Emory School Of Nursing

The Dedication of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff / Emory (University) School of Nursing


In honor of Miss Nell Hodgson Woodruff, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff / Emory School of Nursing is elected as a leader in training nurses for beginning and advanced practice in Atlanta, Georgia.

Graduates of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff / Emory School of Nursing are forefront leaders that are also much honored for their service as excellent role models in the nursing practice and recognized the world over - much like their mother patron.
Nell Hodgson Woodruff had a passion for nurse caring ever since she was a little girl. She started to fulfill her promise of service when she entered training at the St. Mary's Hospital in Athens Georgia, but stopped from her nursing studies when she became wife to Mr. Robert Woodruff. During the First World War though, Nell Woodruff recalled her calling and volunteered as an aid to the Red Cross nurses. To be able to help train other nurses, Nell also took up an additional training of 80 diligent hours. Her active service soon earned her authorization to be a nurses' aide in any of the United States military hospitals.
Mrs. Nell Woodruff's career and service flourished in 1932 when she began as volunteer at the Emory University Hospital. The Emory immediately recognized her excellent skills and allowed (only) her to work in the maternity ward.
When the Second World War broke, Mrs. Woodruff again donated her service to the Red Cross and in the US hospitals while also recruiting other women to nurse the wounded.
Her undying devotion to nurse care made her the first ever female member of the Emory Hospital Administration Committee, and soon enabling her to establish the Emory (University) School of Nursing. Mrs. Nell Woodruff was also named as an honorary member of the Emory Nurses' Alumni Association in 1946, then an honorary member of the Georgia Nurses Association. Finally, in the year 1954, the President Eisenhower appointed Mrs. Nell Hodgson Woodruff as the American delegate to the World Health Organization.
Mrs. Nell Woodruff's commitment to the nursing service stamped her name permanently in history when she became honored by the Emory University Board of Trustees renaming the Emory (University) School of Nursing into the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in 1967. And until these days, Nell Hodgson Woodruff / Emory (University) School of Nursing continues to carry the name and the service as it fully invests its excellence in the scholarship of discovery, teaching, and application in acute care settings, home, and the community.
In its interdisciplinary partnership with the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center and the entirety of the Emory University, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff / Emory (University) School of Nursing dedicates its scholarship, leadership, and social responsibility to Mrs. Nell Hodgson Woodruff in all its service to the world.