MORGAN, Nelle

MORGAN

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 1/23/2016 at 14:50:11

BIOGRAPHY of NELLE MORGAN
Graceland University, Lamoni, Decatur County, Iowa

Nelle Morgan was born on February 14, 1908, in Cleveland, Iowa.

Nelle Morgan was on of the instrumental figures in developing the nursing major and in leading the efforts toward establishing the Graceland campus in Independence, Missouri.

Nelle graduated from the Independence Sanitarium and Hospital School of Nursing in 1930 and received her bachelor's degree in public health nursing in 1952 from the University of Michigan. Nelle began her nursing career as a staff nurse at Monorah Hospital, then became a staff nurse for the Kansas City School District in 1934, assuming the role of supervisor of nursing there from 1939 to 1943. She returned to the Independence Sanitarium as director of nursing in 1943, a position she continued until 1968.

She won the All State Gold Medal Award for Outstanding Nurse in Missouri in 1963 and served as president of the Missouri State Nurse's Association and the Missouri State Board of Nursing.

In 1965, Nelle helped lead the investigations that resulted in the faculty becoming part of Graceland College, allowing students to enroll at Lamoni for two years then study at Independence for their junior and senior years to obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing.

Nelle became coordinator of educational programs from 1968 to 1971, then held the position of public relations director for the Independence Sanitarium and Hospital School of Nursing from 1972 until she retired in 1973. She was awarded an honorary doctor of human letters from Graceland in 1991.

Nelle died on July 4, 1994, Independence, Missouri.

Nelle was inducted into Missouri's Nurses Association Hall of Fame in 2001. Her citation stated that "Nelle Morgan loved her profession and lived it to its fullest. Nelle Morgan could practice nursing only one way, and that was at the highest level of her ability. She brought this same attribute to her work when she was the Director of the Independence Sanitarium and Hospital School of Nursing. She was a mentor and an inspiration to numbers of students who benefited from her leadership.

"Dr. Sherrie Kirkpatrick noted that Nelle Morgan believed adamantly that membership in one’s professional nursing organization is a mandatory responsibility of each nurse. Never one to preach something that she didn’t practice, she joined the ANA in 1930 and was a continuous member until her death 64 years later. Further she remembers that Nelle Morgan encouraged, cajoled, threatened and loved her proteges into leadership roles at all levels of the nursing profession.

"Nelle served in many leadership positions in nursing organizations in Missouri including our own MONA - her keen humor, her insightful views, her leadership and the twinkle in her eyes. They don’t come any better than Nelle Morgan.

"We honor this gentle woman who gave unstintingly to her profession and to this organization."

SOURCES:
Goehner, David. “The Graceland College Book of Knowledge: From A To Z.” Pp. 428-29. Herald House. Independence MO. 1997.

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Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, January of 2016

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