Charles D. Beard Jr.

Dr. Juanzetta S. Flowers

Dr. Laurene Gilmore

Dr. Jean Burns Lazarus

Dr. Marie L. O'Koren

Dorothy Sturges Saad

Editor’s Note: For complete bios on the inductees, contact Chris Bryant, as listed at left, or see http://nursing.ua.edu/nursing_hall_of_fame.htm.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Six health care leaders, including one who revolutionized home health care, pioneers in nursing education and one who helped write what would become the Medicare standards, will soon be inducted into the Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame, established by The University of Alabama.

“This year's inductees are outstanding examples of the impact of nursing on the well-being of people,” said Dr. Sara Barger, dean of UA’s Capstone College of Nursing. “Our inductees have cared for the very young, the very old and the very vulnerable. They protected the public and educated several generations of nurses. We are proud to honor them for they have truly made the world a better place.”

The inductees will be honored Thursday, Oct. 20 during ceremonies at the NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa. Tickets to the black-tie event are $100 each. For more information, or to RSVP by the suggested Sept. 26 deadline, contact Aaron Vold at 205/348-9876 or avold@bama.ua.edu.

Those to be inducted into the 2005 class are:

The late Charles D. Beard Jr., who has been called the “father of the privatization of home health care in Alabama,” and who was lauded as a “champion” for his efforts on the behalf of home health nurses. Beard forever changed home health care, as a result of his experiences trying to find in-home care of his own mother, founding a company in 1970 that became Alacare, one of the state’s first privately sponsored home care agencies.

Dr. Juanzetta S. Flowers, whose nursing career spanned four decades and who is best known for her advocacy of women’s and children’s health care, as well as her support, at both the state and national levels, on behalf of nurse practitioners. A twice elected president of the Alabama State Nurses Association, Flowers crafted a strategy with state legislators granting nurse practitioners and advanced practice nurses the authority to write prescriptions.

The late Dr. Laurene Gilmore, a pioneer in nursing education who was the inaugural dean at both the Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing at Samford and the new Capstone College of Nursing at UA. Said to have perhaps influenced the education of more nurses in the state than any other individual, Gilmore led Baptist Hospital School of Nursing to be the first accredited school of nursing in Alabama.

Dr. Jean Burns Lazarus, who served multiple terms on the Alabama Board of Nursing, including two terms as president, and has been a proponent of continuing education and health care and nursing policy reform. Her regulatory research leadership is credited with the Board receiving a 2001 achievement award from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

Dr. Marie L. O’Koren, who served as dean of UAB’s School of Nursing for 17 years, where she developed the first doctoral program in nursing in the Southeast. She helped raise the school to national prominence, as one of the country’s top 20 nursing programs.

The late Dorothy Sturges Saad, whose name is synonymous with senior care in Alabama, and who helped write the standards for what became the Medicaid program. Saad developed an innovative plan offering the Mobile-area specific levels of nursing care for those seniors in need of long-term care.

A gallery honoring these and previous Hall of Fame inductees is permanently located in the UA Capstone College of Nursing. Nominations for induction into the Hall of Fame are submitted to the selection committee of the Nursing Hall of Fame Board. The committee reviews nominations and determines, by ballot, those nominees to be inducted, submitting their names to the board.