Sandra Defoor Helps Open Sandra Defoor School Of Nursing
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
rmoore@harrodsburgherald.com
Thursday, July 15, was Sandra DeFoor Day in Harrodsburg, and the honoree got to celebrate with the grand opening of the the Sandra DeFoor School of Nursing building and the Dr. Robert Darnell Limited Medical Radiography.
The 8,000 square foot building—officially known as the Commonwealth Credit Union Center for Health Services—will house nursing and limited medical radiology programs.
Defoor, a registered nurse who holds a bachelors of science in nursing, retired as nursing director of the James B. Haggin Memorial Hospital. She is working with the CU Harrodsburg School of Nursing to train a new generation of nurses. The third cohort will start in January 2022, university officials say.
DeFoor also serves as the chair of the Mercer Health Department and on the boards of Heritage Hospice, the Kentucky Nurses Association, Nursing Home Ombudsman, American Cancer Society, the Kentucky Diabetes Association and Initiating the Road to Recovery. The university presented her with an award for her service to healthcare in Mercer County.
On Thursday, she recalled how students would have to travel to Lexington, Richmond or Western Kentucky to attend nursing school.
Defoor said the facilities are a great investment in training health care professionals to serve the community. At the ceremony, Commonwealth Credit Union donated $150,000 to fund student scholarships to attend.
Defoor thanked Michael Carter, the former president of Campbellsville University who retired last year, for his family’s efforts to bring Campbellsville University to Harrodsburg.
“We made it through a year that was pretty tough,” Defoor said. “Hopefully we’re on the upswing.”