“I’m very excited to be working on this project. This mural showcases six nurses both men and women, from across the world and from different cultures and faiths. Nurses are people who give all of themselves to the care and well-being of people they usually don’t even know,” Thompson said. “I have two sisters and one brother who are nurses: I’ve seen this selfless compassion carry over towards all their friends and family. These six individuals show that no matter where you’re from or what your faith is, your decision to be a professional care giver is the right one. This mural is a way to tell the next generation that healers matter, that being a nurse is worth it.”

The mural includes from left to right: Hector Hugo Gonzalez (1937- ), Mary Jane Seacole (1805-1881), Mary Mahoney (1845-1926), Rufaida Al-Aslamia (570-630 CE), Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail (1903-1981) and Joe Hogan(1953-).

Hector Hugo Gonzalez: Texas-born in 1937, Gonzalez, received his nursing diploma from Robert B. Green Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1962 and a bachelor’s degree in 1963 from Incarnate Word College. Gonzalez served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War. In 1974, Gonzalez completed a PhD, with focus on education, from the University of Texas at Austin and became the first Mexican-American Registered Nurse to earn a doctorate in the United States. He had a lengthy career in nursing education and was a nursing educator consultant in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Kuwait.

Mary Jane Seacole: A Jamaican-born nurse, also known as “The Creole with the Tea Mug” became famous for her contribution during the Crimean war. After her rejection to gain a nursing position in the Crimean War (which she questioned whether racism was a factor), Seacole set up a British Hotel to provide food and supplies to soldiers. She assisted the wounded at the military hospitals. After the war, she returned to England. She published a book titled, “Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in May Lands,” which was the first autobiography written by a Black woman in Britain.

Mary Mahoney: Mahoney is recognized as the first Black registered nurse. She was known for her efficiency, patience, and caring bedside manner. In 1908, she co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses to advocate for the equality of African American nurses. That group founded the Mary Mahoney Award, which is still awarded today by the American Nurses Association. Mahoney has been credited as one of the first women to register to vote in Boston following the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women’s suffrage on Aug. 26, 1920.

Rufaida Al-Aslamia: Born in the year 620, which is approximately 1,400 years before Florence Nightingale, was the first female Muslim nurse. She served during the holy wars with Prophet Muhammad on arrival to Medina. She implemented her clinical skills into developing the first ever documented mobile care units that were able to meet the medical needs of the community. Her work was primarily in hygiene and stabilizing patients prior to more invasive procedures.

Susie Walking Bear Yellowtail: The first Crow and one of the first Native Americans to graduate as a registered nurse in the United States has received many honors for her work. Most notably received were the President’s Award for Outstanding Nursing Health Care in 1962 and honored as the Grandmother of American Indian Nurses in 1978 by the American Indiana Nurses Association. Yellowtail used her talents to better the Indian Health Service (IHS) by speaking out on the inadequate facilities, the language barrier that interceded between healthcare workers and the IHS consumers, as well as highlighting the poor living conditions that plagued the health of many Native American families.

Joe Hogan: In 1979, an African American nurse in Columbus, Mississippi, Hogan, applied to Mississippi University for Women to further his education and get a baccalaureate degree. But he was denied due to his gender. Hogan petitioned the university to change their guidelines and filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court on violation of his 14th Amendment rights. The court ruled against him stating MUW had appropriate guidelines for a female-only curriculum. The case went to the Supreme Court who ruled the policy was unconstitutional and Hogan could enroll in 1982.

Check out a time lapse video of the mural’s creation: 

Story written by Adrianne Kelly, School of Nursing marketing specialist and events coordinator.��

Dr. Justin Mog kicked things off with a workshop focused on the challenges of guiding a large institution away from a business-as-usual mindset and toward a thoughtful balance of environmental, social and economic stewardship.

The HSC Green Team coordinated a pumpkin decorating event and bike repair station on the HSC Plaza, as well as two showings of the critically acclaimed documentary, “Paris to Pittsburgh–The Climate for Change is Now.”  Two other films were featured during the week: “Forks over Knives” and “Current Revolution.”

The decorated pumpkins were placed on display at the Gray Street Farmers Market.

Falls City Community Bike Works sponsored a bike repair and training station on the Plaza.�� Falls City Community Bike Works is a non-profit community bike shop in Louisville with a goal of making bicycling more affordable and widespread.

The ribbon-cutting will take place at 12:15 p.m., Tuesday, May 22, at the Medical Mile starting point on the sidewalk next to the Health Sciences Center Plaza near Kornhauser Library, 500 S. Preston St.

The Medical Mile follows a 1-mile path from the HSC Plaza north to East Muhammad Ali Boulevard, east to South Hancock Street, south to East Chestnut Street, west to South Floyd Street, north to East Muhammad Ali again, and finishing up by going south on South Preston back to the starting point. A map of the path can be found . The mile is marked along the way with the Medical Mile graphic image and with one-fourth, one-half and three-quarter mile markers as well.

The creation of the Medical Mile was part of the School of Medicine’s SMART Wellness Task Force and the Being Well Initiative, said School of Medicine Chief of Staff Karan Chavis, and is the product of the work of the committee under the leadership of former co-chair Miranda Sloan and current co-chair Tamara Iacono.

“We know that walking is great physical activity that virtually anyone can do, and with the sidewalks we have surrounding our buildings, we have a ready-made way to create a dedicated walking space for people,” Chavis said. “Through the spring and summer, we are encouraging people to create ‘walking trains,’ picking up people along the way and walking together.”

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, including the LGBT Center’s Safe Zone Training to provide faculty and staff the tools and resources they need to understand LGBT students and create a welcoming, affirming campus environment for all.��

The effort is being amplified into an Ally Campaign, officially launching this week. The campaign comes on the heels of a study conducted last year to gauge the climate for LGBTQ people on the HSC campus.

“One of the biggest themes that came out of that study is that LGBT people said they were hesitant to come out and that they didn’t know who their allies were,” said Chaz Briscoe, program coordinator senior for the LGBT’s HSC satellite office.  

Briscoe notes that while UofL is an LGBT-friendly campus, staff, faculty and students are often reluctant to come out because they don’t know who to trust. This campaign is a way to make their working environment more comfortable.

“We want allies to make it known and say out loud, ‘you can trust me.’ Our goal is to help people identify who and where their safe spaces are,” Briscoe said.

The campaign will launch with email messaging featuring Snapchat-inspired selfies of all four HSC deans — T. Gerard Bradley (Dentistry), Marcia Hern (Nursing), Toni Ganzel (Medicine) and Craig Blakely (SPHIS), as well as faculty and students displaying their ally stickers.

“It was important to get the deans to do this for us. That institutional buy-in allows this ship to launch. When you have support from the ground up, it lends itself more credibility,” Briscoe said.��

The photos include captions such as:

• “I show up as an ally by proudly showing my pride”
• “Being an ally means letting others know I am an ally”
• “Allies make you feel like you belong!”
• “Be an ally, join HSC Pride”

These photos are part of a broader social media campaign that is a component of the initiative. Allies are asked to take a selfie and post it to Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #HSCally.

Other ways to get involved include:

Training: The HSC office is offering Safe Zone Training sessions for those who want to be an ally. Training includes topics such as the history of the LGBT community, why it is important to know about this population and the social stigma that comes with being a sexual or gender minority.

The first Safe Zone Training is Feb. 24 from 12-1:30 p.m. Registration is .��Another session is set for March 3 from noon to 1:30 p.m. More information is .��

Show support with an ally symbol: Email the LGBT Center for a free ally symbol to communicate your commitment to creating a safe, welcoming HSC. You will also receive a self-guided training packet to help you grow further as an ally. Available symbols include:

• Ally sticker for your office or educational spaces
• Rainbow sticker for clinical spaces
• Rainbow pin to wear on your lapel or lab coat wherever you go

Join the Center’s Ally List:  Let your colleagues, students and potential applicants to your program know you are an ally by adding your name to the .

Sign up as a LGBT-friendly healthcare provider: Add your name to the OutCare or ULP provider websites, and send a powerful message of inclusion to patients who are actively seeking LGBT-friendly providers. Sign up via email and join the state-wide .

Briscoe said this campaign will run indefinitely and the office hopes to continue adding more layers, including panel discussions and lectures. More information about the Ally Campaign is available by contacting the LGBT Center on the HSC campus.