The University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing Kearney
Division will celebrate its 25th Anniversary with a variety of activities
Saturday, April 13. The division, located on the University of Nebraska
at Kearney campus in the West Center Building, draws nursing students from
a 100-125-mile radius around Kearney.
At 10 a.m., a brunch will be held at the college, where alumnus can
tour the renovated facility, see past memorabilia, including photographs,
nursing uniforms, and documents, as well as reconnect with classmates and
faculty. At 1:30 p.m., national humorist and registered nurse, Terry Foster,
will make a presentation.
Evening anniversary activities will start at 6:30 p.m., at the Holiday
Inn on South 2nd Ave., with a social hour, followed by dinner, and another
presentation by Foster. An awards program will recognize donors and others
instrumental in getting the Kearney nursing program started. Along with
the 25th anniversary festivities, the college is raising $25,000 for student
scholarships.
Though the physical renovations finished last year at the college will
be the most visible to visiting guests, the college has experienced changes
over 25 years which have had a positive impact on health care in central
Nebraska.
The first bachelors degree in nursing program west of Lincoln and Fremont
began at Kearney State College with the 1976 hiring of Judy Billings, Ph.D.,
assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing Kearney Division. She said
the college is always affected by changes in health care, including the
shortage of nurses.
Health care in and of itself has changed pretty dramatically in 25
years in terms of the technology and kinds of health conditions nurses
are dealing with, Dr. Billings said. We constantly have to update what
were teaching just to keep up with what is happening in health care.
More than half of our graduates live in central Nebraska between the
Kansas and South Dakota state lines, Dr. Billings said. There is no doubt
these nurses have had a considerable impact on the health and health care
of people in central Nebraska.
The college has 14 faculty and three staff, and currently has 126 undergraduate
students enrolled.
Dr. Billings said nurses with degrees are needed to care for patients
and provide leadership in designing health care programs that address the
health needs of today, emphasizing patient care in a variety of health-care
settings, leadership, patient education and case management.
In 1976, Dr. Billings was hired to work with the director of health
programs at Kearney State College, Ole Kolstad, and David Clark, dean of
the School of Natural and Social Sciences, to develop a baccalaureate program
in nursing. The first two faculty members hired were Carol Janda and Sandra
Blankenbaker.
In the spring of 1977, the Nebraska State Board of Nursing approved
the new nursing program and the first course, a survey of what is nursing,
was taught that fall to pre-nursing students, Dr. Billings said. This first
class of 16 students graduated in May 1980. Since then, the division has
graduated more than 650 students.
In the mid-1980s, the division began offering a bachelors degree in
nursing tailored for registered nurses, and in the late 1980s, the division
launched a special program for licensed practical nurses (LPN) who wanted
to earn the degree. According to the National League for Nursing, the program
was one of the first in the nation.
In 1991, Kearneys nursing program was recognized nationally when the
Teagle Foundation awarded it a five-year, $685,000 grant to enable students
to earn a bachelors degree in nursing from home with the aid of various
technologies. It was a program ahead of its time.
Through different forms of distance technology, graduate nursing programs
are now available to nurses in central Nebraska, Dr. Billings said. Before
the 1990s, nurses had to drive to Omaha for classes.
Dr. Billings said when the number of students applying to the bachelors
program doubled in 1983, the division began accepting students twice a
year to accommodate the increase.
Perhaps one of the biggest changes for the division came in 1991 when
Kearney State College became part of the University of Nebraska and the
nursing program became part of the Omaha-based UNMC College of Nursing.
It changed our curriculum fairly dramatically, Dr. Billings said.
The College of Nursing was also changing its curriculum about the same
time. This meant faculty had to teach two different curriculums for several
semesters.
Alumnus of the division say the nursing program makes an impact.
Leigh Bertholf, director of resources, care and quality management,
Good Samaritan Health Systems in Kearney, graduated from the second nursing
class in 1981.
She said having a nursing program in the community is important.
Its critical, especially in a community like Kearney, Bertholf said.
We need to attract people with roots in the area. If they go away to school,
somehow they sever their roots.
I absolutely loved my undergraduate experience. I attribute my success
today to the program. I had outstanding instructors and practitioners who
were able to articulate their core values.
Doug Wulf, chief flight nurse at Good Samaritan Health Systems, graduated
in 1992 from the UNMC College of Nursing Kearney Division. His job involves
providing emergency services in the air via helicopter and on the ground.
Wulf said earning his bachelors degree in nursing gave him the education
he needed for future opportunities.
There was a lot of good, basic learning, Wulf said. They also focused
on advancing nursing education, whether it was to get a masters or doctorate,
or other advanced nursing training, said Wulf, a native of Cambridge,
Neb.
I have more respect for my degree than I did the first couple of years
out of school, Wulf said. I have a desire to know why and not just the
how in taking care of patients. I felt like I received a real good understanding
of whys.
The college invited more than 650 alumni, former faculty, staff and
others to its anniversary celebration.