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Barbara Bates portrait

The Barbara Bates Center is the preeminent history of nursing research center and archive. 

Our priority is to increase the understanding of the importance of the history of nursing and healthcare to the development of our healthcare system and in crafting effective health policies and patient care strategies.

Through its extensive collections, fellowships, and curricula opportunities, the Barbara Bates Center provides considerable evidence for scholars and students to question traditional disciplinary paradigms; to give voice to the historical power of nursing; and to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of local and global approaches to issues of health and illness.

The Barbara Bates Center is a committed partner in preserving all voices of nursing history, opening access to collection materials, and growing our digitized collections and sites. To support our efforts individuals can contribute funds, donate personal papers, and volunteer time.

  • Frederick Douglass Hospital, 15th and Lombard Streets, Philadelphia, 1895

    This Week In the Archives

    This week the Bates Center staff started preparing for an exhibit on Black hospitals and nurse training schools in Philadelphia. Click to learn more about what we’re working on!

  • 2024 Barbara Bates Center Fellowship Applications Available

    The Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania is taking applications for 2024 Fellowships and Research Awards. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply.

  • Barbara Bates Center’s Fall 2023 Newsletter Now Available

    Read the current issue of the Center’s newsletter, which includes a feature on Jessica Martucci, PhD, the new curator at the Center, the expanded partnership with the NLN, and upcoming events in spring 2024!

Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing
University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing
nhistory@nursing.upenn.edu 
(215) 898-4502