Jackie Hill, community nurse coordinator in UNMC’s Center for Reducing Health Disparities in the College of Public Health, died Sept. 29. She was 73.
In 2001, a year after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Hill co-founded the “My Sister’s Keeper” breast cancer survivor support group, which provides education and advocacy to women in north Omaha.
“When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t know anyone with breast cancer,” Hill once said. “Eventually, I met other survivors and realized how important it is to connect with other women who have survived breast cancer. ”
To read the Omaha World-Herald’s tribute to Hill, click here.
My Sister’s Keeper became an extension of her outreach community work at UNMC.
At a New York gala in 2009, she received the “Women Who Get It Right Award” from the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund.
Hill’s supervisor, Wayne Houston, community health program manager, called her a champion for women’s health, especially in dealing with breast cancer and helping breast cancer survivors.
“She was an enthusiastic advocate for and a big sister to many women who were breast cancer survivors,” Houston said. “She was a survivor herself, and she was always willing to go out of her way to assist anyone who needed help, especially in navigating the system and dealing with breast cancer.”
Hill is survived by her son, Bryon, of Omaha; brothers Roger Lewis of Omaha and Daniel Ware of Evans, Georgia; and sister Andra Harrison of Houston.
A wake service will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today at Roeder Mortuary, 4932 Ames Ave. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Salem Baptist Church, 3131 Lake St.
Jackie Hill was a valued member of the Center for Reducing Health Disparities. She was an advocate, a pioneer and a SHERO. She will be greatly missed but her legacy of improving the health and lives of underserved women will live on!