Celebrating NYS nurses’ contributions

patient on horseback. In 1952, she wrote a book about her experiences entitled, Wide Neighborhoods: A Story of the Frontier Nursing Service. The FNS is still serving communities in Kentucky. was a passionate visionary nurse and labor organizer determined to advance the professionalization of nursing. She was active in the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) for 19 years (1960-1979) serving as Deputy Director, then Executive Director, bringing about collective bargaining for nurses in the state. In 1966, as lead negotiator for nurses employed by the city’s 21 municipal hospitals of NYC Department of Hospitals, she attained a precedent contract that increased nurses’ salaries by 20%, and improved working conditions and gave them more benefits. She also served as the 1st Executive Director of the Foundation of NYS Nurses. Driscoll’s work on the 1972 revision of the NYS Nurse Practice Act fueled her doctoral dissertation, Legitimizing the Profession of Nursing: The Distinct Mission of NYSNA, published inb 1972.

was a voice for civil rights and increasing the visible presence of AfricanAmerican nurses. A 1937 graduate from Lincoln School of Nursing (Harlem, NY), she earned her BS, MA, and PhD from NYU, where she stayed as guest faculty until her death. Receiving eight honorary doctorates, she promoted advanced education as the creator and first dean of Hampton University School of Nursing (VA), and then Dean of Florida A&M University College of Nursing. Carnegie recognized the importance of nursing research, serving years as Chief Editor of Nursing Research. As President of the Florida State Association of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, she was a representative to the Florida State Nurses Association, an ANA affiliate. She was not satisfied to be a voiceless member at the FSNA and she ran for its board and was elected the first African-American nurse to a state nurses’ association board, thus, helping integrate ANA. As an historian and author, she penned and published The Path We Tread: Blacks in Nursing Worldwide, 1854-1994. She was a past president of the American Academy of Nursing. witnessed first-hand the toll inflicted on her mother’s body from multiple pregnancies. As a nurse, she wanted women to have control over their own bodies and the knowledge necessary to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Mrs. Sanger used her husband’s money to print information about women’s health and choice in reproductive matters. She opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S. in a Brooklyn brownstone. She came under scrutiny by the authorities for openly talking about the Comstock Law— a law which only permitted physicians to discuss birth control with their patients, usually with their husbands in attendance. Sanger was arrested but fled to Europe avoiding incarceration. Upon her return to New York, she did serve a brief time in custody, but was freed. She continued her work on behalf of women’s reproductive rights and birth control, forming Planned Parenthood. As the organization grew and opened new sites, women started advocating for therapeutic abortions—a stand that was contrary to Sanger’s view of women’s choice. This belief caused Sanger to leave Planned Parenthood, butshe still advocated for women’s reproductive rights on a national level.

graduated from Bellevue Training School for Nurses in 1886. She was a vocal advocate for suffrage and the professionalization of nursing claiming, “Without suffrage, nursing will not become a profession.” Dock created the model for alumnae/alumni associations, international nursing groups, and was a contributor to AJN about nursing outside of America. She co-authored the History of Nursing, Volumes 1-4 with M. Adelaide Nutting (another NYS nurse in the ANA Hall of Fame) and was an active member of the Women’s Party. She was arrested three times for her suffrage advocacy. started her nursing career when she transferred from Hunter College to Wagner College’s baccalaureate nursing program. Previous experiences with visiting nurses and the appeal of joining the U. S. Cadet Nurse Corps resulted in her admission into the second nursing class at Wagner. Fagin was drawn to psychiatric nursing because it was a challenging area of nursing, engaging her intellectual and nursing skills and passion for education. She worked at Bellevue, National Institute of Health (NIH), and served as a consultant to the National League for Nursing. At NIH, Dr. Fagin created the first pediatric psychiatric unit. Lured back to NYS, Fagin was a professor in the newest of NYU’s programs, psychiatric/mental health nursing. Her success led to an appointment at CUNY’s Lehman College, as a professor and Chair of the Nursing Department. Knowledge of her success in education, research, and publishing spread throughout the nursing profession. As a result, Fagin became the Dean of Nursing School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1977, tasked with rebuilding the program. She met that goal very successfully during her 15-year career. When she became Dean and Leadership Professor Emerita in 1992, U Penn’s nursing program was first in the nation. Many awards, honors, and honorary doctorates have been bestowed on Dr. Fagin. In 1998, she was honored by the American Academy of Nursing as a “Living Legend.” This article provides a snapshot of just a few renowned New York State nurses who have shaped the nursing profession in the past and in the present. To learn more about other nurses who have inspired, innovated, and influenced the past, and continue to do so now, visit ANA’s Hall of Fame at www. nursingworld.org/ana/ about-ana/history/ hall-of-fame. — Gertrude B. Hutchinson, DNS, RN, MSIS, CCRN-R, Director of History and Education, and Archivist at Center for Nursing at the Foundation of NYS Nurses, Guilderland, NY