Linda Hatfield, associate professor of evidence-based practice in Penn Nursing, died on November 20 after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 66.

Born in Tacoma, Washington, Dr. Hatfield held several clinical positions at hospitals in Florida, Idaho, and Massachusetts as a young adult. In 1975, she provided medical assistance to children being evacuated from Vietnam to the United States during Operation Babylift. She earned a BS in nursing science from Penn State University in 1985, graduating with distinction. Twelve years later, she received an MA, also in nursing science and from Penn State. After graduating, she served as a specialist at hospitals in Hershey, Camp Hill, and Reading, Pennsylvania. In 2006, she received a PhD in nursing science from Penn State. Her doctoral dissertation received the International Research Dissertation Award from the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

Dr. Hatfield conducted post-doctoral research on Molecular Human Genetics as a National Institutes of Health fellow at Georgetown University. During this same period (2006-2008), she served as an assistant professor of nursing at Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development.

In 2008, Dr. Hatfield joined Penn Nursing’s faculty as a lecturer in behavioral and health science. A year later, she moved to Nursing’s department of family and community health as a lecturer and research associate. Later in 2009, Dr. Hatfield was promoted to assistant professor C-E (clinician-educator) in family and community health. She held this position until 2018, when she became an associate professor C-E in the same department. In 2016, she also became a senior fellow of Penn Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research.

Also in 2008, Dr. Hatfield was named the director of research and evidence based practice at Pennsylvania Hospital. In this position, she developed the infrastructure for nurses to conduct and disseminate research and evidence-based practices. This increased functionality helped Pennsylvania Hospital to be designated a Magnet in 2015. She conducted research that changed scientific perceptions about the extent to which babies feel pain while they are receiving immunizations. Through the NIH-designated Center of Excellence in Pain Education, she assisted in the development of a module for pain management in sickle cell disease and provides guidance on pediatric pain curricula. She lectured widely and published many papers and book chapters related to this research.

While at Penn, Dr. Hatfield received several awards, including the Young Investigator Travel Award from the American Pain Society in 2008 and 2009. From Penn Nursing, she was awarded the inaugural (2013) Marilyn Stringer Academic Practice Award and the 2014 Dean’s Award for Exemplary Professional Practice (Almanac May 6, 2014). In 2017, she was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, a position that reflected the influence of her research on American health policy (Almanac October 17, 2017). In addition, Dr. Hatfield was the first lady of Thaddeus Stevens College in Lancaster, PA, from 2016 to 2020.

Dr. Hatfield is survived by her husband, William Griscom; her children, Jonathan Lady (Ellen) and Lauren Hillsberg; her sister, Suzanne Shore; her brother, Richard; and her mother.

The memorial service will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Dr. Hatfield’s honor to Hospice & Community Care of Lancaster, PA, or the Lancaster General Health Foundation.