Betty Lee Schmoll (''née'' Begley; 13 April 1936 - 9 November 2015) was the founder of the

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

care company, Hospice of Dayton, which was one of the first hospice companies in the United States. Schmoll was also the first president of Hospice of Dayton.

Early life

Schmoll was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio to parents Bertha and Ezekiel Begley. She had two brothers, Robert and Jerry, and a sister, Barbara.

Education and career

Schmoll received a Diploma in Nursing from Kettering College in 1970. She graduated from

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

, where she attended the Miami Valley College of Nursing and Health, with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1975. In 1978, she earned a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

from the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

School of Nursing. She became passionate about end-of-life care from caring for her mother, who died from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

. She recalled being disparaged by a doctor who told her that it was "ridiculous" she wanted to use her skills as a nurse to provide

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

when she could save people's lives. Schmoll gathered support from

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

-area hospitals to create a hospice program; the Hospice of Dayton began in 1978, making it one of the first in the United States. At first, Hospice of Dayton operated out of St. Elizabeth Medical Center, with 13 inpatient beds, as well as at patient homes. Schmoll sought to expand the service, seeking donations from more than 14,000 individuals to create "Hospice House." Construction of Hospice House was finished in 1990, and a second structure on the same property was completed in 1996. Schmoll served on the board of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization from 1991 to 1992.

Awards and honors

Ohio's Hospice of Dayton created an endowed scholarship in honor of Schmoll and her colleague, Carol Dixon: the Betty Schmoll and Carol Dixon Endowed Scholarship for Leadership in Nursing. It is offered annually to each a graduate and undergraduate nursing student who demonstrates leadership skills. In 1981, the ''

Dayton Daily News The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

'' named Schmoll as one of their "Ten Top Women," which recognizes "women in the Miami Valley whose contributions helped make the area a better place to live." In 1998, she was awarded an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

of Doctor of Humanities from the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

. In 2004, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization awarded her their Founders Award for being a "visionary, humanitarian and medical professional." In 2010, she was inducted to the Dayton Walk of Fame.

Personal life

Betty Schmoll was married to Walter C. Schmoll; together they had five children. Schmoll enjoyed reading, birdwatching, and hiking.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmoll, Betty 1936 births 2015 deaths American women nurses Ohio State University alumni Wright State University alumni People from Cincinnati 21st-century American women