The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation of Philadelphia has given $1.2 million to the School of Nursing to fund community health nursing efforts in Baltimore City. Leona Carpenter was a 1939 graduate of the School of Nursing who became a public health nurse. Since 1990, the Carpenter Foundation, which she and her husband started, has given almost $5 million to the School of Nursing.

"We are most grateful for this generous gift that supports our critical work in the community," says Sue K. Donaldson, dean of the school. "We are committed to vulnerable families in Baltimore who often face overwhelming barriers preventing them from receiving necessary health care. These families count on us to be there for them. If the community's trust is to be preserved, we must have a core group of faculty and students who can provide health services year-round, not just when classes are in session. The Carpenter Foundation gift will allow us to continue delivering quality health care to Baltimore's neediest families."

The Carpenter Foundation has specified that $1 million of the gift be used to endow the community health nursing program so that the school can continue its efforts for years to come. The remaining portion of the gift will provide the school's clinics with immediate support for supplies, equipment, faculty salaries and student stipends, enabling the School of Nursing to expand its efforts in the community.

"Hopkins Nursing is shaping solutions to the health problems that face inner city residents," says Walter D. Pinkard Jr., chairman of the National Council for Johns Hopkins Nursing and university trustee. "It is our hope that businesses in Baltimore and beyond will be inspired by the Carpenter Foundation to support Hopkins' community health nursing program. The Carpenter gift is particularly impressive because it aims to provide long-term support to the school's efforts, which will ultimately impact the entire community. When the community health nursing efforts succeed, the whole city is a winner.

In 1993, the School of Nursing became one of the first in the country to provide an educational track to prepare its students to become community health nurses, working with high-risk populations. Currently, the school operates four clinics in the Baltimore metropolitan area that serve low-income, vulnerable families. Nursing care also is delivered in schools, churches, private homes, community clinics and other outreach sites. Services include immunizations, health screenings, physical examinations, tests for lead poisoning, referrals to physicians, preventive measures, parenting workshops, geriatric services, drug prevention classes, nutrition workshops, mental health services and violence prevention efforts.