Rosemary White-Traut
Director of nursing research
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
For 30 years, Rosemary White-Traut has dedicated her time and talent to making a difference for pediatric patients and families around the world.
White-Traut, a nurse scientist and director of nursing research at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, has designed and implemented several studies and made discoveries to improve care and outcomes for premature babies and newborns.
She regularly collaborates with physicians and interdisciplinary clinical teams, universities and schools of nursing and medicine, and other organizations.
White-Traut has conducted more than 25 studies and shared her work in more than 200 presentations and 90 publications.
Her research seeks solutions to clinical problems and as a nurse, her experiences allow her to identify gaps in care more easily than a traditional researcher.
In one recent study, White-Traut addressed mother-baby interaction in a neonatal care unit.
She studied the mother-baby interaction and created an intervention method in which mothers talk, touch, rock and make eye contact with their babies.
The study showed the method improved feeding and growth in pre-term infants when they reached six weeks of age and shortened hospital stays, with fewer follow-up doctor visits.
Premature infants are vulnerable to health complications including lung, heart, vision and neurological problems. Studies like White-Traut’s continue to expand the knowledge base and improve the quality of care these infants receive.
She also has investigated other topics, including pain relief in newborns, infant feeding issues, newborn stressors and the effects of multisensory intervention on babies’ growth.
Currently, White-Traut is investigating ways to prevent infections in infants who have undergone surgery.
Her work is a large part of the reason Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin has been named a magnet facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for three consecutive four-year terms.
Her contributions have empowered nurses in the system to deliver the best and safest pediatric care.
“Dr. White-Traut has a passion for nursing that is undeniable,” said Stacee Lerret, pediatric nurse practitioner at Children’s Hospital. “She is an exceptional role model for nurses and is committed to supporting nurse scientists. Her expertise and knowledge for advancing nursing research has been instrumental to me as I work to build my research career.”
