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76 Year Old Nurse Gives $1 Million to Nursing Education

Audrey Cochran is the recipient of the Kern County Women's and Girls' Fund "Woman Defining Philanthropy" award. Cochran works with a patient in her office, doing biofeedback to help fight incontinency.

Consummate advocate and problem solver Audrey Cochran is happy to help, however she can.

The 76-year-old nurse is passionate about gerontology, including incontinency work, and saw a glaring need to educate future nurses about both topics.

In 2005, Cochran gave Cal State Bakersfield $1 million to establish the Robert and Edith Cochran Chair in Gerontological Nursing in memory of her late husband and mother-in-law.

When her accountant learned what she wanted to do, he told her she was crazy to give away all that money, Cochran recalled.

But Cochran, ever the pragmatist, didn’t need to spend it on cruises or jewelry.

“I said, ‘Carl, having lots of money wouldn’t make me happy. Improving the quality of the care given to the elderly would me make very happy,’” she said.

On Tuesday, Cochran will receive the 2008 “Woman Defining Philanthropy” award from the Women’s and Girls’ Fund of the Kern Community Foundation. She’s the first individual to be honored.

Recipients are those women whose philanthropy has made or will make a mark on the community and whose leadership inspires others to do the same.

“Here’s a woman who has spent years of her professional life dealing with gerontological health issues,” said Judi McCarthy, fund chairwoman. “She believes passionately in senior health issues—she put her money where her mouth is.”

Cochran also understands the value of endowments; the income from the accrued interest makes them a “forever thing.”

“I think it’s far more wonderful to remember someone that way than who has the largest collection of floral pieces at their funeral,” she said.

As a girl, she played with a toy doctor’s kit. The gift planted a career seed in the self-described bookworm. She would go on to study nursing at Stanford University, graduating in 1954.

“I think being a nurse is better than being a doctor,” she said, because nurses help people adapt their health needs to their lifestyles.

“Nursing has the potential to make a difference to the patient and their family.”

CSUB development official Laura Wolfe wishes “we could clone her because she is one of our graduates. She has a passion for her subject matter.”

Peggy Leapley, chairwoman of CSUB’s nursing program, said the department is hiring someone for the professorship for September.

“We’re looking forward to having a faculty (member) with additional expertise in that area that will add to our content that we can provide to our nursing students,” Leapley said.

Since 1990, after completing her master’s degree in nursing from CSUB, Cochran has worked as a care manager, offering families guidance about caring for aging loved ones through her business, Care Planning and Education for the Elderly and Their Families.

Pat Anderson found Cochran about a month ago. Anderson’s parents are facing health issues that seemed to hit all at once.

“When you are at your wit’s end and do not know where to go, Audrey is always there to help you through the crisis or the situation at hand,” Anderson said.

Cochran helped the family find a caretaker.

In addition to working in care management, Cochran meets with patients once a week for about six sessions at the obstetrics and gynecological practice of physicians John Owens and Umaima Jamaluddin.

She uses biofeedback so patients can see how they use muscles that support the bladder, which helps overcome control problems without surgery.

Bakersfield has been home since 1981, when her late husband took a job here with Getty Oil.

The feisty, vibrant nurse has no intention of retiring.

“God will keep me here as long as he has work for me to do here,” she said.

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