Supporting Future Generations of Yale Nurses

Nursing is the most trusted profession in the United States. Nurses care for patients in hospitals, at home, in clinics, and other healthcare facilities; they provide primary care, especially crucial in rural or underserved areas. Nurses with doctorates in nursing practice run health systems and hospitals, improving the quality of care as health leaders. And nurses who have pursued PhDs do research on almost every aspect of health and healthcare.

To honor nurses and the sacrifices they must sometimes make to follow their calling, Carol Stout ’94 MSN recently designated Yale School of Nursing (YSN) as a beneficiary of her retirement account. Her planned gift will support student financial aid through the Patrick James and Carol Stout Scholarship Fund; it will also go toward YSN ’s Wendy U. and Thomas C. Naratil Nursing Innovation Fund, which supports faculty seeking to uncover new ways to improve healthcare. And the gift will be matched by the university as part of a $50 million challenge, continuing through June of this year, to build the school’s unrestricted endowment.

“I’m thrilled to be able to support students financially,” Stout says. “Student debt can be so restrictive, and this felt like a way to relieve that.”

The gift was made in memory of her late husband and in honor of one of her professors, Heather Reynolds, now a lecturer emerita in nursing.

“She’s one of my heroes,” Stout says. “I could name so many more faculty members that inspired me. But I had that ‘aha’ moment as a student of Heather’s where I knew I could make a difference.”

As a student, Stout witnessed Reynolds taking decisive and potentially life-saving action during a difficult birth. After she graduated, Stout worked in different places in the country, including Connecticut, Texas, and Virginia. She ultimately settled in Arizona, where she worked for the Indian Health Service for thirteen years. But she never forgot that moment with Reynolds; it inspired her to teach advanced life support and obstetrics across the Navajo Nation and elsewhere in the country as part of the Indian Health Service.

“Birth is a magical, wonderful experience,” says Stout. “But—rarely—it can turn wrong, fast. And you have to know how to respond. I took that experience with Heather and tried to help other clinicians recognize emergency situations.”

Returning to Yale in 2023 for YSN ’s centennial celebration, Stout learned about the dollar-for-dollar matching challenge and decided to take the opportunity to make the most out of her giving. She also got to see firsthand that Reynolds was “still touching every life that she came in contact with,” she says.

A more recent student, Elise Rose ’18 MSN, also spoke to Reynolds’s enduring impact. “Heather was always one of the most approachable educators at YSN,” says Rose. “She has a gift for making students feel heard.”

Reynolds admits that she prefers to work in the background rather than under the spotlight.

“But I was delighted and honored that Carol respects me that much and feels that I impacted her life in that way,” Reynolds says.

As a self-supporting school, YSN is responsible for generating all of its operating budget, says Reynolds. Gifts like Stout’s are all the more crucial for helping students graduate with less debt, freeing them to work in the places with greatest need.

There is a shortage of healthcare providers in many parts of the country, especially rural areas, Reynolds says. “It’s so important to find additional resources to provide the care that’s needed.”

Reynolds has also made her own planned gift to the school. “I went into this profession because I cared about communities and people,” she says. “I wanted to share whatever resources I have to give back. We all have to help grow the next generation of nurses, together.”