Dolores “Dee” O’Hara
NASA’s first aerospace nurse, O’Hara was instrumental in developing space nursing
Dee O’Hara is a pioneer in the field of space nursing. The first appointed aerospace nurse at NASA, O’Hara worked closely with astronauts from the first human spaceflight program of the United States, Project Mercury, as well as the second human spaceflight Gemini Program, the Apollo Program to the Moon and the first American space station, Skylab.
During her first assignment with the Mercury program, O’Hara’s duties included setting up the crew sleeping quarters and the examination area for the astronauts. But first and foremost she was the astronauts’ primary nurse, where she not only took care of their medical needs, but gained their trust, later building friendships that would last a lifetime.
Due to the rigorous physical examinations that the astronauts had to endure, where they were routinely poked, prodded and pricked, it was no surprise that the medics were not their favourite people. NASA therefore decided that it would be beneficial to bring a nurse onto the team, as the astronauts would be much more likely to open up and talk to a nurse rather than a flight surgeon, who had the authority to prevent them from flying. To gain their trust, O’Hara made a deal with them: “I told them I would never betray them unless, in my opinion, what they told me would jeopardise them or the mission. In that case, ethically I would have to report it to the flight surgeon. They understood that.”
O’Hara became an invaluable part of the team, with the astronauts refusing to allow anybody else to take their blood before a flight. She went on to continue to work closely with NASA astronauts and their families, witnessing every launch from the first Mercury launch through to the first Space Shuttle. “I feel fortunate to have been a part of a unique and exciting time in space history,” she said
Born 9 August 1935 in Nampa, Idaho, O’Hara had a humble upbringing. She lost her father when she was a senior in high school, and her mother worked hard to put her through education. In 1956 O’Hara graduated from the Providence Hospital School of Nursing in Portland, Oregon, before moving on to study operating room techniques at the University of Oregon. Later she worked as a surgical nurse at the University of Oregon Medical School.
One day, her roommate suggested that they should join the US Air Force and see the world. O’Hara hesitated at first, but then agreed to enrol, not realising at the time that it would be a decision that would send her on a very different path to her roommate. The Air Force sent O’Hara to the Patrick Air Force Base in Florida in May 1959, and in April 1959, the first seven astronauts for the Mercury program were selected. A mere six months after beginning her job as a staff nurse at the Patrick Air Force Base, O’Hara was offered a job as NASA’s first aerospace nurse. By 1960, O’Hara was heading to Cape Canaveral to establish the aeromed lab which would serve America’s very first spaceflight program –
Project Mercury.
Though aerospace nursing remains an integral part of spaceflight, things are certainly a little different now. Nowadays the astronauts are not the responsibility of just one nurse, but several, with various medical teams supporting the astronauts before, during and after launch. Though the personal connection between nurse and astronaut has been lost somewhat, O’Hara’s modesty about her accomplishments have not: to this day she remains convinced that she was simply “in the right place at the right time”.