Who Are We?
The Alumnae Association of the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing, Inc., in cooperation with the Connecticut Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association, works for the promotion of the professional and educational advancement of nursing.
Announcement
Hartford Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association to end operations in 2026.
Read this important letter to alumnae members
Message from the President
Taking the helm as president of our Alumnae Association of Hartford Hospital School of Nursing is both an honor and a privilege for which I am most grateful. I accept it as an opportunity to serve the membership so that we may strengthen and preserve the legacy of our beloved Alma Mater.
Hartford Hospital has always been a vital part of my life story: I was born here in 1948 (along with my twin brother), and after graduating in 1969, stayed for nearly 25 years to build upon my solid nursing education. My career path at HH took me from general medicine, to being chosen as the Head Nurse of the first medical ICU (C8W), to then doing 5 years of pulmonary research, leading me to accepting the position of Nursing director of the Emergency Department, and finally to supervising on the off shift while attaining my graduate degree. I left HH in 1991 to begin my next career of nearly 23 years, in Long Term Care and Rehab Nursing, retiring in 2013. I obtained my BA from CCSU in 1975 and my MS from Rensselaer at Hartford in 1991.
My long and varied nursing career, along with my 10 years serving on the Alumnae Board, will give me a strong foundation upon which to set and achieve our Associations’ goals. Our first goal will be to continue to work together to support and grow membership and the Alumnae Medical Fund . Last year we assisted 89 members with $200,000 towards their medical expenses and have had an addition of five new members. Our 2nd goal is to support our community and beyond through charitable giving. Our donations last year to local, national and international charities and not for profit agencies totaled $14,000 to six recipients. Our 3rd goal is to support and strengthen the nursing profession through our Scholarship Fund. Last year we assisted 3 nurses in furthering their nursing education through the disbursements of scholarships totaling $15,000. We look forward to your participation in the upcoming years in helping us to grow in all of these worthy areas and for fresh ideas in adding to the list .
In addition to the aforementioned goals, we will continue our membership in the CT Nurses Association and to bringing the Nightingale Pledge to nurses who have passed and await the opening of the Springer garden and the unveiling of the new fountain for which we have a vested interest. I look forward to a very exciting and active year ahead!
Taken from a poem written by Frank M Gillespie from my 1969 Nursing Yearbook,
“It matters not from where you came,
It matters greatly, your worthy aim”
I promise to work hard and aim high, and together, with each of you and our outstanding board, will try and make the impact of our Alumnae Association felt, not only today and tomorrow, but long after we are gone.
Mary Jane Densmore