Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Renderings of the late Mary Ellen Patton were on display for a gathering Wednesday at Youngstown State University. A large endowment was established to create four scholarships, two in Patton’s name. Pictured, from left, are Betty Jane Panchik and Rebecca M. Patton, her daughters; Andrea Patton, daughter-in-law; and son, Bob Patton.

YOUNGSTOWN — To know the late Mary Ellen Patton was to know someone who deeply cared about others’ welfare and who left a long track record of stepping in where her care, compassion and commitment were needed, a family member says.

“She cared about this university. It’s very fitting that they’re getting these scholarships,” Patton’s daughter, Rebecca M. Patton of Cleveland, said.

Patton was among those who attended a celebratory gathering Wednesday at Youngstown State University’s Melnick Hall, during which the District 3 Ohio Nurses Association announced the establishment of a $650,000 endowment for the Youngstown State University Foundation to create four scholarships for students interested in entering the nursing field. Two of the scholarships are in Mary Ellen Patton’s name.

Rebecca Patton and her older sister, Betty Jane Panchik of Youngstown, also are in the nursing profession.

“The District 3 nurses have culminated their continued support of the nursing profession with the creation of four perpetual scholarships for YSU students,” Brian Nord, the foundation’s senior development officer, said.

District 3 ONA, founded in 1918 and serving Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, is dissolving — largely because many members are retiring. But they remain dedicated to continuing the tradition of caring for the community, and donating financial resources and the bulk of their dues to educate a greater number of registered nurses, Jeannie Mulichak, District 3 president, said.

Mary Ellen Patton, who died in 2022, was a strong advocate for safe, effective and quality patient care. She also championed staff nurses as well as their roles “in determining their own economic and general welfare within the health care work environment,” according to a statement from the YSU Foundation.

To that end, Patton led an effort in 1965 to organize the nursing staff at the Youngstown Hospital Association’s two major hospitals, the former Northside and Southside facilities. Eventually, her efforts led to the creation of the first ONA registered nurse collective bargaining unit, the first of its kind in the state.

In addition, Patton had national outreach and recognition. The Mary Ellen Patton Staff Nurse Leadership Award is given annually in Washington, D.C., Rebecca Patton said.

The four Distinct 3 nursing scholarships are the Mary Ellen Patton Undergraduate Scholarship, the Helen Popa Master’s in Nursing, the Mary Ellen Patton Graduate one and the Make a Difference Scholarship.

For her part, Popa, a longtime registered nurse, bequeathed a fund to the District 3 ONA in 2002 to further the profession and nurses who sought an advanced degree in the field. She also held many local leadership positions and was among the first area nurses to earn a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing.

Also at Wednesday’s event were Monica Metcalf, Dawn Rolfe, Marti Morn and Lauren Rosier, all of whom are relatives of Popa’s.

During her remarks, Mulichak praised Mary Ellen Patton and the local ONA for delivering their brand of care to those in need, which included an estimated 500,000 blood pressure screenings in the 1970s and 1980s at the Canfield Fair and elsewhere.

“”Every year, people came back to say, ‘You saved my life,'” Mulichak recalled.

In addition, Patton elevated the role and value of bedside nurses and was a true “trailblazer,” Nancy H. Wagner, who recently retired from running YSU’s Centofanti School of Nursing, said.

Patton and others of her ilk also should be honored for paving the way for future nurses and leaving an indelible imprint on the profession, Wagner added.

In addition, the District 3 nurses possess “a great gift of life that you give others,” interim YSU President Helen K. Lafferty said.

Many such caregivers also operated during a time when women’s voices were often undervalued — something that made many of them more determined to carry on, said Lafferty, whose mother and sister were nurses.

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