About the author:
Erika Baker is currently a nursing student at Indiana University- Purdue
University Fort Wayne and will graduate in 2015. She has worked at the History
Center for two years in the gift shop
by Erika Baker
Dr.
William Osler, one of four physicians who founded Johns Hopkins Hospital, once
said, “The trained nurse has
become one of the greatest blessings of humanity, taking a place beside the
physician and the priest.” This seems to be the same state of mind of Right
Reverend John Henry Luers, the first Bishop of the newly formed Fort Wayne
Diocese. Once in his role as Bishop, he began looking at the community from a
standpoint of what could be done to better serve the community. He saw a lack
of healthcare available to the sick and took action.
In 1867, he purchased the
Rockhill House on the corner of Main St. and Broadway, which had been a
sixty-nine room hotel until it had fallen into hardship, for the fee of
$52,000. He then recruited the assistance of The Poor Handmaids of Jesus
Christ, a religious order of sisters led by Mother Mary Kasper and devoted to
the care of the sick and orphaned in Dernbach, Germany. The sisters responded
to the call and eight sisters made the journey to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In 1869, St Joseph
Hospital opened, run completely by the sisters as the first center of care for
sick in the area. They welcomed all sick including German immigrants. In 1883,
a convent to house the sisters and a chapel were added to the hospital grounds
for the cost of $32,000. As the need for nursing care increased, the sisters
began a private education program to train local sisters in the art of nursing.
In 1918 the sisters decided to allow women of the community who had the passion
and heart to care for others in a selfless way to enroll in the educational
program. The following year the St. Joseph School of Nursing was accredited by
the State Board of Nursing Education and Registration and provided a three year
course that included class instruction as well as hands on work within the
hospital setting, gradually increasing the hands on service within the
hospital. By 1921 the first class of the St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing
graduated as registered nurses.
The school focused their
education around not only the disease or ailment of the patients that they
would soon be treating but also the importance of meeting the needs of the
person as a whole. This can be seen by simply looking at the motto adopted by
the nursing school that can be seen on the pins given to graduating nurses. It reads “Propter Humanitatum” meaning “For the
sake of humanity.” The teachings of the school are still incredibly relevant to
the practice of nursing. As Maya Angelou put it, “They may forget your name,
but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
In 1929, a building
devoted to nursing was built to house the many nursing students who enrolled in
the school of nursing. This building was constructed across the street from the
hospital and was used to not only house the students but also as educational
space with classrooms, learning labs, and a library. After six months of study,
the students were able to begin working within the hospital caring for patients
and as their knowledge grew they were able to take on more tasks within the
hospital.
With the beginning of the Second
World War, St. Joseph School of Nursing participated in the United States Cadet
Nurse program which allowed nurses to receive tuition assistance with a
commitment to serve in the war after graduation if the need arose. As the war
went on the popularity of nursing increased and the school began offering more
classes to train and educate more aspiring nurses.
The school of nursing
graduated its last class in 1987 and the school closed. The school that started
with a religious basis of service and care for those in need graduated over
1500 well educated and compassionate nurses that have gone on to serve in hospitals
across the United States as well as become educators in the field of nursing.
I graduated from St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in 1965. Starting with our first classes, we had hands on training every day for three years. Caring about the patient's well being and all aspects of their care was our goal for each of our patients each day. When we graduated we had no doubt that we were competent at every aspect of nursing. Our charting gave every detail of the patient's time with us that day. Not some vague information that they have today. We wore our white uniforms and caps proudly and knew that we were professionals and could answer questions that the doctor, patient or their family might have. I was at St. Joseph Hospital at a very interesting time. When we started in 1962, the oldest part of the hospital was very much in use. No air conditioning, we would open the heavy wooden windows to get fresh air. The beds were cranked into position. Patients were given baths and beds were changed everyday. Back rubs were given to each patient every night.
ReplyDeleteIV's were in bottles, there were no monitors of any type...the nurse was the patient's life line. We established great patient nurse relationships, because we really knew our patients and cared about them. The bathrooms were not in each room at that time and we carried covered bedpans and urinals down the hall to the utility room....cleaned them and brought them back to the patient. There were no computers. When we graduated in 1965, St. Joseph Hospital was standing as it is today. I don't think many nurses today are trained about caring. They have no idea, how scarey it is to have RN ask me if I want to put in my aunt's catheter....and she could not do it. Have the nurse ask me how to do the neurology check. We never worried about a nurse running in to the bathroom and crying because she did not know how to give an enema. Finally, asking me how to mix an injection for a very sick patient. All this has happened while I was being visitor to my family at local hospitals and nursing facilities. I volunteer now at St.Joseph Hospital and it says a lot about the hospital to see many of the nurses who have graduated from the school of nursing and stayed their to work. That really speaks volumes about the care they give and what they expect from each other.