Loretta C. Ford, a trailblazing pediatric nurse and advocate for healthcare access, passed away at 104. Known for co-founding the nurse practitioner role in the 1960s, she redefined nursing by supporting advanced training that empowered nurses to diagnose and treat patients, especially in underserved areas. Her experiences running clinics in rural Colorado illustrated the crucial need for nurses to take on more responsibilities. Ford's innovative collaboration with pediatrician Henry K. Silver laid the foundation for improved child healthcare access across the United States.
"You were the lone ranger out there. You were the sanitarian, epidemiologist, the vital statistics office - everything," she later reflected about her early experience in public health nursing.
"To improve medical care in underserved areas, nurses needed to be allowed - and trained - to work to their full capacity," she emphasized during her tenure as a professor.
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