CHICAGO (November 24, 2015) — In a special ceremony held Friday, North Park University announced it was naming its state-of-the-art nursing facilities the Kathy J. Holmgren Nursing Simulation Lab.

Holmgren, who graduated from North Park with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1969, has been a longtime supporter of the university, including the recently opened Johnson Center for Science and Community Life.

The high-tech simulation lab opened during the summer of 2011 in a 3,000-square-foot, ground-level space on Foster Avenue. It includes four simulation rooms, two control rooms, and a conference room where students debrief their class experiences.

During the ceremony at the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Holmgren expressed her gratitude for the Evangelical Covenant Church and its long history of benevolent care, as well as what she called the “forward-thinking faculty” at North Park.

After Holmgren earned her degree from North Park, she went on to receive a master’s degree in oncology nursing from Brigham Young University, and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

Holmgren’s interest in medical mission work in Africa twice led her to work and serve in Congo, first in 1969 and again in 2006, alongside her physician daughter, Calla. Additionally, Kathy has provided volunteer medical care in Rwanda, Romania, Mexico, Uganda, and every U.S. city in which she has lived, while supporting her husband, Mike, and his work in the National Football League.