I cannot think of a person more deserving of this award than Jane! Over the span of the past 50 years, Jane has left an indelible mark, on all who know her, of her love and unprecedented commitment to the profession of nursing and her community. Here are a few reasons why Jane is a true “Living Legend”:

Jane began her nursing career in the summer of 1971 after graduating with a baccalaureate degree from McNeese State University. During her tenure, she has been instrumental in the professional development of herself and others through her influence in Perioperative/Surgical Services. Early in her career, Jane’s leadership ability was apparent by her ability to organize, motivate and manage surgical crews in major hospitals and outpatient surgical centers in our area.

Many nurses can attribute their professional development and advancement in nursing to their association with Jane. I am one of those nurses. My acquaintance with Jane began in 1993 at W.O. Moss Regional Medical Center. I was hired to re-open the Emergency Department (ED) that had been closed since around 1989. Jane was there to assist me in maneuvering through the “state system” to acquire the needed supplies, equipment, and personnel to staff a 7 bed ED. I knew from that experience that Jane had the phenomenal skill to “make things happen” …...quickly.

A sizable portion of Jane’s career was spent at W.O. Moss Regional serving the underserved population of southwest Louisiana. That is not surprising to anyone that knows Jane. The foundation of her years of service at the facility was spent as an advocate for critical healthcare services for those in our community who did not have access to primary healthcare, orthopedic, and surgical services. Again, she was able to garner support and rally the troops to assure a quality healthcare experience for those in need.

In addition to Janes’s ability to do remarkable things to advance the quality of surgical services in our community, she also was a staunch supporter of organizations that promoted the advancement of nursing on a local, state, and national level. In 1986 Jane joined the local chapter of the Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN) and during her tenure, she served as President and President-elect. From that point, she went on to serve on many committees on the state and national levels.

Through Jane’s involvement in AORN on a national level, she was able to influence the advancement of the nursing profession, serve as a role model, and illuminate nursing in southwest Louisiana. She served in many roles related to the AORN Congress such as a national speaker, Congress Coordinator, and on Leadership and Membership Committees. In 1999 and 2000, Jane was chosen as AORN Nurse of the Year for the local chapter. At the time, little did she know this experience would have a transformative effect on future nurses.

In 2010, Jane found herself in academia, where she continued to “make things happen” for the students and faculty in the College of Nursing. Upon joining the college, she immediately began to infuse the clinical laboratories with efficiency and ambitious standards of operation. Inventory of all supplies and equipment was conducted, and she was instrumental in the acquisition of donated supplies from area healthcare agencies to ensure our students had the most up-to-date items to prepare them to meet the needs of our healthcare community. Faculty and students quickly came to realize and respect her clinical competence as well as her ability to teach students in a non-threatening, supportive manner. Students flocked to her, and she was able to rally a team of students, at a moment's notice, for any service opportunity!

While here at McNeese, she was able to share her AORN experiences with students. She was Instrumental in organizing 3 separate student trips to the National AORN Conference in New Orleans in 2005, 2012, and 2018. She solicited monetary donations from local private entities to fund the educational experience and transportation for clinical nursing students. This experience exposed students and faculty to unique learning experiences and networking opportunities of a lifetime. Our students even made the cover of the AORN Journal!

Here we are, things have come full circle with Jane and me. Jane’s ability to “make things happen” reached the realm of influence to the broader nursing community. The year 2020 was coined the “Year of the Nurse” and it turned out to be very appropriate because only a nurse could have the resilience and strength to keep us moving forward through the trials we have experienced. The first challenge was COVID-19. At the beginning of the pandemic, medical supplies needed for the College of Nursing and Health Professions (CONHP) and community were extremely scarce and almost impossible to obtain. Through contact with Homeland Security and the Calcasieu Parish Medical Reserve Corps, she was able to acquire isolation gowns, face masks, N95 masks, and gloves. She, in turn, was able to share some of the PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) with healthcare facilities in the area that were also in need of PPE supplies. She also procured cleaning supplies for our labs and classrooms from wherever she could get them. Many were received from a local Dollar General manager with whom she was friends. Without Jane’s perseverance, nursing students would not have had the necessary supplies to properly care for patients and continue nursing clinical courses during the pandemic.

Later in 2020, with the disruption to the McNeese campus by Hurricanes Laura and Delta, Jane assisted in coordination efforts to move and monitor simulation equipment to Lake Charles Memorial Hospital so nursing clinical could resume. In January 2021, she rallied troops of students to assist us in moving our simulation equipment back to campus. Once again, Jane “made this happen” and we were able to keep the “nursing factory” as we joke about it, moving forward, uninterrupted so that we could continue to meet the healthcare needs of our community.

Jane will be retiring in May 2022. In her 50 years of service to the professional community, I hope that I have painted a perfect picture of the transformational impact Jane has made on our nursing community. It would be fair to say there is not one nurse who can say they have not been touched in some way by Jane.

In conclusion, these are just a few of my highlights of Jane’s impact on the nursing profession. I have demonstrated high personal and professional values in all actions, she has been a role model to all on how to love and care for patients, one another, and our community. I am sure she had a long-term vision of the person and professional she wanted to be, and she shared that vision directly and indirectly throughout her journey. Always empowering us to be the best person and nurse we can be. This describes transformational leadership! I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award than Barbara Jane Rouyer Alcock!