hold in the U.S. raises the possibility of needing to keep travel restrictions in place until the world is vaccinated. "It's not an unreasonable thing to request that people either be vaccinated and perhaps also test negative," Ruth McDermott-Levy, director of Villanova University's Center for Global and Public Health, told Newsweek. "I can see that until we get this under control."
Model Finds Midwest and Southern States at Risk for COVID-19 Surges as They Reopen
Healthline online
It could begin anywhere. As restrictions are eased nationwide, any stray cough or sneeze could potentially start a new wave of COVID-19. New modeling by PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia shows early signs that new clusters of COVID-19 may soon flare across the Southern and Midwestern United States. Researchers built their model using data from a variety of publicly available sources to observe how factors like social or physical distancing, population density, daily temperatures, and humidity affect the number and spread of COVID-19 cases over time across a county.
Research Grants (2)
Screening and Health Access for Immigrants in Philadelphia: Impact Evaluation Project
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)/Center for Disease Control (CDC): Public Health Project
2016
Ethical Principles for Global Health Nursing Practice: A Delphi Study
Association of Community Health Nurse Educators
2015
Select Academic Articles (5)
Health Concerns of Northeastern Pennsylvania Residents Living in an Unconventional Oil and Gas Development County
Public Health NursingRuth McDermott-Levy, Victoria Garcia
2016
Developing Curriculum Recommendations for Environmental Health in Nursing
Nurse EducatorJeanne Leffers et al.
2015
Challenges and Successes in Making Health Care More Accessible to Rural Communities in Waslala, Nicaragua Using Low-cost Telecommunications
Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC)Pritpal Singh, Ruth McDermott-Levy, Elizabeth Keech, Bette Mariani, James Klingler, Maria Virginia Moncada
2014
Promoting Cultural Understanding Through Pediatric Clinical Dyads: an Education Research Project
Nurse Education TodayRuthMcDermott-Levy, Mary Ann Cantrall, Kathryn Reynolds
2014
Fracking, the Environment, and Health
American Journal of Nursing (AJN)Ruth McDermott-Levy, Nina Katkins, Barbara Sattler
2013
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