Medicine/Behavioral Science

Henry Solomon Wellcome was born half a world away from the Sudan in the American Midwest in 1853. His personal qualities and attitudes to life have been shaped in his early years. The Wellcome family was deeply religious , his father and two uncles were ministers of the Adventist sect. When Henry was eight, his family moved to Garden City, Minnesota where his other uncle, Jacob Wellcome was in medical practice.
In the 1860ies the Midwest was still frontier country. Shortly after the family settled in Garden City there was an Indian uprising in the area. Over 2000 settlers were killed and the towns were transformed to small fortresses defended by volunteers and troops. The young Henry helped his uncle in caring for the wounded and he was also appointed captain to a group of children casting rifle bullets for the settlers. The uprising ended in an Indian defeat and the public hanging of 38 Sioux Indian chiefs. This event created in Wellcome a life-long awareness of the suffering of the dispossessed peoples in whom he saw the suffering of mankind. Later in his life, for many years he supported missionary work among a group of American Indians.

"Highlights of Nursing in Virginia" was originally compiled by Mabel E. Montgomery, RN, Katherine R. Gary, RN and Marie Schmidt, RN members of the Special Anniversary Observances Committee of the Virginia Nurses' Association and published in 1975. Under the guidance of Evelyn C. Bacon, Chair of the VNA History Committee, revisions were begun to the "Highlights" in the 1990s. This edition was completed by the Joint History Committee of the Virginia Nurses' Association and the Virginia League of Nursing, under the leadership of Corinne F. Dorsey in November of 2000.

an on-line book by Bob Arnebeck with companion essays and primary documents

Plus
A Short History of Yellow Fever in the US
And, my thoughts on Fever 1793 Laurie Halse Anderson's, novel for young readers,

The Research Materials Used to Write
"The Official Plan to Eliminate the Midwife"

The following historical account comes primarily from documents published in professional journals between 1900 and 1930. The majority of the material was published in the "Transactions for the Study and Prevention of Infant Mortality" 1910 -- 1915. This archival material records the historical blueprint of an official campaign to do away with the independent practice of midwives. Also faithfully recorded in these journals was the efficacy of care by midwives of the era, the history of the school for midwives in New York City and its excellent statistics, and the increase in maternal and infant mortality that occurred as midwives were progressively eliminated from practice. These documents, written at a time when women did not have the right to vote, were intended for "professional eyes only".

The mission of CAHN is to promote interest in the history of nursing and to develop scholarship in the field.

In 1925, when Mary Breckinridge established the Frontier Nursing Service and built Wendover, this marked the first effort to professionalize midwifery in the United States. Within the thematic framework of the National Historic Landmark Program, Wendover, the national headquarters of the Frontier Nursing Service, has national significance under theme XIII. Science: (F) Medicine (1.) Clinical Specialties.
Up until the 1930s, an American woman was more likely to die in childbirth than from any other disease, except tuberculosis. The mortality rate was particularly high for pregnant women in rural areas where hospitals and qualified medical care were scarce. Breckinridge recognized this concern and succeeded in one of the pioneering attempts to bring professionalized health care to rural-America.

In 1980 the American Society of Post Anesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) was born of the need for education specific to perianesthesia care. ASPAN has continued to prosper with membership over 5,600 in 1989. Through ASPAN other avenues of growth have occurred which include a bimonthly journal devoted to perianesthesia nursing, a bimonthly newsletter, annual conferences, and an opportunity to become certified in this specialty of nursing.

The Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry, established at the University of Virginia in 1991 to support historical scholarship in nursing, is dedicated to the preservation and study of nursing history in the United States. The goals of the Center include the collection of materials, the promotion of scholarship, and the dissemination of historical research findings.