News

Beebe Medical Foundation Receives a $3 Million Gift for Nursing Education Campaign

07/07/11

"Beebe Medical Foundation has received a $3 million gift for the Nursing Education Campaign from the Ma-Ran Foundation. This sizable donation is the largest in the history of Beebe Medical Center, and will allow the construction to begin on expanding and modernizing the Beebe School of Nursing.

The Beebe Medical Center Board of Directors has agreed to recognize this generous donation by naming the school of nursing in honor of one of the donors, Margaret H. Rollins, a Lewes native now residing in Atlanta, Georgia.

The school, celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, will be known as The Margaret H. Rollins School of Nursing at Beebe Medical Center.

The campaign cabinet and the Board of Directors of the Beebe Medical Foundation can now pursue raising the $2.5 million needed to complete Phase II as the Medical Center moves forward with construction of Phase I, which is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2012 following the end of the upcoming school year.

Not only is this the largest gift ever received by Beebe Medical Foundation, it is large enough to complete the fundraising for the first phase of the nursing school expansion, explained Alex Pires, Campaign Co-chair and member of the Beebe Medical Foundation Board of Directors.

The Ma-Ran Foundation was established by R. Randall Rollins and Margaret Rollins of Atlanta, GA. Mrs. Rollins, known to childhood friends as Peggy Hastings, was born in 1933 in Lewes and grew up here. She attended Lewes School, and worked in the administrative offices at Beebe Hospital after school and on weekends when she was in high school. She went to Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington and then returned to Lewes to work full time at Beebe Hospital in administration. She and Mr. Rollins were married in Lewes in 1953. The couple had their oldest two of six children in Lewes before relocating to Wilmington, and later to Atlanta. They continue to return regularly to their house on Lewes Beach.

My mother has stayed involved in what goes on in Lewes, says daughter Amy Kreisler. She has read about the need for nurses, and that Beebe would like to expand the nursing school. She felt that it was a very important project for Lewes, for Sussex County and all of Delaware.

This is wonderful news for Beebe Medical Center and for our entire community, says Jeffrey M. Fried, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Center. Mr. and Mrs. Rollins have been philanthropic supporters for many years, and we truly appreciate their commitment to Beebe Medical Center, to the school, and to the community.

Beebe Medical Foundation records show that the Ma-Ran Foundation has been a continual benefactor of Beebe Medical Center since 1985. Randall Rollins is the son of O. Wayne Rollins and a nephew of John Rollins, who also has been a benefactor of the Medical Center.

The Beebe School of Nursing is the only hospital-based nursing program in Delaware, and is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). Its graduate nurses consistently earn some of the highest pass rates in Delaware on the nursing licensure exams. Through an affiliation with Wilmington University and the University of Delaware, Beebe School of Nursing offers students the opportunity to pursue a bachelor's and/or a master's degree in nursing. There are also affiliations with other universities.

We are re-defining our strategic direction as we look into the future needs of our community, says Connie E. Bushey, MSN, MEd, BSN, RN, school Director. We want to make sure that our graduates are prepared to offer the highest quality care to our patients.

Today, Beebe School of Nursing is housed in an antiquated building with space to enroll a maximum of 30 students each year. The expanded school will allow the number of enrolled students to double to 60, and it will allow the latest in educational technologies to be installed.

Phase I includes demolishing an existing 48-year-old, 2-story dormitory building and replacing it with a 3-story, 18,000-square-foot-building that will house modern classrooms and clinical laboratories.

Phase II includes the renovation of the main school building and its faculty offices and library, and the construction of another building to house seminar rooms and computer labs.

In May of 2011, the Beebe Medical Foundation officially kicked off the Nursing Education Campaign to raise $2.9 million for Phase I, estimated to cost nearly $6 million. Beebe Medical Foundation already had in hand $1.8 million in state and federal funding and about $1 million in donations that had been made in anticipation of the project.
Beebe Medical Foundation was established in 1989 with the sole mission to raise philanthropic support for Beebe Medical Center. The Foundation is located at 902 Savannah Road, Lewes DE 19958. For more information, please call (302) 644-2900 or visit www.beebemedicalfoundation.org.

Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us online at www.beebemed.org
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