Honoring a Beloved Dorchester Nurse

Labouré College of Healthcare is honored to announce the establishment of the Carole A. Doherty, RN Memorial Scholarship, created by the Doherty family in memory of their mother, a Labouré nurse. The scholarship will be awarded to single mothers working toward a career in nursing. The Doherty family and Labouré kick off a fundraising effort to endow this fund with the Labouré Care Awards on June 29, where Carole’s career will be honored. 

In 1973, Carole Doherty of Savin Hill became a single mother of six small children. She went to work as a nurse to provide for her family. After graduating from Labouré in 1984, much of her career was spent at the Little House Health Center in Dorchester. She was a beloved member of her community and an active volunteer in her Savin Hill neighborhood. “Our mother would introduce herself as ‘Carole, the lovely nurse.’ She was great with the elderly, and she was naturally great with kids. She would sing silly, funny songs to them and they always left feeling better than they came after seeing Mom,” remembers Tom Doherty.  

Carole's six children

Carole’s emphasis on caring for others left a lasting impact on her children and grandchildren, with many of them becoming nurses, healthcare providers, and firefighters. Carole’s granddaughter, Erin, is a student in the Labouré nursing program, “I have a picture of her on my desk that I look at when I do schoolwork and it’s a nice way to remember that she’s watching over me. One day I’ll be just like her - a nurse from Labouré.”  

After Carole passed away in 2020 from COVID-19, her children wanted to create something that would honor her life and legacy – they chose a scholarship at Labouré. “My mother would be so proud of this scholarship. To help people that are walking in her shoes - nothing could make her prouder,” said Lyn Clark. 

“Labouré is honored that the Doherty family chose this scholarship to carry on their mother’s legacy. Our students are local working adults. Slightly less than half are single parents and more than half are facing poverty. For a woman trying to balance kids, work, and nursing school – knowing that this degree will enable her to support her family one day - Carole’s story is a beacon,” said Katelyn Dwyer, E.D. of Communications and Development. 

Carole Doherty’s life and career are being celebrated on June 29, 2022 at the Labouré Care Awards at Granite Links in Quincy. Tickets are available at laboure.edu/LCA.

The College’s goal is to raise over $100,000 to fully endow this fund so that it may continue to provide meaningful assistance to students like Carole, loving single mothers with a passion for caring for others, year after year. If you would like to support the scholarship, you may do so by mailing donations to the Carole A. Doherty, RN Memorial Fund to Labouré College, 303 Adams Street, Milton, MA 02186, or by giving online at https://www.laboure.edu/giving. Please indicate that the donation is for the Carole Doherty scholarship fund. 

Labouré College of Health Care was founded in 1892 by the Daughters of Charity and continues to honor this legacy by providing opportunities for exceptional healthcare education to diverse men and women who are called to care for others.