Assiniboine College receives ‘transformational’ $4M gift

The Assiniboine College school of nursing has a new name after receiving a $4-million boost dedicated to funding research opportunities and financial awards.

The Edna Edwards School of Nursing honours the legacy of the late Edna Edwards, a former registered psychiatric nurse and champion of health-care education.

Her husband, Russ Edwards, wiped tears from his face as he announced the $4-million gift alongside college officials at Assiniboine on Wednesday afternoon — almost one year after Edna’s passing on May 16 at the age of 93.

“We’re very proud of her achievements in her career and her dedication to the betterment of society,” he said.

Russ, 92, said he chose to honour his wife this way because having her name in perpetuity can inspire students pursing an education in nursing.

Edna’s connection to the college dates back to the 1950s when she started her career training to become an RPN at the Brandon Mental Health Centre — now the site of Assiniboine College’s North Hill campus.

Edna spent the majority of her 37-year nursing career at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg while raising her three children before she met Russ. She later went back to school to become a registered nurse.

She retired in 1987, Russ said.

Russ said he wants people to remember what a “dedicated, hard-working” woman she was.

“When she put her mind to something, she did it,” he said.

Mark Frison, president of Assiniboine College, said he’s incredibly grateful to Russ for his generosity and that his donation to the school of nursing will support students for years to come.

He described first meeting Russ years ago at the college. Frison said Russ came into the Manitoba Institute of Culinary Arts building “on a mission” to locate Edna’s dormitory room from when she lived in residence.

At the time, Russ was facetiming Edna and wanted to provide her with an update on how the building had changed.

Frison said it was clear upon meeting Russ that he admired his wife and desired to honour Edna through her connection to nursing.

The two-year licensed practical nurse training program is the largest program offered at the college, with more than 270 students enrolled per year, Frison said.

In the last decade, he said, roughly 1,500 nursing students have graduated from the program, with 95 per cent having stayed within the province four years after graduation.

“I don’t know if there’s many other post-secondary programs in the province that can boast that kind of retention, and so certainly, it’s a program we’re very proud of,” he said.

“We’re certainly thrilled about what nursing has done to date, and we know that there’s so much more ahead in what we’re about to do.”

Frison said the college is in the final process of approving a new program that would create a pathway for LPNs to become RNs.

“They would be able to do that without leaving their job, without leaving their home communities,” he said, adding that the college hopes to roll it out in 2027.

“We will have a half-million-dollar scholarship pool — Edna Edwards scholarships for people in that program making that transition in rural areas to become registered nurses,” he said.

Suzanne Nicolas, dean of the Edna Edwards School of Nursing, said it’s fitting how the announcement takes place during National Nurses Week.

“This transformational gift is in Edna’s honour and is another example of the power of nurses like Edna, a former nurse with a passion for the profession, leaving a legacy for future generations,” she said.

Edna’s family also made a $500,000 donation to the Edna Edwards Endowment Fund at the St. Boniface Hospital, dedicated to helping people become doctors.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com