Sylvia Homan
Professor Emeritus of Nursing, Sylvia Homan, devoted her entire career to enhancing nursing education and improving healthcare in Alabama. During the early years of her career in the hospital setting, Homan served as the Nursing Supervisor at Bryan Whitfield Memorial Hospital in Demopolis, Ala., where she established the first critical care unit and developed the curriculum for employment in the critical care unit with an emphasis upon arrhythmia recognition and intervention, utilizing the algorithmic approach.
After beginning her career in nursing education, Homan became dedicated to making baccalaureate nursing education more accessible to associate degree graduates. In collaboration with the Capstone College of Nursing, she initiated the first RN to BSN curriculum, which became a model throughout the state. A pioneer in making nursing education accessible in rural west Alabama and east Mississippi, Homan helped to establish the nursing program at the University of West Alabama, where she developed the curriculum for the first associate degree program in the area. Homan also established and conducted the semiannual Continuing Education Conference at the University of West Alabama, which enabled nurses in the area to meet continuing education licensure requirements.
Homan has held several positions and received many recognitions through her career. In 1984, she assumed the position of Chairperson of Nursing and was appointed to a four-year term on the Alabama Board of Nursing. During her tenure on the Board, she served on the national Item Review Committee of the Council of State Boards of Nursing. Homan also served two terms as Chair of the Alabama Committee of Professional Nursing Education Programs, Chair of the Alabama Committee of Administrators of Associate Degree Nursing Programs and was an active member and presenter in the Alabama Nursing Association and the National League for Nursing. During her tenure at the University of West Alabama, Homan received the William E. Gilbert Award for Outstanding Teaching and the Faculty Loyalty Award. She also was inducted into Who’s Who Among American Teachers, Phi Kappa Phi and the Society of Golden Key, which recognizes exceptional service to the University and recipient’s profession.
Dedicated to community service, Homan provided numerous professional presentations within the region, primarily in the areas of cardiovascular and respiratory assessment and management, as her research interest was in the identification of cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents.
Mrs. Homan would like to express her gratitude to her family for their support and patience in allowing her the gift of time that allowed her to make an impact on the nursing profession. She is indebted to Dr. Linda Olivet for being her inspiration to pursue a career in nursing education.