“A benefit to themselves, to the sick, and to the community”: The Story of Philadelphia’s Black Hospitals & Nurse Training Schools.

“A benefit to themselves, to the sick, and to the community”: The Story of Philadelphia’s Black Hospitals & Nurse Training Schools.

This Week In the Archives
A linograph of Minnie Hogan Clemens from the neck up. Her hair is pulled up into a high bun and she is wearing a turtle neck.

This Week In the Archives

In 1888, Minnie Hogan Clemens (Dorchester) became the first Black student to attend the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania’s Nurse Training School (HUP). In the local news coverage at the time, Clemens’ acceptance into the program was widely celebrated by the Black community as a sign of progress for Black women, who had “no opportunities for employment in factories, stores or at trades, teaching or menial service alone being open to them.”

Featured Bates Center Researcher
Rozella M. Schlotfeldt

Featured Bates Center Researcher

This past week we hosted Deborah Lindell, DNP, RN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, from Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Dr. Lindell is studying the history of the professional doctorate in nursing at CWRU, and came to the Bates Center to look at the Schlotfeldt collection. Read on to learn more!

From the Archives
Mercy Hospital Ambulance, c.1925

From the Archives

Opened in 1907 by Dr. Eugene Hinson, Mercy Hospital and Nurse Training School was the second institution of its kind in Philadelphia founded by the city’s Black community.

Philadelphia’s Black Hospitals
Frederick Douglass Hospital, 15th and Lombard Streets, Philadelphia, 1895

Philadelphia’s Black Hospitals

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!

Barbara Bates Center’s Fall 2023 Newsletter Now Available

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!

Blast from the Past
Cherry Ames, Army Nurse by Helen Wells (The Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing).

Blast from the Past

Have you ever heard of Charity “Cherry” Ames? Cherry Ames was the main character in a 27-book series of young adult mystery novels published between 1943-1968. The series helped introduce tens of thousands of readers to the exciting, and sometimes fantastical, possibilities of life as a nurse. Which Cherry Ames is your favorite? You can explore our collection of Cherry Ames novels on floor 2U in the Bates Center reading room!

New Appointment for Inaugural Curator Role at Penn Nursing

New Appointment for Inaugural Curator Role at Penn Nursing

The Penn Libraries and Penn Nursing are pleased to announce that Jessica Martucci, PhD, has been named Curator of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, effective August 28, 2023.

NLN Announces Expansion of the NLN Collection at the University of Pennsylvania Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing

NLN Announces Expansion of the NLN Collection at the University of Pennsylvania Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing

The National League for Nursing proudly announces that a project underway for nearly a decade—the NLN Collection at the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, housed at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in Philadelphia—has been expanded.

Movers & Makers: The Story of Mercy-Douglass Hospital
Mercy Hospital Nursing Staff, Miss Lula G. Warlick standing, 3rd from right

Movers & Makers: The Story of Mercy-Douglass Hospital

The Barbara Bates Center is proud to announce that Mercy-Douglass Hospital will be featured in a TV special from WHYY’s Movers & Makers, which airs on Thursday, February 16, at 7:30 PM EST.

Penn Nursing Professor Emerita Named a 2022 Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania
Neville E. Strumpf, PhD, Professor of Nursing and Dean Emerita.

Penn Nursing Professor Emerita Named a 2022 Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania

Governor Tom Wolf and First Lady Frances Wolf recently recognized 11 women as Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania, highlighting their extraordinary achievements and contributions to the commonwealth at an event at the Governor’s Residence. One of them was Neville Strumpf, PhD, RN FANN, Professor Emerita of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing).