On June 16, Scrubs, a bronze eagle statue, was recognized ahead of a luncheon at the School of Nursing (AUSON). More than 120 students, faculty and staff participated in the program. The statue, donated by John and Louise Beard, stands proudly on a pedestal in the green space behind the nursing building.
Dean Gregg Newschwander introducing John Beard, thanked the Beard family for its support of the school. “They have donated three eagle statues to the school,” he said, “and the recent donation resulted in a contest to name the eagle in November 2020.” Newschwander mentioned that “Scrubs” was selected from an overwhelming response to the competition.
John Beard said the initial idea for the statue grew out of a discussion with a garden center in Birmingham. Louise Beard decided that AUSON would be the ideal place for the majestic statue. The eagle appears to inspire nursing students who are about to take flight, to expand their limits, broaden their perceptions and outlooks, and spread their wings to soar to heights of victory uncharted before.
John and Louise Beard live in Birmingham, where he serves as director of Alabama Home Health Care Inc. d/b/a The Hospice & Home Health Fund of Alabama, a non-profit corporation engaging in charitable, religious and educational purposes that advance understanding about and access to community-based health care services. Beard earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Auburn University in 1972, and an MBA at Samford University in 1976. That same year, he earned a Juris Doctorate degree at Samford’s Cumberland School of Law. He is a member of the Alabama Bar Association, American Bar Association and American Health Lawyers Association. John Beard served as chairman and president of Alacare Home Health Care, Inc. until 2019.
Louise Beard graduated from Birmingham-Southern College with a bachelor’s degree in music. She was a pianist, choral teacher and dancer before she turned her passion for the arts into a successful career as a Broadway producer.
Scrubs stands as a symbol of the dedication to the power, strength, courage and focus of the school and AUSON’s ability to train compassionate nursing students.
