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Friends, colleagues remember Dorothy Brown
Dorothy Brown
Dorothy Brown - photo by Special

Debora Scott

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    Colleagues and friends remembered Dorothy Brown as a person dedicated to the care of patients and teaching others to provide that care.
    Brown, program director for the Practical Nursing program at Ogeechee Technical College for the past 15 years, was killed early Tuesday evening in a single-car accident.
    ""We are all a big family at Ogeechee Technical College and we will lean on one another for support during this difficult time," said Dawn Cartee, president of the school.
    An impromptu memorial service was held on the campus to allow students and faulty to express their thoughts about Brown.
    Wanda Scott, a former nursing student, said she was shocked by the news of her death.
    "We had gotten so close when I was a student. It is hard to fathom the loss," Scott said.
    A memorial scholarship in Brown's name has been set up at Ogeechee Technical College.
    "Friends and other instructors wanted to do something to honor her legacy," said Beth Matthews, executive director of institutional advancement. "This is a perfect way to do it because it'll continue to educate nurses in our area."
    Marilyn Turner, Health Science Department Chair at Ogeechee Technical College, called Brown her "mentor."
    "She really was a big help to me, coming right from a hospital environment into teaching," she said. "
    Students at the school have been assured their emotional and academic needs will be met. Other instructors will pull together to cover the classes taught by Brown.
    In addition to her work at Ogeechee Technical College, Brown served as the lead instructor at the hospital, helping students take the knowledge they learned in the classroom and applying it in a real-world situation.
    "She was a very compassionate person who put the care of the patient foremost when it came to education," said Donna Whitt, director of education and bariatric services for East Georgia Regional Medical Center.
    Whitt said she'd miss Brown's dedication to educating future nurses the most.
    "She provided education and guidance to hundreds of practicing LPNs in and around our community," Whitt said. "Our health care community has certainly benefited from her dedication to the art of nursing and she will be greatly missed. She had a very compassionate approach to not just knowing how to take care of the patient, but delivering that care in a compassionate way."
    Carol Turknett, head nurse at Georgia Southern's Health Services, worked with Brown at OTC several years ago and said she was a lovely person.
    "She had high standards for her students and they respected her tremendously," Turknett said. "She was an excellent role model."
    In addition to her work as a teacher, Brown was active in other health-related areas as well,  including organizing different types of health screenings and organizing blood drives though the Red Cross.
    She said Brown's students may have thought she was a little strict while in the classroom, "but when they finished the program and took their state boards and got into the world, the saw she was exactly what they needed."
    Turknett said Brown was a devout Christian.
    "She prayed a lot and studied the bible a lot," she said. "She had a very strong faith and when I heard she'd passed away, I knew she was in Heaven."
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