Beverly J. Patterson Scholarship Fund

In 1955, Beverly J. Patterson’s nursing career began as she graduated from Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Indiana and became a RN, specializing in Obstetrics and Gynecology. After accepting a position at Methodist Hospital in the labor/delivery department, Beverly spent the first twenty years of her career working various shifts and creating opportunities for herself to advance her career. Through her hard work and determination, she became the head night nurse at Methodist and eventually transitioned into being a private scrub nurse for three OB/GYN doctors. In 1975, Beverly was introduced to a recent medical school graduate who was opening his own practice as an OB/GYN physician. The physician impressed with Beverly’s character, professional history, and more importantly her nursing skills, offered her a position at his office, Carmel OB/GYN. By 1985, the practice had not only grown to four doctors, Beverly J Patterson’s role also grew as she began assisting the doctors in performing weekend hospital rounds. She later left Carmel OB/GYN to return to Obstetrics and Gynecology at Methodist Hospital. Along with her love for nursing, Beverly had a passion for travel, music and learning. In the late 1980’s to the early 90’s, her medical background combined these interests and allowed her to travel with the Butler University Chorale (Indianapolis, IN) and through Europe with East 91st Christian Church Choir (Indianapolis, IN). Beverly’s youngest child’s involvement in the Carmel High School Marching Band gave her the opportunity to serve as a chaperon and band nurse. Once again combining the love of nursing, travel, and music. Beverly retired in 1996, but after a short respite, she returned to work at the hospital to then retire for a second time in 2000. A couple years later, she was contacted by the office manager of the private practice she worked at 35 years prior and was asked to come out of retirement, and she did. Unfortunately, a knee replacement surgery forced Beverly to retire for a third time. Then in 2005, at a very young age of 70, she received a call to see if there was an interest in returning to the office to manage surgery scheduling for all of the OB/GYN doctors (now totaling six). While this was a difficult and challenging task, she enjoyed it immensely. At the age of seventy-six having spent 50+ years in a profession Beverly loved deeply, she officially hung up her nurse’s cap and retired for the final time. Sadly, in early 2023, Beverly was diagnosed with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML). During her chemotherapy treatment and stays in the hospital the RN in her was awakened once more. She used these moments in a positive focus to ‘chat medical lingo,’ and catch up on changes in medicine and practices and even offer (mostly unsolicited) suggestions on how to improve patient care.