Goshen College nursing professor, Helmuth, appointed as president of the Indiana State Board of Nursing

GOSHEN, Ind. – When Goshen College Associate Professor of Nursing Mervin Helmuth began down the path of a nursing student at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind. and then at Goshen College, the journey was rather unexpected. Helmuth, who grew up in an Amish family and church, would go on to become a nurse and then join Goshen College’s nursing faculty. This year, Helmuth continues on his path of breaking others’ expectations by serving as the president, and only male, on the Indiana State Board of Nursing.

Helmuth has served on the board for four years and became vice president last year. Vicky Kirkton, director of nursing and associate professor of nursing at Goshen College, said, “The skills and wisdom Merv brings to the difficult decisions the Indiana State Board of Nursing is required to maintain the standards of care and safety for nursing has been evident to those who work with Merv on the board.”

The Indiana State Board of Nursing – a panel of nine nurses from across the state – renews, denies or restricts nursing licenses; hears cases made against nurses; and makes checks on all nursing schools in the state. The meetings of the Indiana State Board of Nursing, held monthly, function similar to a court hearing, as the board serves as judge and jury.

Helmuth said the meetings, which consist of 40 to 50 hearings, sometimes takes up to 12 to 14 hours. Many of the cases against nurses’ licenses are for diverting drugs. As president, Helmuth’s responsibilities include keeping the meetings running and managing the protocol at the hearings by calling the person forward and making sure each sides are heard.

Serving as president requires many additional hours of travel and meeting time. However, his role is beneficial to the Goshen College Nursing Department because of his extensive knowledge of what the state requires for nursing schools and departments.

“Merv will be visible and present in several nursing arenas where nursing organizations are present and the center of decision-making,” Kirkton said. “His name will be linked with the Goshen College Department of Nursing, which will give us increased visibility and a presence with nursing leaders.”

The governor in office appoints a new president of the board each year. Ernest Klein, the executive director of the Indiana State Nurses Association, recommended Helmuth as a worthy candidate. Helmuth said the board was looking for a nurse who is an educator, from the northeast section of the state of Indiana and a minority. Helmuth is a minority because he is a male in a female-dominated vocation.

Helmuth grew up in an Amish family in Nappanee, Ind. After completing a term in alternative service to the military draft, he entered a nursing program in Fort Wayne, Ind. Helmuth graduated in 1966 and then decided to enroll at Goshen College to earn a bachelor of science degree in nursing. He graduated from Goshen College in 1969, earned his master’s degree at the University of Florida and joined Goshen College’s faculty in 1970. The nursing faculty at Goshen College wanted to hire a male faculty member to be a role model and encourage male students in the future. “I have gone beyond any expectations I had as a young Amish boy in Nappanee in the 1940s and 1950s,” Helmuth said.

Helmuth said that being the only male on the Board is not an issue anymore, because he has lived with that stigma for 40 years already. “The big issue for me was when I started nursing in Fort Wayne as the first male ever in any nursing school in the city,” he said. “Those early years I thought much more about being the only male around, but haven’t given it much thought in the last 15 to 20 years. I consider myself a nurse and being male just happens to be my lot in the profession.”

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” Kaplan’s “Most Interesting Colleges” guide and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit https://www.goshen.edu/.

– Anna Groff

Editors: For more information, contact News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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