Henrietta Villaescusa

VILLAESCUSA-Henrietta Villaescusa, born November 23, 1920 in Tucson, Arizona, Henrietta passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 6, 2005 at the age of 84. Ms. Villaescusa, a resident of Arcadia, California, was preceeded in death by her parents Luis and Josie Villaescusa, her sisters Mary Lou Olivo, Juanita Kulhlman, and brother Carlos Villaescusa. Her brothers Loui s and Richard Villaescusa as well as 15 nieces and nephews, 22 grand-nephews and grand-nieces and 7 great-grand-nephews and great-grand-nieces survive her. Henrietta Villaescusa, RN, FAAN, obtained her nursing degree, public health certificate and master's degree in the mid-1940s from Mercy College, Immaculate Heart College and UCLA. After holding various nursing positions, Villaescusa went to work for the Los Angeles City Health Department, earning a position as its only Hispanic supervising public heal th nurse. As a member of the Center for Disease Control's Hispanic/Latino subcommittee for the National Diabetic Education Program, she was a pioneer in addressing the needs of Hispanics with diabetes. As Chief of Citizen's Affairs, Office for Economic Opportunity, she established innovative nationwide community participation programs for the Office of Health Affairs. Ms. Villaescusa was a nurse of many firsts. She was the first Hispanic nurse to be appointed Health Administrator, Health Services Adminis tration, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and the first Mexican American Chief Nurse Consultant in the Office of Maternal and Child Health, Bureau of Community Health Services, where she identified the needs, trends and priorities in nursing research and training. She was the first Hispanic to serve as the Bureau's Federal Women's Program Manager. Through her appointment to the Alliance for Progress in the 60's, Ms. Villaescusa was the highest ranking woman of Mexican-American parentage in the b ureau. In this role she helped to improve the health of Latin America by enlisting the assistance of academic and community health nursing leaders to consult and develop nursing education programs, curricula and collaborative partnerships with local health professionals in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Panama. Through these efforts, she became the first Hispanic American nurse to be appointed consultant to the Panamanian government's Ministry of Health and the President's Office of Community Development. Later , she worked for the Agency for International Development, a government group, where she recruited health professionals for the agency's programs throughout Latin America. She went on to work at the Office of Economic Opportunity, functioning as advisor to the director of health programs, and was the only Hispanic member of the Board of Nurse Examiners in California. She then became chief nurse with the Division of Maternal and Child Health and was responsible for all nursing aspects of the maternal and chi ld health programs in the country until she retired in 1985. Following her retirement, Ms. Villaescusa was invited by former Surgeon General Novello to help her with the Hispanic Health initiative by developing the West Coast component. Secretary Margaret Heckler, Health and Human Services Secretary to President Reagan, appointed Ms. Villaescusa to the Task Force on Minority Health, to represent the health needs of Hispanics in the U.S. She was also asked to edit the first Hispanic Health Bibliography, w hich highlighted Hispanic health research needs and the need to prepare more Hispanic health professionals to conduct such research. Ms. Villaescusa tirelessly mentored Hispanic leaders and shared her vision with the federal government, local community health programs in Los Angeles, and organizations that include the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organization, and the Mexican American National Women's Association. Her accomplishments h ave been truly extraordinary, given the context of nurses, women, and minorities in society during the time of her greatest contributions. During her retirement she remained active in numerous community activities, which included the Soroptomist, La Posada, Sacred Heart's Save the Bell. In spite of all these accomplishments, family always came first, and as the matriarch of the family she was known lovingly as "Aunt Henny." The Rosary Service will be held Thursday, 6:00 P.M., with the funeral mass Fri day, March 11, 2005 at 11:00 A.M., both at Holy Angels Catholic Church, 370 Campus Drive, Arcadia. Graveside services immediately following at Resurrection Cemetery in Montebello. In lieu of flowers the family has requested donations be made to the Henrietta Villaescusa Scholarship Fund. Donations can be sent to the National Associate of Hispanic Nurses, 1501 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036-7401. E-mail condolences to www.ourfuneralservices.com.