Nursing group honors late teacher, donate to humane society

The West Bend Student Nurses Association raised $326 as a memorial for their beloved teacher, Deb Schmitz, and donated it to the Ozaukee Humane Society as she had requested.

Deb was born November 7, 1959 in Port Washington and passed away in May 2017. For the last 17 years of her life, Deb was a dedicated Clinical Nursing Instructor at Moraine Park Technical College and impacted many students. 

In 1983, Deb received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She later received her Master’s degree in 1998 from the same institution. She taught and supervised junior and senior nursing students in medical-surgical and rehabilitation hospital settings. Prior to her teaching, Deb was a Registered Nurse at various hospitals in Milwaukee such as Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Hospital, St. Joseph’s, St. Michael’s and St. Mary’s Hospitals. She had been an Emergency Medical Technician, ACLS Transportation Nurse and Operations Manager for Vital Care Ambulance Service of West Bend throughout the 1990’s.

The donation of money from former students to the Ozaukee Humane Society is a meaningful gesture in her memory. Deb always had a great love for animals. Her pride and joy were her Golden Retriever pals Rudy and Hogan. She valued these animals and volunteered with Golden Retriever Rescue groups. Summer was not complete without a week at a dog camp like the Dog Scouts of America.

Deb also was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Alumni Association and the Wisconsin Emergency Medical Service Association.

Students shown in the photo above include, from left to right: Kellie Murray,  Mary Krieger – Nursing Faculty, Angela Briski, Joey Jaeger, Ozaukee Humane Society Representative, Kelly O’Conner, and Nikki Stavrakis.

For more information on Moraine Park’s nursing program, visit morainepark.edu/programs.