May Chin wants to ensure people remember Ruth Sleeper played a major role in the creation of the MGH Institute.

Thanks to the generosity of May and her husband, Tom, the IHP recently dedicated the new Ruth Sleeper Nursing Center for Clinical Education and Wellness. Named after the influential nurse educator who was the long-time director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s former nursing school, the Sleeper Center is a screening, referral, education, and support resource for Charlestown and Greater Boston-area residents.

“She was a national leader in moving nursing education to a broader academic-based curriculum,” recalled Chin, a 1958 graduate of the hospital’s nursing school, “and worked diligently for the MGH Institute to become a degree-granting institution.”

May Chin grew up the daughter of Chinese immigrants, and despite being a top student wasn’t sure if she would have the opportunity to pursue higher education. But she had her sights set on becoming a nurse and applied just to Mass General’s school because she wanted to attend what she considered the best school in the country. It was during her first days as a nursing student that she met Sleeper, who by that time already was an institution at the hospital.

“Miss Sleeper was an inspirational role model, always taking time to teach and talk with students,” said Chin, who was hired on the White 7 surgical floor upon graduating. “She urged us to focus on providing patient-centered care based on scientific principles, and she instilled the need to keep studying and learning after graduation to remain current in nursing and clinical practice.”

Chin took those words to heart, using tuition reimbursement from the hospital to earn a bachelor’s in nursing. After her children were in school, she went on to earn a master’s in nursing administration, and an MBA. She held inpatient and ambulatory care leadership positions in medical centers in the Boston area and in Canada, and despite approaching the age of 80, she says she has “flunked” retirement three times because she remains committed to helping patients.

While Chin graduated more than 20 years before the MGH Institute was created in 1977, it was at her nursing class’ 50th reunion that she heard several IHP nursing students talk about their education. It spurred her to visit the Charlestown Navy Yard campus and learn more about the place that was carrying on the legacy of her old school. 

“It became clear that the vision and values we learned back in the 1950s from Ruth Sleeper were alive and well at the Institute,” she said. “Tom and I are thrilled to be able to give back and pay it forward by honoring her through the naming of this Center that will benefit both IHP nursing students and the community.”

Naming the Sleeper Nursing Center is just one of several gifts the Chins have made recently to the MGH Institute. They also named the Adult Rehabilitation Gym in the Sanders IMPACT Practice Center, and have funded two yearly scholarships for nursing students through the Kay Bander Matching Gift Fund – one each in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing programs.