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School Receives Largest Gift On Behalf of Alumna(North Providence, RI)The St. Joseph School of Nursing, located on the campus of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, announced recently that it has received its largest charitable gift creating a student scholarship and a new senior classroom, all in memory of the late Helen Morris Deblinger, R.N., Class of 1933. A $50,000 gift from the Deblinger Family Foundation, the largest single personal donation in the school's 101-year history, has helped to establish a full-tuition scholarship for an incoming freshman meeting and maintaining academic criteria. The scholarship, in Mrs. Deblinger's name, will reward and encourage excellence in nursing and a demonstrated commitment to others and to the community. The new senior classroom was made possible by a donation from Mrs. H. Cecile Deblinger, Helen's daughter. The room will be used for student instruction and study as well as for faculty meetings, presentations and conferences. The dedication referenced Mrs. Deblinger as a compassionate and humanitarian caregiver who served as an example for others. Originally from Pawtucket, RI., the former Helen Morris graduated with honors from St. Joseph's Hospital Training School for Nurses (later renamed) in 1933. Upon her certification as a registered nurse, she joined the hospital staff. Shortly thereafter she left to earn her degree in nursing education from Catholic University. She then volunteered for the Army in 1938 and even applied for duty oversees but was assigned as an instructor to supervise and teach nurses here at home. According to family, after her military service, Mrs Deblinger went on to raise a family and continued to serve her community as a school and geriatric nurse and as an instructional Red Cross nurse. She is survived by her husband, Joseph, and their three children. During the ceremony, nursing school and hospital officials were joined by family members of Mrs. Deblinger's, friends, faculty and students as well as Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline and his grandmother, Lucy Cicilline. Mrs. Cicilline was a classmate of Mrs. Deblinger's and was instrumental in the family's decision to honor her this way. The St. Joseph School of Nursing is the state's only hospital-based, 3-year diploma program. The school is affiliated with Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence and St. Joseph Hospital for Specialty Care in Providence, both divisions of St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island.
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