A Veteran, A Legacy

A Veteran, A Legacy Posted By:
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Loretta C. Ford, EdD, RN, PNP, NP-C, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP—an icon in the nurse practitioner (NP) world—turned 100 on December 28, 2020. Loretta, who is known to her friends as "Lee," believed early on that public health nurses (PHN) with specialized training could provide much needed health care. In 1965, she cofounded the first NP program with pediatrician Henry Silver at the University of Colorado. It was originally called the pediatric NP program (PNP), though Dr Ford wanted to call it the public health NP program. This year, because of her efforts, we celebrate 56 years as NPs.

Dr Ford started her nursing career at Middlesex General Hospital (now Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital) in New Jersey and received her diploma in nursing in 1942. In 1943, she was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army Air Force. After the war, she went to the University of Colorado where she received her bachelors and masters degrees in nursing, a public health nurse certificate, and a doctorate in education. In 1972, Dr Ford became the founding dean at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. She retired in 1985.

On Dr Ford's 100th birthday she was presented with the Surgeon General's Medallion. The Medallion is the highest honor granted to a civilian by the Public Health Service and the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, for exceptional achievement to the cause of public health and medicine. She also received a flag that was flown at the capital on her birthday, a letter from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wishing her a happy 100th birthday, and had her picture on the joint TODAY show-Smucker's birthday jar. Most recently, she was featured in Growing Bolder.

Dr Ford has received many other awards, including the Gustav O. Lienhard award from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Living Legend Award from the American Academy of Nurses, the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Nurse Practitioner, and the Elizabeth Blackwell Award. Dr Ford has also been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. Finally, the University of Rochester named an addition to the school the "Loretta C. Ford Educational Wing."

This is a saying Lee has told me and I have heard her tell others: "Go for it. Don't have little dreams, go for the big stuff." This Veterans Day, I'm grateful for Lee—thank you for being a great colleague, friend, and mentor.

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