Mary Reres, a leading authority in nursing education and health administration, died on Dec. 17 at her home in Malibu, Calif., following a long bout with cancer. Reres was the former dean of the UCLA School of Nursing and a member of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals board of directors.

A funeral mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 20, at Our Lady of Malibu Church in Malibu.

In her distinguished career, Reres was widely known for her contributions and achievements in nursing education and public health, combining academic, administrative and clinical experience. She was the author of several books and numerous professional articles on nursing, public health policy and psychiatric nursing.

From 1977 to 1986, she served as dean of the UCLA School of Nursing. She was a professor at large at the UCLA School of Medicine and previously served on the faculty at the University of Virginia.

During her tenure as dean at UCLA, the School of Nursing dedicated its building and established its doctoral program. It also opened the UCLA School of Nursing Health Center and Union Rescue Mission, a nurse-managed clinic in the Skid Row section of Los Angeles.

Under Reres' leadership, the School of Nursing received its major endowment gift of $1.5 million, which currently funds $800,000 a year in scholarships and four endowed chairs.

"Dr. Reres was a negotiator and believed in combining nursing science with nursing care. She left an indelible impression on the UCLA School of Nursing," said Marie Cowan, the current dean.

As a member of the board of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals from November 1979 until her death, Reres chaired the Quality and Health Improvement Committee and was a member of the Executive Committee. In the last year, she also chaired the board?s new Community Benefit Committee. She remained active in the board to her last days, taking part in a board meeting by telephone just a few days before she died.


"Mary loved our organization and gave her heart and commitment to it," said Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson. "Her insight, caring and leadership will be sorely missed."

Reres was the director of Human Resources Associates, a California firm consulting on productivity, organizational design and human behavior. She also served as president of Human Services Training and Research Corporation and education director of managed care for the National Professional Education Institute. She wrote the books 'Managed Care: Managing the Process' and 'Managed Care: Process Integration,' and she developed and conducted the national certification exam on the basic elements of managed care.

She was a member of the advisory board of the health-care administration program at Charles A. Drew/UCLA Medical School. She was a consultant to CMS Medicare Surveys, and reviewed research for the Veterans Administration.

In addition to her work with Kaiser Permanente, Reres held key leadership positions in organizations that included the American Academy of Nursing, American Nurses Association, American Hospital Association, California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, California Healthcare Association, California Governance Forum and the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.

She was cited in Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in Health Care and Who's Who of Women in Education.

Reres was a recipient of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association Distinguished Leadership and Meritorious Service Award, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award of Creighton University. She received her undergraduate degree in nursing and philosophy from Creighton University, her master's in mental health from the University of Nebraska and her doctorate in administration from Columbia University.

She is survived by her father, Mathew Reres of Missouri; a brother, Matt Reres of Virginia; four sisters, Norine Reres of Oregon, Dorothy Buck of Missouri, Catherine Kanelos of Arizona and Mary Jo Wurtz of Kansas; five nieces, one nephew, two great-nieces and one great?nephew.

The family asks that remembrances be sent to Creighton University or the ASPCA.