Leaving a Legacy -- Conference Center Named for Benjamin Ladner; Employees Selected for Ladner Nursing Tuition Program

The DCH Conference Center at DCH Regional Medical Center has been named the Benjamin Ladner Conference Center. The center is located on the hospital’s main floor near the center elevators.

To honor his memory, Benjamin Ladner’s family made planned gifts to DCH, resulting in the naming of the center. Proceeds from the planned giving also benefit the Benjamin Ladner Nursing Excellence Tuition Assistance Program.

“It is so important to our family that we pay it forward. Ben’s shared dream was to help many others earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing and eventually a master’s degree, and to continue this for many years to come,” Dr. Kathleen Ladner said.

“Gifts like Dr. Ladner’s have a very special impact on the DCH Health System. In addition to helping us provide financial opportunities, memorial and estate gifts help us remember that we are all connected to one another and that we all contribute to a critically important tradition of health care for our community,” said Molly Ingram, DCH vice president of development.

In addition to the naming of the center, the Ladner family has announced the first three recipients of the Benjamin Ladner Nursing Excellence Tuition Assistance Program.

Congratulations to:

April Burrell-Tucker, RN, North Harbor Pavilion

Steven D. Jones, nurse manager, Endoscopy

Robert J. Vice, RN, team leader, Emergency Department, Northport Medical Center

While in nursing school, Benjamin Ladner worked at DCH RMC from November 2000 until September 2005. He was known for his patience and compassion and for his gift of bringing out the best in others. Unfortunately, he was killed in a car accident in 2005.

After his death, his family created the Benjamin Louis Ladner Capstone College of Nursing Memorial Scholarship. This annual scholarship has helped many nurses complete their bachelor’s degrees in nursing.

In 2018, Ladner’s family decided to partner with The DCH Foundation and DCH Health System to expand the annual scholarship to a year-round nursing tuition assistance program to help many nurses earn their bachelor’s degrees. Ladner’s legacy will live on through the education of his peers, directly impacting patient care at the bedside.       

If you are an RN wishing to advance your education, read more here about this ongoing tuition assistance program.