Historical Sketch
The Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, New York began to plan the school of nursing in 1956. His Excellency, Bishop Justin J. McCarthy, presided at the ground-breaking ceremony on June 8, 1959. The first class of student nurses was accepted in January, 1961.
Our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing is the only source of Catholic nursing education in southern New Jersey.
Original home of the School of Nursing
Our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing was accredited by the New Jersey Board of Nursing in 1964 and by the National League for Nursing in 1966 and has maintained these accreditations.
In 1980, approval was given by the New Jersey Department of Higher Education for a Cooperative Program. The Cooperative program gives every student in the School of Nursing the opportunity to earn a Diploma in Nursing and, simultaneously, earn an Associate in Science degree from Camden County College. All students are eligible to participate fully in all student activities at the college and have the same rights and privileges as all other college students.
The cornerstone of the expansion plan of Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center called for demolition of the existing School of Nursing Building located on the Vesper Boulevard side of the campus, and construction of a new state-of-the-art, 121,000-square-foot critical care tower on the same site. The new School of Nursing was built on the fifth floor of the Pavilion and opened in 2005. The cornerstone of the expansion plan of Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center called for demolition of the existing School of Nursing Building located on the Vesper Boulevard side of the campus, and construction of a new state-of-the-art, 121,000-square-foot critical care tower on the same site. The new School of Nursing was built on the fifth floor of the Pavilion and opened in 2005. The School of Nursing resided there until August of 2022.
New Home of Our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing
In 2021, Virtua Health and Rowan University began a partnership to change the face of health care and education in Southern New Jersey. With this Affiliation, both organizations committed significant resources to expand educational programs to train new health care professionals for an evolving future. This enhanced relationship allowed both organizations to expand their roles in research and discovery in new ways to improve health, which contribute significantly to the regional economy and South Jersey’s reputation as a source of innovation and talent.
As part of this expansion, the School of Nursing relocated to the Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine campus at 1 Medical Center Drive, Stratford, NJ, in August of 2022.
In addition to our Collaborative RN Nursing Program with Camden County College, we are happy to announce a second branch of our school, a Cooperative BSN Program with Rowan University. The first class for this program was admitted to Rowan University in the fall of 2024 and will begin classes with the School of Nursing in the fall of 2025.
Graduates of both programs are eligible to apply for the State Board examinations for Registered Nurse Licensure.
