Hillcrest nurse continues her father’s legacy
Dr. James Loney lived a long life of service as a physician in the Cleveland area. When he passed away in July of 2008, his daughter, Molly, knew that her father would want his legacy of support to be designated toward nursing education. Fortunately, Ms. Loney didn’t have to look further than her own employer, Hillcrest Hospital, as the perfect place for her father’s gift to make a significant impact.
As a member of the Nursing Administration team and past member of the oncology team, Ms. Loney has supported Hillcrest’s pursuit of nursing excellence throughout her eight years of service at the hospital. In January, she made a gift of $10,000 from her father’s estate to establish the James Loney, MD, Nursing Education Fund. Full-time nurses at Hillcrest may apply to the fund to support their continuing education.
The gift is “a way to maintain my father’s legacy,” Ms. Loney says. “He always had a commitment to excellence. He saw nursing as a cornerstone of quality patient care.”
For many years, Dr. Loney managed a successful practice as a heart and lung internist in Warren and Chagrin Falls, Ohio. From 1965 to 1981, he also served as medical director for General Electric’s Nela Park Lamp Division while continuing his private practice with admitting privileges at Hillcrest Hospital. In addition, Dr. Loney served as clinical faculty at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
“He loved teaching and he loved supporting nursing education,” Ms. Loney says. “He always encouraged people to stretch beyond where they were.”
Ms. Loney has a snapshot of the two of them in front of the Cleveland Museum of Art. She was a toddler at the time, and her father is holding her up high. “You can really stretch to new heights,” she muses. “He inspired me even from an early age.”
Her father was one of the major reasons she became a nurse, she says, recalling that he began taking her on house calls when she was 3 or 4 years old. “I learned how important bandages were. I came home and put bandages on all my baby dolls and everywhere I could on me. He had a huge impact.”
A version of this story originally appeared in the Hillcrest Hospital employee newsletter.
To make a gift supporting the James Loney, MD, Nursing Education Fund, Cleveland Clinic community hospitals or any area of Cleveland Clinic, visit iSupport, our secure online giving site, or call Institutional Relations and Development at 216.444.1245 or toll-free at 800.223.2273, ext. 41245.
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