3-time NMC graduate Jan Morgan honored with Horizon Award

The meeting on her calendar was a ruse. The admiration was real – genuine praise and respect for a three-time Nebraska Methodist College (NMC) alumna and beloved Methodist Hospital service executive.

More than a dozen colleagues surprised Jan Morgan, MSN, RN, CCRN, with hugs and applause as she became the 2024 recipient of the Horizon Award, the NMC Alumni Association’s most prestigious honor. It’s given to an alum for outstanding contributions to their field, dedication to health care and high professional standards.

“I have a mission, and my mission is people,” Morgan said. “That’s what drives me to come to work.”

She is also passionate about learning. Morgan has earned three degrees from NMC, starting with her Bachelor of Science in respiratory care in 1998. She grew to become a leader in the department and then sought a new way to serve. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in nursing in 2004.

“The second half of my career has been nursing,” she said. “Nursing has really helped me go far and above what I thought I could achieve.”

Morgan worked as a bedside nurse in the Methodist Hospital Critical Care Unit for eight years before moving into a leadership role with the Progressive Care Unit (PCU). 

"Under Jan’s guidance, our PCU team thrived,” said Amy Brasel, Magnet program director at Methodist Hospital. “Jan genuinely cares about everyone she works with and is a true role model.”

“I don’t know how you can support people without getting to know them and their needs,” Morgan said.

That’s what she experienced at NMC, and why she returned for a third time. Morgan earned her Master of Science in Nursing in 2016, boosted by the Carolyn Scott Spirit of Excellence Scholarship.

“They know you by name – it’s as simple as that. It’s like family to me,” she said. 

Morgan is a service executive at Methodist now. In addition to empowering her teams, she encourages the next generation of health system leaders as a mentor with Methodist Hospital Foundation’s Peacock Mentoring Program. 

No surprise, the Horizon Award winner is also a proud ambassador for her alma mater.

“I try to encourage as many people as I can to go to school at NMC,” she said.