Almonte native and ADHS grad Pat Hickey received the Premier’s Award at a ceremony in Toronto recently.
Now an esteemed professor of nursing at the University of South Carolina, Pat was honoured for outstanding contributions to the health sciences. Colleges Ontario, which sponsors the award, said of Pat:
The New York Times described him as “a cross between Florence Nightingale and Indiana Jones” but Patrick Hickey brings his adventuring spirit into the classroom, educating the next generation of nurses at the University of South Carolina.
When he summited Everest – the last of his seven-summit quest – he did so while raising funds for nursing scholarships. His book on the journey became the basis of an innovative learning opportunity, encouraging 2,000 students each year to take on a personal challenge of their own.
His backpacking treks through 75 countries inspired this transplanted Canadian’s passion to advocate for ‘culturally competent’ health-care provision.
Pat grew up in a large family on a farm near Almonte. He graduated from nursing in 1976 from the Brockville campus of St. Lawrence and later pursued graduate studies in the field.
Of his approach to teaching Pat says, “I am the one now that is pushing students to challenge themselves and I put myself out there as an example that anyone with passion can get to anywhere in life that they want, whether it be standing on the top of the world, or comforting a dying patient at their bedside.”
