The University of Lethbridge School of Nursing has received a donation of $150,000 from the Galt School of Nursing Alumni Association.

 

The Galt alumni have been responsible for the funds after inheriting them 15 years ago from the former Lethbridge Municipal Hospital.

The Galt family established the fund in 1910, the same year the Galt School of Nursing was established.

 

The school trained more than 1,100 nurses over a 70-year period before moving to University of Lethbridge in 1980 where it is now a part of the faculty of health sciences in conjunction with Lethbridge College.

 

According to University of Lethbridge president Mike Mahon, the donation will be used to provide scholarships for entering or continuing bachelor of nursing third and forth-year students.

 

“The University of Lethbridge is pleased to continue in the tradition established by the Galt School of Nursing and is proud to educate the next generation of nursing professionals,” he said.

 

“There continues to be a need for qualified health care professionals and this gift from the Galt School of Nursing Alumni Association helps ensure that current nursing students have access to much-needed scholarship money,” said Mahon.

 

Donna Karl, a registered nurse who works at Lethbridge College’s health service office, is a graduate from the Galt School of Nursing and spokesperson for the Alumni Association.

 

“It is remarkable that this fund has carried over for more than 100 years, from the pioneering Galt family to the present day. We are delighted to have the university accept it to continue supporting nurses,” she said.

 

More than 200 students in the nursing program received scholarships for the fall semester last year.

 

To date, more than 1,500 nurses have graduated from the program and are now providing care throughout Alberta.