Local Nursing Legends

The Local Nursing Legends program honors nurses who have made a significant contribution to the nursing profession and health care to the residents of central Ohio. Pioneers in their field, these nurses were nominated by members of the central Ohio nursing community as those who provided exemplary service to this population and whose actions and lives can be seen as legendary.

Based on a national model developed to recognize outstanding physicians, the Local Nursing Legends program is overseen by the Friends of Nursing History Steering Committee of the Medical Heritage Center at The Ohio State University.

The Friends of Nursing History Steering Committee also guides the Center’s nursing history efforts, including the acquisition of historical materials and the organization of an annual lecture. The nurses recognized as Local Nursing Legends are a valuable part of this nursing history. 

Class of 2008

Lillian Flickinger Bernhagen
Jeanne Clement
Dorothy A. Cornelius
Naomi James Evans
Ann Maddox
Mildred E. Newton
Geraldine Price
Grayce Sills
Rosa Lee Weinert
Elsie Williams-Wilson

Class of 2013

Carole A. Anderson
Deborah A. Coleman
Pamela S. Dickerson
Debbie Cannon Freece
William F. Hartnett
Jeri A. Milstead
Barbara A. Nash
Mary Ann Browder Rollins
Ann Schiele
Rita J. Smith
Mary Ellen Wewers

Class of 2020

Sandra Cornett
Doris S. Edwards
Judy H. Gilliam
Janice K. Lanier
Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk
Corazon C. Muñoz
Lillian M. Williams Pierce
Carol Halsted Robinson
Deborah Shields
Mary Winifred Walters