The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-26
A RED CROSS ROMANCE
STORY OF CHIEF SISTER BETTINA
AND HER HOSPITAL WORK.
Little Foreign Girl Who Founded New
York School for Training the
Nurses and Won a Husband.
New York Press.

New York Press.
Here is a Red Cross romance! The priu-
cipals are DR.. A. Monae Lesser, executive
surgeon of the American National Red
Cross and Sister-in-chief Bettina, of the
New York Red Cross Hospital. The thread
of this romance has been so intimately en-
twined with the establishment of the New
York Red Cross Hospital that the story Of
the one can hardly be related without vir-
tually telling also the story of the other. In
1888 a petite young woman little more than
girl in years, of attractive personal APP
pcarance and with laughing dark eyes which
yet showed much seriousness of purpose,
came to New York from Germany. To
those with whom she became acquainted
she said her name was Bettina A. Hofker.
At home she had been much impressed by
the good accomplished by the Red Cross,
and she had come to America to see if it
were not possible to plant Red Cross sys-
tenn here. There was no war; to be sure,
but it might be feasible to establish a train
ing school for Red Cross nurses such as
are constantly maintained by most govern
ments in Europe, where war is likely to
break out almost any moment. Her mo-
tives were as praiscworthy as they were
ambitious and her energy was practically
unbounded.
But, of course, she found, on looking
about her here that the Red Cross propa-
ganda which she had mapped out for her
self had been carried on years before by
an American woman, whom she had never
CHANGED to identify with this country, yet
whose name was known the world over as
one of the greatest of Red Cross apostles.
So Rettina Hofker set about doing the next
best thing, and busted herself from day to
day and week to week in nursing the sick
among the poor who dwell in East Side
neighborhoods. There were then no ''univer-
sity settlemen t," or, at best they were
new and hardly in working order and most
of the societies now doing such house-to-
house work among the districts of New
York peopled solely by Europeans were yet
unorganized. In sense, then, Bettina
Hofker's work in New York was that of a
pioneer, and though she had never received
the training of a nurse, it was distinctly
valuable and helpful.
THE PRINCIPALS MEET.
'"rhe Little Sister Bettina, as some of
her patients soon came to term her, had
not been at work many weeks when she
met a young doctor at the bedside of
patient Between the doctor and amateur
nurse there was an interchange of conf
dences concerning their plans for future
work, for he, too had determined to de-
vote a large part of his life and energy to
work among those who needed professional
care but could not afford to pay for it. And,
of course, he commended the Little Sister
Bettina, and cheered and helped her In
her work.
But" he said to her one day, you could
be of greater use were you to study nurS-
ing as q profession. Suppose you leave your
post among the poor for a time to enter
Mount Sinai Hospital? Others will carry on
your work among the poor until you are
ready to take 1t up again
This advice was warmly seconded by the
Rev. John Johns, since dead, who had be-
come as sincerely interested in Bettina as
was DIR. Lesser. So, in 1891, she entered
Mount Sinai, where she began to famiiarize
herself with all the details of both theory
and practice in nursing. In the meantime
the nurses who had taken her place had en-
countered several cases requiring surgical
treatment, which 1 had been =, ATTENDED by DR..
This led to the establishment of a little
hospital at No. 45 Bradhurst avenue, which
they named st. Johns Institute. There
patients were regularly treated, mostly
without charge. But the nurses and doctors
could not attend to the hospital, support
themselves by outside work and raise money
for it's conduct all at the same time; and so.
after little, st. Johns Institute was given
up
in 1888, when she at once resumed her nurs-
ing among the poor. DR.. Lesser, whose re-
ton for her pluck and determination her
kindness and the skill with which she
nursed her patients TO sentiments of a
tenderer nature, suggested marriage. But
s.. said him nay, and declared that in nc
OF way could he make her so happy as
to Join again with her in her work. Being
in love, he acquiesced, of course.
In 1894 Sister Bettina having enlisted the
interest of Mrs. Charles A Raymond in
the project for Red Cross training school
for nurses, a start was made with that en-
terprise and a little fund to begin the
school was raised 1t was necessary to pro-
cure official approval however, in order to
use the name Red Cross. and so, before
anything further was done. DR.. Lesser
and Miss Hofker went to Washington to-
gether armed with recommendations from
Walter p. Phillips then secretary of the
American National Red Cross, and laid the
whole story before Miss Clara Barton. She
approved the scheme with her whole heart
in substantially these words:
CLARA RARTON'S PRAISE.
1.-THE New York Training School for Red
Cross nurses has been founded by the in
teligence, sympathies, industry and sacri-
flee of q girl Sister Bettina Hofker, born
under skies other than ours, speaking an
other language, but endowed with that love
of humanity that makes all mankind kim
Pity has been her inspiration, good judg