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Schools

Final Nursing Class Graduates as Helene Fuld School of Nursing Closes

The 100-year-old Camden County nursing school shuts its door with a final graduating class of 65.

With a final graduation of 65 new nurses, the Helene Fuld School of Nursing closed a chapter on South Jersey education this week. The century-old nursing school will shut its doors this year after a long history of educating close to 6,000 nurses.

Helene Fuld School of Nursing, which has educated nurses since 1895, graduated its final class Friday, Dec. 16 at the Dennis Flyer Theater on the campus of . 

The school fell victim to changing preferences in how nurses are educated. 

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“The decision to close Helene Fuld was not due to lack of students,” said Rose Saunders, who served as dean of the school for six years. “Medicine has changed and as a result, nursing education was changed as well.” Saunders noted that the school had an average of 400 students enrolled each year and graduated students in both the spring and fall semesters. 

The Board of Trustees made the decision to close after an Institute of Medicine report in October 2010 recommended nurses enter the profession with the minimum of a baccalaureate degree or a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN).

Helene Fuld, as it is today, opened its doors in 1980 following the merger of nursing programs at Cooper University Hospital and Virtua Health System. Both programs started in 1890. Virtua erected a classroom building on the Camden County College Blackwood campus in the mid-1990s.

The program from Helene Fuld was in cooperation with Camden County College and awarded two degrees upon completion of two years of study—a diploma in nursing from the school of nursing and an associate's degree in science from Camden County College.

“As we close a chapter on the associate’s degree program at the Blackwood campus, we look forward to partnering with BSN programs in the future,” said Margaret Hamilton, vice president for academic affairs at Camden County College. 

As hospitals demand applicants with higher levels of education, hospital-based diploma nursing programs have been shutting down across the country. Saunders said that 20 years ago there were 200 hospital-owned schools; now there are fewer than 20.

“Programs like (Helene Fuld School of Nursing) made nursing education affordable and accessible to people who may not have otherwise been able to attend school,” Saunders said. Tuition was just about $100 a credit, compared to more than $900 at area schools offering the four-year BSN program. 

Saunders said that while graduates of Helene Fuld are eligible to take the nursing licensing exam, many also choose to continue on to a BSN program. 

“Lifelong learning is what nursing is all about,” Saunders noted.

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Robert Richards, a member of the school's Board of Trustees, shared stories of graduates who overcame the odds to attend nursing school and graduate. Graduates included students from a handful of states and one student from Kenya. 

“We were given the opportunity to attend as the last class of Helene Fuld,” said speaker Florence Paluszek, a member of the class of December 2011. “And clearly they saved the best for last.” 

Doug Allen, a member of the school's Board of Trustees, said that four students made up the first graduating class of Helene Fuld. They received free tuition and board, living on the fourth floor of Cooper Hospital in Camden. 
 
In October, Helene Fuld hosted a Grand Finale Celebration at The Merion in Cinnaminson. More than 500 past graduates and their families attended the event, which included displays from the school’s history. Artifacts and uniforms from the 100-plus year history will be donated to the Camden County Historical Society. 

Saunders will finish in her role as dean in early 2012. Helene Fuld School of Nursing employed six administration and staff members, five full-time faculty members and seven adjunct faculty members.

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