Gateway nursing director named Hispanic Impact Award Winner

Published on Dec 8, 2020

Michele Simms, Gateway Community & Technical College’s associate dean of health professions and director of the nursing program, was featured as the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs (OCHLA) Hispanic Impact hero.

According to the OCHLA, there are nearly 456,000 Hispanics who call Ohio home. Each day, they contribute to build the economy and create a better state for all. Every two months, the OCHLA highlights Latinos/Hispanics in Ohio. October’s feature was Simms.

“I am so honored to be nominated and featured in Ohio Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs: Hispanic Impact,” said Simms. “My husband is Panamanian, and our love for the Hispanic community and others moves us to grow and learn. My position at Gateway allows me to help different communities and set them up for success! I love our community and my job!”

Simms was highlighted because of her hard work at Gateway as well as her work as a trauma nurse in the emergency room at West Chester UC Hospital.

In July, the Simms family participated in the National Kidney Registry sharing program. Simms’s husband needed a kidney transplant, and although Simms was not a donor match for her husband, she was able to donate her kidney to someone that was a match, and her husband received a kidney in return.