Spring 07
Vol. 14/ No. 12

Traditional Endurance

Each year the MU Nursing Alumni Organization recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of its members.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, nursing does not “assist” medicine or other fields, though they often work collaboratively. Nurses operate independent of, not auxiliary to, medicine and other disciplines. Their roles range from direct patient care and case management to establishing nursing practice standards, developing quality assurance procedures and directing complex nursing care systems.

The NAO annually celebrates these roles while recognizing the Mizzou spirit.

This year, the MU Alumni Association changed its name to the Mizzou Alumni Association to reflect its connection to all graduates. The association celebrated its 150 th anniversary last year, and the NAO has been part of this great tradition for the last century.

The NAO was organized in 1907 with Alice Sipple, the School's first graduate, as acting president. In 1920 the group reorganized as the University of Missouri School of Nursing Alumnae Association. Three years later, the head nurse sent each graduate an informational questionnaire and requested an annual update in order to maintain contact with graduates of the Parker Memorial Hospital Training School for Nurses.

Alumni are the strongest proponents and supporters of a university's mission. To help recognize and celebrate MU nursing alumni, please attend the School's annual banquet and awards ceremony on April 13. And catch up with what's happening at the School during the April 14 alumni reunion.

Pinning Tradition Red Cross pin (top of page): This unassuming pin, the size of a small button, was found tucked away in a storage closet envelope. It was marked with PMH10, which stands for Parker Memorial Hospital , 1910; and it has Emma Vogel's name etched into the back. Vogel was the School's only graduate in 1910, earning her degree just after the Missouri Legislature passes a bill requiring state registration of nurses. RN pin (above): This rectangular pin with the number “938” etched on the back was also found with the Red Cross pin. However, the pin number had not been assigned to Vogel.

This year's NAO award recipients are Donna Otto, Citation of Merit; Edith Finke, Alumnae of the Year; Marti Cowherd, Alumni Achievement; Priscilla (LeMone) Koeplin, Honorary Nursing awardee; and Susan Asher, Humanitarian nursing awardee. Read their stories on the following pages to learn more about these extraordinary individuals and their contributions to the School and the nursing profession.

The Perfect Match Maker

During a career that has spanned nearly three decades, Donna Otto, BSN '72, MS(N) '81, has influenced hospital policy, inspired hundreds of nursing students and motivated nursing alumni.

Throughout the years, Otto has held almost every nursing management position the University Hospitals and Clinics offer. As a nursing leader at this institution, she made a commitment both to herself and her colleagues to advance the practice of professional nursing.

Her involvement in numerous national organizations shaped her leadership abilities and created a visionary leader who was instrumental in implementing innovative approaches to nursing challenges.

As part of University Hospital 's 50 th anniversary, Otto received a Golden Column Award designed to recognize hospital staff, past and present, who helped achieve the health system mission in the areas of service, people, quality, finance, growth and community.

“Being selected for this award is truly a humbling experience,” Otto says. “To be remembered for my contributions and to be in the company of such distinguished individuals is an honor.”

After leaving University Hospital , Otto joined the School as a clinical instructor and within a year she became alumni relations director. She still holds both positions today.

“From the moment she was officially on board at the School, Donna role modeled to all of us a passion for excellence in every project she took on,” says Dean Rose Porter. “Donna has built upon the foundation laid by past alumni leaders and created new life and purpose for the Nursing Alumni Organization.”

Her energy, vision and willingness to listen to others has helped the NAO create new traditions for nursing students. She has been intimately involved with the current success of Student Nurses' Week by guiding the students through the endless details. She has also become the face of the NAO to prospective nursing students during Mizzou's Summer Welcome. They and their parents leave campus knowing there is a strong tie among current students and alumni.

However, one of Otto's greatest talents is listening and connecting individuals to one another. As she sits on professional and student committees, she recognizes how all causes are connected for the greater good. In that sense, she is the perfect match maker. She understands how to unite individuals to accomplish not only their own personal objectives but the goals that strengthen the School and health care profession.

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Paging Miss Edie

School nursing is a demanding profession that requires continuous dedication and commitment — a commitment that Edith Finke , BSN '72 , took to heart and defined for the health of the Shelby County School District.

“Edie is a nurse who truly values and appreciates the sacred relationship she has with her students in the school she serves,” says former classmate Annette Lueckenotte. “Through her involvement she has demonstrated in a compelling way that a nurse can indeed be a powerful influence on an entire community.”

Finke's office at North Shelby School is often filled with students stopping to say hello or to play cards during their lunch break. They also share personal struggles or family issues because they trust her to help. Finke, known as Miss Edie, knows the best health care she can provide for some of her students is to be a positive role model.

For the past two years, the classroom and the nurse's office have become one for a blind student with cerebral palsy. Previously home schooled, Finke became her case manager and primary tutor/mentor when she started attending public school. Today this student, with a guidance cane, can walk through the halls by herself, read Braille, handle basic math equations, and perform life functions such as feeding herself and washing laundry. Finke challenged this student to reach her full potential despite her numerous challenges.

However, Finke's dedication to children's health is not limited to her work. She is actively involved in various organizations that focus on children's health issues, such as a Shelby County teen center where students can “hang out” without the threat of drugs, alcohol or other risky behaviors. Finke is also the varsity football cheerleaders' coach — one more way she uses her skills to provide constructive activities for teens.

Every semester, Finke serves as a preceptor for nursing students participating in Truman State University 's community health rotation. Her goal is to help them realize that when patients leave the hospital there is another nurse taking care of the patient in the community — providing education for the new diabetic, monitoring the respiratory status of asthmatic patients or simply being a positive influence in a struggling child's life.

Finke's love of nursing is evident in every aspect of her life. She has dedicated her life to improving the health of children through screenings, education, extracurricular activities and committees. She performs these activities selflessly with no expectation of recognition because she truly loves being a nurse.

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Growing New Roots

Marti Cowherd enjoys giving, and in giving she receives fulfillment and energy to give more. During her last semester as a MS(N) student, Cowherd's dream of owning and operating her own clinic began taking shape.

As an advanced practice nurse, she returned to rural Ray County, Mo. Although she now owns the clinic she returned to in 2002, she was aware of the facility's status as the only Medicaid provider within a 50 miles radius. Cowherd is also conscious that many rural areas, including the area she serves, suffer from a lack of physicians.

“We serve a large Medicaid/Medicare population,” Cowherd says. “And as more of those patients come in, I can see growth in our future. However, it also means that the county's population is getting poorer and that concerns me.”

In 2004, Cowherd was the ninth nurse
in Missouri to own and operate a clinic. The past three years have seen tremendous growth in the clinic's patient base. Although people-centered, Cowherd and her staff offer all the amenities of the computer age, such as electronic medical records and faxing prescriptions to local pharmacies.

However, as nurses know, it is hands-on nursing care that makes the biggest difference to patients. That is why this mother of four teenagers includes the local youth detention facility on her calendar every Wednesday morning. Providing these youths primary health care is just one way she gives back to the community.

“Part of being a nurse practitioner is developing that relationship,” Cowherd says. “We are very connected to our community and our patients, and they appreciate that. For example, when a patient loses a spouse, we send a card and try to be at the visitation. That's because as nurses we see the whole person, not just their health-related issues.”

Weeknights and weekends find Cowherd and her husband, Paul, at various sporting events encouraging their kids to reach new heights. And often she is found nurturing the county's future leaders through the Higginsville 4-H group, which seems natural since she lives on an 80-acre farm and helps take care of a Black Angus herd.

However, Cowherd's passion is in caring for individuals. Through her church she travels abroad annually on mission trips to care for those less fortunate than herself. She is also involved with state politics, pushing those who set policy to recognize and help those living in Missouri.

In just a short time after obtaining a higher degree, the efforts and involvement of one passionate nurse proves that one person can make a huge difference in the lives of many.

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Instructor, Mentor and Author

Individuals who give tirelessly of their time, such as Priscilla (LeMone) Koeplin, contribute to the Sinclair School of Nursing's excellence.

During her years as a faculty member and director of the undergraduate program, Koeplin provided leadership in curriculum development and enhanced many nursing students' educational experience.

She also brought national and international recognition to the School through her scholarly publications and books. She wrote Medical-Surgical Nursing; Critical Thinking in Critical Care, fourth edition; Fundamentals of Nursing; The Art and Science of Nursing, sixth edition; Proceeding from the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association conferences; and numerous articles and book chapters.

“These textbooks are used in nursing schools around the world by both undergraduate students and practicing nurses,” says Cheryl Bausler, assistant professor of clinical nursing.

Throughout the years, Koeplin easily fell into the role of mentor when helping her colleagues achieve their teaching goals. Her efforts were just as successful from the students' perspective. Koeplin was nominated and received numerous awards from her students and the University, including the prestigious William T. Kemper Fellowship Award for Teaching Excellence.

Before she retired, Koeplin deepened her commitment and connection to the School by establishing the Aird-LeMone Scholarship. This scholarship, honoring her parents and late husband's parents, also honors the commitment she had
for her students.

Koeplin doesn't remember not wanting to be a nurse. She graduated in 1960 with her nursing diploma from Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing in St. Louis . Thirty-one years later, she received her doctorate in nursing from the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

“Only the joy of teaching students overshadowed my passion for taking care of patients,” Koeplin says. “Even though I was enjoying teaching in the classroom and clinical areas, I found ways to stay connected with nursing practice.”

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Treat Your Children Well

Susan Asher's knowledge of childhood injury prevention is quite impressive. Combine this with her nursing skills and dedication to Columbia's children and families and you get an individual who exemplifies the nature and spirit of Mizzou Nursing.

This BSN '79 graduate started her nursing career, as many new Mizzou graduates do, in the Children's Hospital NICU at University Hospitals and Clinics. Today she hasn't strayed far from these roots; however, these same roots have strengthened her resolve as a children's advocate.

Due to her leadership abilities, she was asked to coordinate University Hospital's Perinatal-Pediatric Outreach Education Program. As the program's administrator, she proactively seeks excellence throughout her clinical practice by mentoring, educating and guiding students as well as graduate and newly hired nurses in the NICU.

In her “spare” time, Asher gives more of herself and her time to the Columbia community. She volunteers and provides her intellect, common sense and strong work ethic to Safe Kids Columbia as the board's vice chair. Her work with the Interagency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect and as the March of Dimes Services Co-chair/Health Care Provider Workshop Chair provides immeasurable benefit to the community as well as University Health Care.

“Susan's representation of these groups on state and national committees and meetings speaks again to her commitment, knowledge and vision for a healthier, safer future for the children and families of our community,” says Lezlie Dahlke, Trauma Outreach Education and Safe Kids Columbia coordinator.

Asher's dedication is so appreciated by those she serves that the March of Dimes renamed a grant in her honor. The organization's Latino Home Visiting Expansion Project for prenatal education is now known as the Susan Asher Community Grant.

Asher is also a mentor for MU nursing students studying community nursing in the context of Safe Kids Columbia. With her involvement during the past seven years with the Columbia Safe Kids Coalition Board as past president, member and now vice chair, she has the knowledge, skills and expertise to help students create a high-quality community project that helps them and the populations they serve.

Her dedication to the School is admirable and she continues to take every opportunity to impact future nurses and the community to make a difference and improve the welfare of all she comes in contact with.

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