By: Linda Ford

A Look Back

Worcester Hahnemann Hospital School of Nursing

September 10, 2000

Samuel Freidrich Christian Hahnemann was a German physician who lived from 1755-1843. He founded the homeopathic method of treating disease and believed that a drug, which produced symptoms of a disease in a healthy person, would cure a person who had that disease. On June 4, 1896 Worcester Hahnemann Hospital came into existence at 46 Providence Street, named after Dr. Hahnemann, when the Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted a charter to incorporate “for the purpose of the care and treatment of patients”.

The hospital, a former private residence, had a capacity for 10-15 patients. The third floor attic was the nurses quarters. In 1899, a brave young woman named Martha Page Sagendorph, went to the hospital to inquire about becoming a nurse. That year, she and Isabel Roby became the first two nursing students at Hahnemann Hospital. There were only three requirements to enter the nursing school.

1.      Good health and freedom from handicaps of any kind. Average height and weight.

2.      Good moral character as ascertained through references.

3.      Age must be at least 17 years with preference given to applicants between the ages 18-35.

This was the beginning of the Hahnemann Heritage.

In the early years, the nursing school was a two-year program. As a student nurse, the uniform consisted of a blue and white striped uniform, white apron, black shoes, and the cap. The stipend was 12 dollars a month for uniforms and supplies. All students were taught compassion and commitment to patients. This included: 1. The patient comes first. 2. No one dies alone. 3. All patients are treated with dignity. 4. Nursing is an art. This is our heritage. The only textbook, which was about bedside nursing, was "Clara Week's Textbook". Each day began at 7 AM and didn't end until at least 8 PM. A typical job description for a bedside nurse back then included multiple duties. Some of these were to: 1. Maintain a scuttle of coal for the days business, 2. Light is important to observe the patient's condition, therefore, each day fill the kerosene lamps, clean chimneys, and trim wicks. Wash the windows weekly. 3. Nurses in good standing with the Director of Nursing will be given an evening off per week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if you go to church regularly. 4. The nurse who performs her labors, serves her patients and doctors faithfully and without fault for a period of five years will be given an increase by the hospital administration of five cents a day, providing there are no hospital debts that are outstanding. (I thank God that times have definitely changed.) The work was hard, wearing and rewarding. For many years, more than 90, we, as nurses cared for patients. We were a small hospital with a remarkable impact on the community because of the commitment to its patients. We cared for our patients, before they turned into and became “clients”, or “consumers of health care”.

As the years went on, the world continued to change. World War 2 had its impact on nursing. A graduate

of Hahnemanns class of 1943, Katherine Nolan, stated that half of her class served with distinction. They served from Utah Beach with General Patton in Luxembourg at the Battle of the Bulge, also in Holland and Germany. There were 5 Battle Stars earned. As Tom Brokaw stated about these nurses, they were some of the greatest generation who reached the rank of Lt. Colonel.

As the Hahnemann Heritage continued, so did the evolution of the school. In 1950, Miss Emma Kuhn, administrator and director of the nursing school, introduced the new design of the nursing cap. She wanted to make changes reflective of modernization in the nursing profession. This representative nursing cap had an octagonal shape. Each of the eight points of the octagon represented the word HERITAGE. Honesty, Empathy, Responsibility, Integrity, Trustworthiness, Accuracy, Gentleness, Excellence. The base of the cap represented growth, beginning when a new student received her cap. The maroon band as a senior student, and finally, the honor of wearing the black band as a graduate. Wearing the nursing cap represented a symbol to nurses, physicians, and patients of true professionalism and caring. Nurses did and still do keep the memories of our predecessors dear to our hearts. We now took back on the history of our nursing school and profession, with love, respect and compassion for those nurses who worked hard and led the way for those of us who would follow in their footsteps.

1955 brought about new structural changes. A new school of nursing building with dormitories was completed and still stands today. The Grosvenor House, housed hardworking students who were “preparing for the profession of mercy”. 1961 saw Catherine Tower as a leader in nursing education. She emphasized thinking, reasoning, and decision making as part of nursing education. The trend toward a college association for diploma schools was now on the horizon. Over the years, the nursing school had an outstanding reputation for the excellent education of nurses. Many classes, including the years 1977-1986 had a 100% pass rate on the board of nursing state licensure examination. In 1974, the first class of nurse practitioners graduated from the certificate program. It continued on to eventually graduate 75 nurse practitioners. In 1989, the school saw its last graduating class. Interestingly enough, the first graduate in 1902, Martha Page Sagendorph, was still alive to see the last graduating class in 1989. She saw the beginning and end of an era. What a wonderful era it was.

I am extremely proud to be here today as a graduate of the same great school of nursing, which ultimately graduated one thousand three hundred and ninety two nurses over its ninety years of existence. Over one third of the graduate nurses stayed on to work at Hahnemann Hospital. The true heart of Hahnemann was caring for patients. That was the ultimate purpose for nurses to come to school here and to stay on and work here. The added bonuses which made nurses want to stay was the true family atmosphere. We were the Hahnemann Family. I will always remember watching the popular television show "Cheers". Even

now, each time I hear the words from its theme song 'where everybody knows your name", I feel like they are singing about Hahnemann. The camaraderie and spirit of the Hahnemann family are engraved in my soul. It's hard to explain those feeling, but those who were here, know. Now, the Worcester Hahnemann Hospital School of Nursing Heritage has a new beginning. I hope and pray that the spirit of past will live on to enrich the souls and the spirit of the new. It was once written in the Worcester Sunday Telegram, on February 21, 196 1, "Though the hospital itself, or its school may cease to exist with the passing of time, the cap endures and is worn so long as a graduate shall live." Even though my one thousand three hundred and ninety one fellow graduates and I may no longer wear our caps on our heads, we still do and forever will wear them in our hearts.

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