LU’s Joanne Gay Dishman School of Nursing held an open house to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Nov. 8, in the McFaddin Ward Health Sciences Building.
“We held an invitation only dinner last night for previous administrators, special guests and local stakeholders,” Jenny Thedford, instructor and coordinator of recruitment, said. “We wanted to offer something to the community to showcase what we’ve been doing.”
The halls were adorned with photos of each class since 1974, so previous ADN and BSN graduates were able to take then and now pictures.
Attendees were able to walk through stations that show what the building offers and some of the learning environments, including a walk through of how the simulations work.
“We have graduated 3,000 to 4,000 nurses over the 50 years, providing nurses to Texas and beyond,” director Joseph Tacy said.
“It is a momentous occasion to be here for 50 years, and I hope the next 50 years is just as good as the past 50 years.”
In 2006, the nursing department became the first endowed department on campus. Then in 2017, Judy (JoAnne) Gay Dishman and George Austin Dishman invested in the department.
The program has evolved from being an associate’s program to including undergraduate and master’s programs.
“There has been a nursing shortage since the 1980s,” Tacy said. “There are various reasons why the shortage continues to happen, but we try our best to grow and provide nurses to Southeast Texas and beyond to help meet that gap.”
The school of nursing has partnerships with Christus of Southeast Texas, Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas and The Medical Center of Southeast Texas. They also have a grant that allows students to conduct telehealth in the Jasper and Fairmont region.
“Our motto is, ‘A spirit of caring, vision of excellence,’ and I hope the public sees us as that,” Thedford said. “We are here for the community. We are a resource, and we want them all to know that.”
Tours are available of the school.
For more information, visit lamar.edu/nursing, or call 409-880-8817.