AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) proudly announces the Loretta “Lee” Ford Centennial Scholarship fund in recognition of the 100th birthday on December 28, 2020, of Loretta C. Ford, EdD, RN, PNP, NP-C, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, champion and co-founder of the NP profession. The scholarships will award educational grants to current registered nurses (RNs) for the purpose of pursuing NP education. The five $10,000 scholarships honor the 100th birthday and remarkable legacy of Dr. Ford, who co-founded the first NP program at the University of Colorado in 1965.

“Dr. Ford is a living legend, a founder of the NP role, and an incomparable leader who has dedicated her life to the cause of strengthening patient access to high-quality health care,” said AANP President, Sophia L. Thomas, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP. “At the age of 100, she continues to inspire our profession and blaze trails for women in health care. Her lifetime of service is the example we all strive to follow.”

According to Wikipedia, Ford, (born December 28, 1920) entered the nursing program at Middlesex General and received her Diploma in Nursing in 1941.^[2]

During WWII she was a nurse at bases in Florida and Maine.  Through the G.I. Bill, Ford was then able to attend the University of Colorado (CU), where she completed a B.S. in nursing with a Public Health Nursing certificate (1949) and Master of Public Health Nursing Supervision (1951).

In 1961, Ford received her Doctorate in Education also from the University of Colorado. Her doctoral work was in the development of cases in public health nursing administration and was supported through a National League for Nursing fellowship.

Working as a public health nurse in rural Colorado during the 1940s and ’50s, Ford saw firsthand how a shortage of physicians often left children and families without access to care. To fill the gap, she envisioned a solution in which nurses received advanced education in both clinical care and research so they could better meet the needs of patients as well as practice to the full extent of their capabilities.

The nurse practitioner model she co-developed with Dr. Henry K. Silver at the University of Colorado Medical Center in 1965 expanded the scope of practice in public health nursing and led to the creation of the first pediatric nurse practitioner model of advanced practice.

For more than half a century, Dr. Ford has been an active champion for the NP community in areas of practice, education and research.

Ford holds several honorary doctorate degrees and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Living Legend Award from the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) and the Gustav O. Lienhard Award from the National Academy of Medicine. She has also been inducted into both the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. Most recently, Ford was honored as the recipient of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Medallion for actions of exceptional achievement in the cause of public health and medicine.

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of the more than 290,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NPs’ patients and other health care consumers. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®, AANP represents the interests of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered health care. To locate an NP in your community, visit npfinder.org. For more information about NPs, visit aanp.org. For COVID-19 information from AANP, visit aanp.org/COVID19.