Captain Mary Fairbanks, MS, PHN, RN

Professional Biography

Mary Fairbanks is a new faculty member for the School of Nursing at Bemidji State University. After 24 years as a Commissioned Corps officer with the US Public Health Service, she retired in 2009 from her assignment with the Indian Health Service.  Her nursing career with Indian Health Service included nursing roles in small rural hospitals, a Tribal health program and the regional headquarters. Her clinical experience is in various units of inpatient, outpatient, as well as in emergency nursing.  While  director of a Tribal public health nursing program, she developed a comprehensive community health program. As the Director of Nursing at an Indian Health Service hospital, she focused on strengthening the nurse work force in number and quality to achieve optimum patient outcomes.  At the regional office she consulted for Indian health care programs on performance improvement, health promotion and disease prevention. She gained experience from leaders throughout IHS including nurse executives, tribal leaders, and other health care professionals on Indian health care policy and Indian health issues. As a USPHS officer, she had special deployment training for public health emergencies and has deployed for a rural high school shooting and for Hurricane Katrina. Mary has a Master's Degree in Nursing with a Minor in Public Health from the University of Minnesota. She is an enrolled White Earth Band member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, is married, and has three children.