A $250,000 gift from the estate of Kathryn Reynolds to the University of Nebraska Foundation will support students in the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing Kearney Division.
The gift, which was announced Monday at a college luncheon in Kearney, established the Kathryn M. Reynolds Fund, which will be used to provide scholarships to nursing students.
Reynolds, a native of Elm Creek, Neb., graduated with a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1961 from UNMC. She worked at Kearney's Good Samaritan Hospital for more than 25 years before retiring in 1989.
While at Good Samaritan, Reynolds coordinated clinical rotations for Kearney State College nursing students and worked closely with faculty to develop and enhance the college's nursing program.
"Kathryn was a bachelor's degree-prepared nurse who understood the positive impact bachelor's prepared nurses make in the lives of patients," said Steven Pitkin, assistant dean, UNMC College of Nursing Kearney Division. "Her legacy will increase the number of bachelor's prepared nurses in the central Nebraska region."
Today, 82 of Nebraska's 93 counties have a lower than national average ratio of registered nurses to patients, and more than one-third of Nebraska's counties have no nurse practitioners. Estimates show that by the year 2020, Nebraska will have a shortage of about 3,800 registered nurses.
"The college is extraordinarily grateful for Ms. Reynolds' generosity and foresight in knowing how important her gift will be to the future of nursing," said Juliann Sebastian, Ph.D., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing. "This gift provides much needed scholarship monies for nursing students at the Kearney Division, making it easier for them to focus on their studies and prepare to provide excellent nursing care. Scholarship funds are vital to helping students focus on the complex clinical and theoretical learning that is required."
Reynolds passed away in July 2010. Several of her family members will be in attendance at Monday's luncheon when the scholarship fund is announced.
"Everything she (Reynolds) had was thanks to her education at UNMC. Her intent of this gift was to provide financial support for students to receive training and to give others the same opportunities she had," said Cindy Houlden, Reynolds' niece, of Kearney. "This is a way for her legacy to live on."
Courtesy: University of Nebraska Medical Center
