American Nurses Association Mourns the Passing of Dr. Lucille A. Joel

SILVER SPRING, MD – The American Nurses Association (ANA) is deeply saddened by the passing of Lucille A. Joel, EdD, RN, FAAN, a former ANA president and a visionary educator, clinician and global health advocate. She spent decades shaping how nurses are educated, how they practice and how the profession is represented nationally and internationally.

Dr. Joel was ANA president from 1988 to 1992, and also led the New Jersey State Nurses Association. Her service extended around the world. She was First Vice-President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the ICN's official representative to the United Nations and UNICEF.

At Rutgers University, where she began teaching in 1979, she directed the Teaching Nursing Home program and later served as interim dean of the College of Nursing. She strongly advocated for higher educational standards for entry into nursing practice, and her textbooks prepared generations of nurses. An author of 4 books, 40 book chapters, and countless scholarly articles, Dr. Joel deeply shaped both basic and advanced practice nurse education while also laying the foundation for reimbursement, nursing minimum datasets, and nurse-sensitive patient outcomes.

In 2008, the ANA Board of Directors presented her with its Honorary Recognition Award, one of ANA's highest honors.  

"Dr. Joel was a fearless leader who challenged our profession to hold itself to the highest standards in education, in practice and in service to the public,” said ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. "She brought nursing's voice to the world stage and to the classroom with equal passion. Her influence lives on in the many nurses she taught, mentored and inspired, and our profession is stronger because of her."

ANA extends its deepest condolences to Dr. Joel's family, her colleagues and the many nurses and students whose lives and careers she shaped.