In 1922, William Jennings Bryan gave his home, “Fairview,” and surrounding land to the Nebraska Conference of the Methodist Church for the purpose of establishing a new hospital in Lincoln. From this gift and others, a dream became a reality when the 60-bed Bryan Memorial Hospital opened on June 6, 1926. When Bryan School of Nursing opened the same year with 37 students, Fairview became the student dormitory.
Bryan Health continues its commitment to providing quality health care. Today, Bryan Health includes 640-bed Bryan Medical Center, offering a complete range of inpatient and outpatient diagnostic, therapeutic and ancillary services; Bryan Heart; Bryan Foundation; Bryan Physician Network; Bryan Health Connect; Crete Area Medical Center; Grand Island Regional Medical Center, Kearney Regional Medical Center and Merrick Medical Center. Bryan Health is a member of Heartland Health Alliance, which fosters collaborative efforts throughout the region.
Bryan Medical Center and the School of Nursing built upon the strengths of both organizations and the history of the Lincoln General Hospital School of Nursing to establish Bryan College of Health Sciences, a partnership that provides academic excellence, clinical distinction, and experiential learning to its students.
In 2001, the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education approved the request by Bryan School of Nursing to become a degree-granting institution. To address changing needs in healthcare delivery and education, the College replaced the Diploma program in Nursing with a Baccalaureate program.
Today, Bryan College of Health Sciences serves students in dual-credit high school, undergraduate and graduate programs of study. The Graduate Studies division includes the School of Nurse Anesthesia, the School of Graduate Nursing and Health Professions, and graduate certificate offerings. The Undergraduate Studies division includes the School of Nursing, School of Healthcare Studies and undergraduate certificate offerings. The College offers Associate, Baccalaureate, Masters and Doctoral degrees along with certificate programs in the Health Sciences.
Bryan College of Health Sciences is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Accreditation for the sonography programs has been obtained from the Council on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. The Master of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing program are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, and the Nurse Anesthesia Program is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs.
The College has maintained the goal of academic and clinical excellence emphasized by its founders and continues to prepare outstanding healthcare professionals.
College Affiliation with the United Methodist Church
Bryan College of Health Sciences and Bryan Medical Center were established with a generous donation from William Jennings Bryan and his wife, Mary Baird Bryan. William Jennings Bryan was raised in the Methodist Church and attended Normal Methodist Church located near Fairview, his home, during his time in Lincoln. He and his wife moved to Florida in 1920. In 1922, they donated their home and 10 acres of land to the Nebraska Conference of the Methodist Church for the purpose of establishing a Protestant hospital.
The new hospital originally was proposed to be named the “Lincoln Methodist Hospital” or “Fairview Methodist Hospital.” Shortly after Bryan’s death, a member of the Board of Directors of the hospital and long-time friend of Bryan’s, Adolphus Talbot, called for the hospital to be named Bryan Memorial Hospital of the Methodist Episcopal Church in memory of Mr. Bryan. Bryan School of Nursing was established in 1926, the same year that Bryan Memorial Hospital opened, to educate competent nurses to staff the new facility.