Elizabeth Barnhart Award

Post October 9, 2020

The Elizabeth Barnhart Award for Nursing Excellence is presented to a graduating associate degree nursing student from the Newark campus who exemplifies the highest ideals of the nursing profession: intelligence, commitment, sacrifice, integrity and a compassionate connection to others.

The award was established by Barnhart’s mother, Nancy Reeder. Recipients receive a certificate and a $300 cash stipend to help defray the cost of equipment and career-related fees, including testing and licensure.

Elizabeth Barnhart, a young registered nurse who loved her profession and was passionate about helping others, was only just beginning a promising career as an emergency room nurse at Newark’s Licking Memorial Hospital when she was killed on Feb. 2, 2017. A 2015 COTC graduate, Barnhart was an outstanding student and well-known to use the phrase “nurse so hard,” which she used to describe the deep level of compassion and commitment needed by nurses to provide exceptional patient care. The inaugural award was presented in May 2018. It is the highest award a nursing student can receive.