St. Elizabeth School of Nursing Alumni Association announces annual Outstanding Alumni Award

Marsha Clarke, R.N., of Fishers, Ind., is the recipient of the 2009 St. Elizabeth School of Nursing Alumni Association’s Outstanding Alumni Award.

Clarke received the award during the alumni association’s annual luncheon on Oct. 31 at the Best Western Lafayette Executive Plaza and Conference Center in Lafayette.

Clarke, a member of the class of 1996, currently works as an eligibility nurse consultant for the Indiana State Department of Health’s Children’s Special Health Care Services.

In addition to working for the state, she is currently enrolled at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, working on her master’s degree in divinity. Clarke is also enrolled in St.Vincent Health’s clinical pastoral educational program at Saint John’s Health System in Anderson.

In 2007, Clarke received the state’s Governor’s Award for her ongoing efforts to go beyond personal job expectations to meet the needs of Indiana’s most vulnerable residents.

In addition to her diploma in nursing from St. Elizabeth in 1996, Clarke received a bachelor’s degree in environmental health in 1993 and a master’s degree in liberal arts from Purdue University in 2000. She worked at the Indiana Veteran’s Home in West Lafayette in 2000. In 2001 Clarke became a public health nurse surveyor for nursing homes for the Indiana State Department of Health. In 2005, Clarke transferred to the Family and Social Service Administration to work as a welfare nurse consultant for the Division of Aging, where she provided individuals with home and community based, housing and medical services.

In addition to working for the state of Indiana, she is an active volunteer with various health-related committees of Indiana Black Expo, the Indiana Minority Health Program and the Indiana Division of Aging program.

Previous recipients include:

• 2003: Helen Wortman, Class of 1947.
• 2004: Thelma Neal, Class of 1955.
• 2006: Judith Gudeman, Class of 1954.
• 2007: Jean Eberhard, Class of 1952.
• 2008: Eleanor Kay Mirich, Class of 1958.

The St. Elizabeth School of Nursing was established in 1897 and is the only hospital-based school of nursing remaining in Indiana. For more information on the school, please visit www.steson.org.