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Agatha Hodgins Memorial Award

The Agatha Hodgins Memorial Award is presented to one of the graduating students of the Nurse Anesthesia program at the College of Nursing. With this award we recognize excellence within this graduating class and we remember Agatha Hodgins as one of our founders in the field of nurse anesthesia.

Agatha Hodgins was distinguished as an excellent clinician, an educator, and a leader in the promotion of nursing as a profession. Ms. Hodgins' career began at the turn of the century, when delivering anesthesia was neither an esteemed nor an especially well-paid position. Agatha was appointed by a surgeon, Dr. George Crile, to administer anesthetics to his patients at Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland. He recognized that her exceptional abilities and talents, as a nurse, were qualities that were indispensable in delivering safe anesthesia at the head of the surgical table.

Working with Dr. Crile, Agatha Hodgins was a pioneer in perfecting the nitrous oxide-oxygen technique of anesthesia. She served in France from 1914 to 1915, helping train French and British nurses and physicians in anesthesia care. In 1915, Agatha founded the Lakeside School of Anesthesia , which, by the way, the training was only 6 months and the tuition for the first class was $50. Agatha Hodgins was also instrumental in the establishment of the profession of nurse anesthesia, becoming the founder and first president of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

We are thankful for Agatha and others that have followed, that through their years of dedicated service they have been role models for us, and have left us with what our profession is today. As graduates enter into the ranks of this profession and assume your role at the head of the table, you will become the leaders and role models for those who follow behind you, for the colleagues with whom you work, and most importantly the public that you are privileged to serve.