It is that time of the week again, time for Sepia Saturday! I try to join in each week, sharing a bit of history with you about either my family or parts of Oregon that interest me. This week, it was very easy for me to be on theme as the theme is nurses on the go. My Mom, Jolene Johnson, is a registered nurse who graduated from nursing school at Sacred Heart General Hospital in Eugene, Oregon in 1958. After a decade or so of working at the hospital, she transferred to the company's Home Health Department, where she worked until her retirement. After retirement, Mom went on medical mission trips to Guatemala eleven times with Cascade Medical Teams. Currently, she is a parish nurse at her church. Once a nurse, always a nurse, it seems to me. Thanks, Mom, for all you have done to help others throughout your life.
Below, the lovely ladies are proudly holding their diplomas. In the midst of studying for her nursing license, Mom (Jolene) got married and had me. I enlarged these so you can see them better, so please scroll all the way over to the right so that you can see Mom:
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| Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews |
I always loved her cape. I'm sure it is still hanging in her bedroom closet. Those nursing caps and uniforms were a sign of honer, but those caps must have been a pain to stay on. The bobby pins that held them down were white, the uniforms were white, their shoes and stockings were white. Now when you go to the hospital, everybody wears scrubs and you can't tell who is who!
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| Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews |
Everybody signed their names on the back of the picture above. Of course, this was Mom's copy, so I don't see her signature:
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| Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews |
As I was looking around the internet for a bit of information and photos about historical Sacred Heart, I really didn't find much. I did find this neat collection of sepia photos of nurses around the Pacific Northwest though: Flicker Page: PNW Nursing Photos.
Over time, Sacred Heart General Hosptial became part of the PeaceHealth Medical Group. Here is a page on their website sharing the first 75 years of the company's history:
PeaceHealth Celebrates 75 Years: Historical Timeline
I also came across this interesting bit of information about The Nightengale Pledge , which is essentially the nurses oath.
The Nightingale Pledge was composed by Lystra Gretter, an instructor of nursing at the old Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and was first used by its graduating class in the spring of 1893. It is an adaptation of the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians.
"I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician, in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care."
As a side bit, I also found a voice recording of Florence Nightingale on You Tube. Pretty neat stuff:
I hope that you enjoyed this bit of Oregon history, along with a bit of my family history. Happy Sepia Saturday!
Kathy M.
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