During Nurses Week, TU salutes the frontline professionals
Students, faculty, alumni contribute to COVID-19 response
By Cody Boteler on May 5, 2021
As the largest provider of healthcare workers in Maryland, Towson University is proud to mark National Nurses Week.
Hayley Mark, chair of the Department of Nursing, says this has been a “dramatic” year for nurses as everyone confronts the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The implications of what it means to be a nurse really came home this year,” she says. “There is a significant risk you take, but there is also a big difference you can make in peoples’s lives.
This last year, with the COVID-19 pandemic, has especially highlighted how important the nursing profession is. Towson University nursing students and faculty have demonstrated that again and again. Faculty have worked on the frontline and students have exited their programs early to get to work in hospitals. Alumni have worked hard, including in New York City, an early epicenter for the pandemic.
"This week provides us an opportunity to pause and recognize the work of our nursing professionals and the impact of their leadership in our region and state, especially during these last 14 months. Our university is proud to have the largest School of Nursing in Maryland and serve as the largest provider of healthcare professionals in our state," says Towson University President Kim Schatzel. "I know all our colleagues join me in sharing my deepest gratitude and admiration to our fellow Tigers who are serving on the front lines of the pandemic."
All the while, Towson University has continued the work of training the next generation of baccalaureate nurses. Nursing faculty were some of the first to return to teaching on campus, so that skill labs could be taught, Mark says.
Towson University recently announced a further investment in nursing, and all healthcare professions, with news of an upcoming groundbreaking for a $175 million, 240,000 square-foot building for the College of Health Professions.
“It’s moving to see people do what needs to be done, whether it’s caring about students or caring about patients,” Mark says. “It’s been really rewarding, and it just reminds you the meaning behind being a nurse.”
Read below to see just some of the ways Towson University community has stepped up in the last year, and join us in celebrating our nursing community.
Nursing students partnering in COVID-19 vaccine clinics
Nursing students have administered hundreds of doses of vaccine to underserved communities across Maryland, from Helping Up Mission in Baltimore City to clinics in western Maryland.
“The students get to see how something like this is formed from the ground up,” says Mary Lashley, a professor in the department of nursing and a clinical specialist in public health nursing. “It’s a great example of an academic and community partnership working."
Hear directly from faculty and alumni who work in a variety of health care disciplines, including nursing, as they share the challenges they’ve faced during the pandemic. Thousands of TU alumni are already in the trenches, working hard every day.
President Biden taps Towson University alum as acting surgeon general
President Joe Biden appointed Susan Orsega ’90, a nurse, as acting surgeon general in January last year, making her one of the first nurses to hold the job of the “nation’s doctor.”
“We are proud to count Susan among TU’s nursing alumni and welcome her voice in addressing and managing the nation’s health,” says Lisa Plowfied, dean of the College of Health Professions.
Tyrin Tyson ’18 got into nursing to help people, and to travel to different parts of the country to apply his craft. His first travel assignment was to the early epicenter of the pandemic in the United States, New York City.
An early exit to face the COVID-19 surge
Dozens of TU nursing students exited their program early in 2020, eager to get to work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are very proud of our nursing graduates who are answering the call to assist our fellow Marylanders in this critical effort," says Melanie Perreault, provost and executive vice president for academic and student affairs.
Towson University professors donate supplies to local hospital
Biology faculty and nursing faculty both donated supplies, including person protective equipment, to local healthcare institutions early in the pandemic.
“This is an amazing example of teamwork as our community comes together to meet and overcome this unprecedented challenge,” says Dr. Thomas B. Smyth, president and CEO of the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center.