Dr. Carl O. Helvie

Born August 13, 1932 in Gouverneur, New York, his career spanned more than 60 years as a nurse practitioner, educator, author, and researcher. Carl was a registered nurse and Professor Emeritus of Nursing at Old Dominion University where he taught nursing for nearly 30 years. He is known for his development and implementation of the Helvie Energy Theory of Nursing and Health which focuses on cross-cultural ways of assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating health with application to individuals, families, and to specific communities across the world. His 1998 textbook, Advanced Practice Nursing in the Community is based on his theory and has been extensively used and frequently cited.

Carl was a man of true integrity, profound compassion and abiding faith. He genuinely cared about every person in his life and never met a stranger. Within minutes of meeting, he made you feel valued, knew your name, your family members’ names, and what was important to you. Every aspect of his life reflected his values which shined brightly in his commitment to public service.

For Carl, one of the highlights of his career was his work with the homeless through implementing clinical experiences for students with the homeless and providing direct nursing care as well as serving as a member of two boards that served the homeless population. His grant-funded work as Director of the ODU Nursing Center provided primary health care for local homeless and low-income populations and he advocated for them in the community. He visited homeless programs throughout central Europe and met with several practitioners and educators working with the homeless. These experiences led to his book entitled, Homelessness in the United States, Europe, and Russia. Carl served as Chair and in other leadership positions with Homeless Caucus of the American Public Health Association. Because of his work, he was awarded the Distinguished Career in Public Health Award by the American Public Health Association in 1999.

As a lung cancer survivor since a 1974 diagnosis, Carl was passionate about holistic, alternative and integrative health and wellness interventions. In 2014, he founded the Carl O. Helvie Holistic Cancer Foundation dedicated to providing public education on the use of holistic medical/health information as a form of prevention and cancer treatment with additional goals of supporting research and raising awareness of holistic practices.

A pioneer in the field of Holistic Health, he taught and used this approach since 1970. For the past 11 years he was host of the Holistic Health Show on BBS Radio for which he interviewed leaders in complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine and health as well as those who use a holistic approach for chronic illnesses and wellness (http://www.BBSRadio.com and http://www.HolisticHealthShow.com).

Carl was a deeply caring man and he was always willing to talk to individuals with cancer diagnoses and to share knowledge on alternative cancer treatments. He worked tirelessly to help cancer patients understand the holistic approaches available to them.

Carl received a doctorate in public health from Johns Hopkins University, a master’s in public health from Johns Hopkins, a master’s in public health nursing focusing on wellness from the University of California, a B.S. in nursing from New York University and undertook post-doctoral study in the Divinity school at Duke University.

Carl entered nursing in 1950 after graduating from high school and in 1954 passed his registered nurse certification and worked as a staff nurse in Rochester, New York, and later as a staff nurse and then a head nurse at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. In 1958 he moved to San Francisco where he worked as a staff nurse at the Veterans Hospital and later as a public health nurse at the Oakland Health Department and the San Francisco Health Department. In 1961 he was offered a scholarship to attend the graduate program in public health nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. The emphasis of this program was on preventing illnesses and promoting health and wellness using a holistic approach with individuals, families, communities and organizations. He subsequently taught at the UCSF and at Duke University in North Carolina. In 1971 he became a Professor of Nursing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he remained for nearly 30 years, appreciating the opportunity to help develop new programs and teach a wide range of courses to graduate and undergraduates. At ODU, he served in administrative positions, including Chair of the Nursing Program, Coordinator of the Undergraduate Nursing Program, Graduate Program Director, and Director of the externally funded Old Dominion University Nursing Center.

Carl received other national recognition including listings in Who’s Who, Who’s Who in Virginia, Who’s Who in American Nursing, Outstanding Educators in America, Men of Achievement, and 50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading in 2014.

He authored twelve books and four book chapters and published or presented more than 100 research papers and articles with presentations in the United States and Europe. His most recent books included: Healthy Holistic Aging: A Blueprint for Success and You Can Beat Lung Cancer: Using Alternative/Integrative Interventions. The latter was an Amazon best seller and led to more than 100 radio and television interviews.

Carl was preceded in death by his father, Charles Helvie, his mother, Georgia White, and step father David White, four siblings, Charles Helvie, Mack Helvie, Paul Helvie, and his sister Marie Sullivan. He is survived by two sisters, Beatrice Cheeseman and Laura Cronk, and multiple nieces and nephews.

A memorial service is planned for Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 2:00 at the Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home in Hampton, Virginia. Contributions in Carl’s memory may be made to Carl O. Helvie Holistic Cancer Foundation, 110 Coliseum Crossing, Applewhyte #268, Hampton, VA 23666 or online at https://www.holisticcancerfoundation.com/donate/.

Friends are encouraged to visit www.parklawn-woodfh.com to share memories and offer words of condolence with the family.