On November 12, 2014, Carol passed away. In recognition of her more than 20 years of dedication to the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools and higher education we celebrate Carol’s life. The following are comments from colleagues and friends.
I think what I will remember most about Carol is her smile and how she would get so tickled by things. It was also amazing how she made so many good friends and kept up with them for decades. (She still had getaways with her group of friends from kindergarten once or twice a year.) I really admired that. She was a great mom – taking time to take the kids on special trips to the beach, spa days with Madison, chauffeuring all their friends, and just being there for movie nights at home, etc. She mentored countless professionals in the world of educational accreditation and has truly left a whole in all our lives.
-Christy Baily-Byers, APR, Manager of Training and Distance Education Development, ABHES
I see Carol every day as I pass by the photo of Chris, India and Carol, who in my mind represent the ABHES foundation.
It must have been in the late 70s early 80s when I served with Carol Moneymaker as an evaluation team member for ACICS (formerly AICS). Steve Parker was the executive director at the time and he had referred me to her to assist in the evaluation of a problem institution. She struck a chord and we became both professional and personal friends. As we continued the professional relationship of staff member to evaluator she would send me an email that stated: I smelled something fishy while writing a response to a general voluntary withdrawal. Likely need a very quick turnaround on a focus visit! So she picked up the name of “fishy sniffer.”
“Fishy sniffer, Moneymaker” her last name caused her such grief that whenever feasible, she would book reservations using my name rather than hers, since it always caused conversation, which she was unable to prevent and disliked immensely.
She was very discreet and wanted no one to know that she was suffering, while she continued her diligent commitment to her responsibilities, ABHES staff, and Commission.
Anyone knowing Carol understood that she was a humble human being and also disliked being the center of attention. She loved her work and her family. She was without a doubt a smart, energetic, loyal and wonderful with people and I considered myself very blessed that our paths crossed and she will remain in my heart forever.
-Florence Tate, Executive Director, ABHES
Carol Moneymaker…a true professional who brought respect and prestige to ABHES. She gave us fond memories, words of wisdom and a benchmark for professionalism. She made an impact upon the career schools, earned their respect, and assisted many in raising their standards, quality and purpose. Having been connected to ABHES since the mid-eighties, I had the opportunity of seeing her take the reign in 1995 and immediately raising the bar. What an example, what a friend, what a peer! I am sure that she and Chris Eaton are remembering the good times, difficult times, and sharing many stories. Always in our hearts and memory, Carol…You are so missed!
-Karen Mcgrath, Educational Consultant
Carol was many things to each of us, for some she was a wonderful leader and colleague, to others she was a friend, to Matthew and Madison an amazing mom and Jim a wonderful wife. Carol’s leadership within ABHES has left tremendous footprints. ABHES moved from Elkhart, Indiana in 1995 and accredited approximately 167 members (made up of 75 institutions and 92 medical assisting or medical laboratory technology programs) with a scope to include institutions solely made up of allied health programs and programmatic to include medical assisting and medical laboratory technology. Over the past almost twenty years, Carol put together and led a strong team of individuals that has brought ABHES to almost 450 member institutions and programs with a scope that includes institutions predominately in health education programs and programmatic to include medical assisting, medical laboratory technology and surgical technology. Staff has grown from three (Carol Moneymaker, Christopher Eaton and India Tips aka The Three Musketeers) to approximately 15. Carol has shared her many qualities over the years and is greatly missed. I am reminded of Carol every day that I open a letter and it is not justified and every time I am at the beach. I am honored to have known Carol for the past 12 years and most of all miss our daily conversations.
-Amy Rowe, Director of Institutional Review and Development, ABHES
Carol’s warm and generous spirit is missed by all who knew her.
-Eileen M. Brennan, Director of Accreditation, ABHES
The following is an excerpt taken from a speech by India Tips, Assistant Executive Director, ABHES, at the 12th Annual National Conference on Allied Health Education on February 26, 2015.
This conference is a very special one in that it is dedicated to these two special people, Christopher Eaton, former Associate Executive Director and Carol Moneymaker, former Executive Director.
You see the three of us joined ABHES in 1995, where we were the only 3 staff members for the little more than 100 or so ABHES member institutions and programs. As you can imagine, we each did a little bit of everything back then from school visits, to committee work to providing any and all administrative and customer service functions. If janitorial services were needed, we did those too. And, today we were to be standing here together on this stage in celebration of our 20 years of service here at ABHES.
However, sadly, in August 2013, Chris who was training for his first triathlon suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack. And just as we all were trying to recover and regroup, and just trying to make sense of his passing, Carol then in November of last year (just some 3 short months ago) lost her battle to breast cancer. Both were under the age of 54.
Today, I am happy to report that ABHES boasts approximately 450 member institutions and programs and employs 16 full-time staff members.
In 20 years, we have not only seen ABHES blossom and grow into a thriving accrediting agency, but I remember when Chris and I visited Carol in the hospital when she gave birth to her son, Matthew some 16 years ago, or Carol and I going with Chris house hunting when he was looking to purchase his first condominium; or when they both attended my wedding some almost 10 years ago. You see we were not only colleagues, but we were friends and at the end of the day, we were family!
So although Carol and Chris could not be here to stand with me and before you today, I believe that they are here in spirit. I also know that they would want this conference to be the best one yet!
-India Tips, Assistant Executive Director, ABHES