Jane Heckman Mcgettigan

Jane Heckman McGettigan, RN, BSN, CIC, died in Nashua, NH on March 14, 2010 after a period of failing health. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 11, 1936, daughter of Raymond Heckman and Gladys Conrad Heckman. She graduated from Milford High School and attended Mary Hitchcock School of Nursing, graduating as an RN in 1957. In 1980, she received her BSN from Northeastern University In the early years of her career, she worked at the Mary Hitchcock Clinic and at the Deaconess Hospital in Boston, the VNA in Keene, NH and at on the obstetrics floor at Cheshire Hospital in Keene. Over 24 years, she worked in several different departments at Monadnock Community Hospital, earning a promotion to the newly created position of Director of Infection Control in 1980. She worked as an independent consultant, offering her expertise in setting up infection control programs in facilities and physicians’ offices across New England. She worked for over a decade at Beech Hill, developing that infection control program. She ended her 50 year career as a nurse at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center as the Director of Infection Control. She was an adjunct professor at Keene State College and she was a founding member of the New Hampshire Infection Control & Epidemiological Professionals. Mrs. McGettigan was devoted to her work as an infection control nurse. She entered the field at its inception and was passionate about proper infection control techniques. She was on the ground floor as this paradigm shift began changing the culture in hospitals. She worked with architects designing hospital additions to insure the layout in patient rooms and operating rooms decreased hospital acquired infections. She was insistent on the inclusion of sinks in exam rooms and inpatient rooms as reinforcement to care providers about the importance of hand washing. She was persistent in educating physicians who were not always amenable to receiving direction from a nurse on techniques to reduce the risk of infection. She mentored many young nurses in the field and organized workshops for nurses seeking their national certification in infection control (CIC). She presented workshops on topics in epidemiology at regional and national conventions. Mrs. McGettigan was an early volunteer for the New Hampshire AIDS Foundation where she concentrated her focus on educating the medical community and the greater public. She encouraged compassionate and appropriate treatment for people with AIDS at a time when these patients were discriminated against by the medical community. She served on the Board of Directors throughout the 1980s and well into the 1990s. Mrs. McGettigan volunteered to a number of Monadnock area towns to set up inoculation clinics for first responders. She served on Boards of Health in Nashua and Milford dealing with a variety of issues related to health care. Mrs. McGettigan enjoyed vacations with her family, particularly the annual vacations to Martha’s Vineyard. She also treasured two special journeys with her husband Bob, one to Ireland and the other was a trip across the United States tracing the trail of Lewis and Clark. Her greatest joy was spending time with and caring for her family, and her loving attention was cherished. She was an active member of The Red Hat Society. She is survived by her loving husband, Robert McGettigan of Milford and her five children, Maureen McGettigan and her husband, Larry Dullea of Duxbuy, MA; Linda McGettigan of North Easton, MA; Tim McGettigan and his wife, Christine McGettigan of Brookline, NH; Sharon McGettigan of San Anselmo, CA; and Valarie McGettigan of Westminster, VT. A great joy in her life were her five grandchildren, Allyson McGettigan of Manchester, NH; Sean Dullea of Duxbury, MA; and Jacob, Joshua and Abigail McGettigan of Brookline, NH. Memorial visiting hours are Wednesday, March 17th , from 2-4 & 6-8 pm in the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, March 18th at 10:00 am in the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 20 Elm Street, Milford. In lieu of flowers, a donation, if one wishes, may be made to Share Outreach, 1 Columbus Avenue, Milford, NH 03055.