Deanna DeBower Bowers Cert’60, ’60, credits the School of Nursing’s broad preparation for her successes in nursing leadership across the world.
By Maddy Scharrer
Deanna DeBower Bowers Cert’60, ’60, graduated from the UW–Madison School of Nursing on June 6, 1960. The following Saturday, she married her husband, Warren, a fellow 1960 graduate of UW–Madison with majors in metallurgical engineering and naval science. As the Bowers were beginning their young careers, the Peace Corps was springing to life and was officially founded on March 1, 1961. Upon its creation, Deanna and Warren felt drawn to the program and immediately wanted to get involved.
However, life had other plans in mind for the Bowers that put their Peace Corps aspirations on hold, closing that door for the time being. Their young careers and family life needed them in California where they moved to after graduation. After making the move, Deanna found that establishing her career in California posed its own difficulties.
Bowers was part of the last class that went through the School’s five-year program, a program that awarded her with both a certificate in public health and a degree in nursing. Because this program was no longer offered at UW–Madison after her graduation, the California Board questioned her degree’s legitimacy. Luckily, Bowers had a connection with one of her former professors, Ruth Adams, who was the chair of the public health department for the School of Nursing at the time. Adams was happy to advocate for Deanna and vouch for her education.
“She went to bat for me with the State of California, who wouldn’t accept the UW classes for a public health certificate,” Bowers recalled. Adams wrote a letter to the California Board on Bowers’ behalf. Years later, Bowers can still recite some of the contents of that letter, stating, “It is beyond my belief that there would be any question about the public health portion of Mrs. Bowers’ education.” Adams’ advocacy cleared up the issue and helped open the door for Bowers’ fledgling career.
Bowers landed a position as a nurse for the Central School District in Rancho Cucamonga, where she stayed for 25 years. She was the school district’s only health professional, so to cultivate guidance for herself, she joined the California School Nurses’ Organization. She became very involved with the organization, serving in leadership roles for six years. From 1993 to 1995, Bowers served as the president of the organization, a role she notes was a great opportunity and that helped hone her professional skills.
As time went on, Bowers wanted to share these skills more vastly. When she was looking into retiring, she and her husband found themselves once again drawn to their Peace Corps dreams. Through a leadership program at the Catholic Diocese of San Bernadino, they were introduced to Lay Mission Helpers (LMH), an organization that is part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles that sends missionaries around the globe. Bowers described the organization as a “Catholic version of the Peace Corps,” and she and her husband felt they were being called to get involved; the door to this dream cracked open once again.
They began a nine-month training program but were unable to go on assignment upon completion due to a family commitment. Four years after their initial training, their familial commitment was fulfilled, and they were able to pick back up with LMH. The Bowers completed an additional three-month training program and were sent on assignment to Cameroon, West Africa.
The Bowers were assigned to St. Rita’s Technical High School, a high school/junior high combined six-year program in Nkambe, which Deanna described as a “rural town in the northwest part of Cameroon in West Africa.” It was a boarding school that students from around the country could attend, with ages ranging anywhere from 10-24 years old. The Bowers were stationed there from 2003 to 2006, and Deanna worked as a school nurse where her combination of nursing leadership experience and practice prepared her to walk through that door of opportunity.
As the “infirmarian,” she ensured students received the health care they needed. Oftentimes, Bowers cared for students suffering from malaria. The region was located at a high enough altitude that mosquitoes weren’t an issue, so new cases were unlikely. But many students who came from lower-altitude countries previously had malaria and would experience relapse.
As a result, Bowers had to transport students who had relapsed to the hospital to receive IV treatment. Often, a car was not available to use, so student infirmarians would help carry the ill student on a stretcher — which was an old door — to the hospital. Even at the hospital, Bowers and her student helpers were the main caretakers for the ill students.
“At the hospital, we had to provide a mattress for the bed, linens, water, food, and somebody to take care of them. About the only thing that happened at the hospital for the student that we couldn’t provide was the IV treatment,” Bowers said.
Despite the challenges that Bowers faced, she described her mission to Cameroon as “a fabulous nursing experience, a fabulous faith experience, and a fabulous personal experience for us as a couple and as individuals.”
After her return to California in 2006, Bowers stayed active in LMH. She served on the Board of Directors as both secretary and president from 2007 to 2023, just recently retiring from the organization. Working with LMH was one of Bowers’ passions in life, and she remains in touch with former students and coworkers from her mission.
From years of nursing leadership, to applying her nursing knowledge and skillsets on her mission, Bowers has had many incredible opportunities in her nursing career. She thanks the School of Nursing’s education for opening the door that led to her various career successes. “The University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing can take much credit for [my career opportunities] because the education was broad,” Bowers said.
To show her appreciation, Bowers continues to give back to the School with annual donations and stays involved by volunteering for the Center for Aging Research and Education (CARE). As part of her volunteer efforts, she speaks with undergraduate nursing students one month in each school year about health issues and ageism in health care, as well as discussing various assessments. For Bowers, the motivation to continue her involvement with the School of Nursing is a result of her appreciation, saying, “At 85 years old, I still value highly the education and people from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing.”