Sue Anne Bell, Ph.D., FNP-BC

Sue Anne Bell

Associate Professor
Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership
Room 4346 NURS1

University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482

Telephone: (734) 647-0341
Fax: (734) 763-0681

In the news

Interests

  • Disaster preparedness and response
  • Acute and emergency care
  • Healthcare resilience
  • Aging

Dr. Bell is a nurse scientist and family nurse practitioner, with expertise in disaster response, community health and emergency care. Her research focuses broadly on the health effects of disasters and the impact of climate change on human health within a health equity framework. She is particularly interested in the long-term impact of disasters on human’s health, in developing policy that protects and promotes health throughout the disaster management cycle, and in the relationship between community resilience, health disparities and disasters. Dr. Bell is active in multiple emergency preparedness and response activities, including serving on federal advisory councils, co-authoring books and advising on national policy issues. She is clinically active in disaster response through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s National Disaster Medical System with over a dozen deployments including to the COVID-19 response, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria and Western U.S. wildfires.

Affiliations / Service

  • National Institutes of Health Climate Change and Health Scholar, 2024 - 2025
  • Voting Member, National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2021- present
  • Committee member, Sustaining Essential Health Care Services Related to Intimate Partner Violence During Public Health Emergencies, National Academies of Medicine, Science and Engineering, 2022-2023
  • Health Scientist, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Advisory Council, 2018-2023

Notable Awards / Honors

  • Policy Impact Award, Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, University of Michigan, 2023
  • Civilian Covid Response Medal, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2022
  • Invited testimony to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Aging. "Inclusive Disaster Management.", 2021
  • Public Policy Advocate Award, American Nurses Association of Michigan, 2021
  • Nurse Researcher Award, Emergency Nurses Association, 2021
  • Fellow, American Academy of Nursing, 2020

Education

  • Executive Leaders Program, Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Monterey, CA, 2022-2023
  • National Clinician Scholars Program, 2016-2018
  • PhD, University of Michigan, 2014; Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies 2014
  • MSN, Emory University, 1999
  • BSN, The Florida State University, 1997

Publication Highlights

  • Bell, S.A., Kruger, K., Ikari, R., Khunmuench, C., Gates, K., Rosemberg, M.A. (2025). Addressing dementia care needs during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives from home care workers. Journal of Gerontological Nursing.

  • Kruger, K., Rettell, Z., Chang, T., & Bell, S.A. (2025). Youth Perspectives about Readiness for Disaster Events. Traumatology.

  • Bell, S. A., Miranda, M. L., Bynum, J. B., & Davis, M. A. (2023). Mortality following exposure to a hurricane among older adults living with dementia. JAMA Network Open, 6(3), e232042. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.2043

  • Koman, P. D., Billmire, M., Baker, K. R., Carter, J. M., Thelen, B. J., French, N. H. F., & Bell, S. A. (2022). Using wildland fire smoke modeling data in gerontological health research (California, 2007-2018). Science of The Total Environment, 838(3), 156403. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156403

  • Bell, S. A., Krienke, L., Brown, A., Inloes, J., Rettell, Z., & Wyte-Lake, T. (2022). Barriers and facilitators to providing home-based care in a pandemic: Policy and practice implications. BMC Geriatrics, 22, 234. doi: 10.1186/s12877-022-02907-w

  • Bell, S. A., Donnelly, J. P., Wang, L., & Davis, M. A. (2022) Hospitalizations for chronic conditions following hurricans among older adults: A self-controlled case series analysis. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 70(6), 1695-1703. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17702

  • Bell, S.A., Klaza, K., Iwashyna, T.J., Norton, E., & Davis, M.A. (2020). Long-term healthcare provider availability following large-scale hurricanes: A difference-in-differences study. PLOS One, 15(11):e0242823. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242823

  • Bell, S.A., Banerjee, M., Griggs, J. Iwashyna, T.J., & Davis, M. A. (2020). The effect of exposure to disaster on cancer survival. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35, 380-382. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-05465-x