The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1899-11-23
THE MILLS TRAINING SCHOOL
Class Of YOuug Men Graduates Going
TO South Alrica-A Successful
Innovation In Caring Tor the
Equal to Women.
New York Tribune.

A rrd brick building on the Bellevue
hospital grounds, fronting In Twenty.
sixth street. n-nr the department oi
charities pirr. IN now rapidly rsiug
in honor and in public Interest II will
| form perhaps the closest American a,
with the South African war in the
wc-'ks g come From the doors u the
| Mills training school for male nurses
there viii issue a wock from tomorrow
class of slNtc,n graduates Of the In
s,liutlon. all bound for the South Afri.
can hcld. They will sail FOR the
Trnnsvual from England aboard thy
Maine. tho hospital ship now being flt-
| ted out by American women abroad
headed by Lady Randolph Churchill
Al ao young. some served In the
Spanish war. and all have
had broad exp ,r1e1ce In private nurs-
ing these last two or thr- years.
Of an intcr>-at that Is altogether un-
usual Is tho dcpu'tur, Of these men.
Two decades ago. had hurried sum
mons been sent across seas for band
OF male nurses. highly trained. well
equipped with medical knowledge. skill.
ful as womsn. it could not have been
complied with The male nurse on a
par with the trained female nurse Is
modern Individual This institution
was the FIRST training school In Amer
lea for man In the profession OF nurs-
ing II !H still the only school OF any
size. though several others aware OF
this succ,Vs. hayc recently been start
cd. Eleven years ago-the hrst days
OF lSSS-saw the Mills training school
for male nurses put into operation,
founded and endowed by d, o. Mills.
Since that day II has built up what Is
practically least II the scientific
end OF It Is considerrd-a new profcs-
sion.
Few probably are aware that there
ar, nowadays no orisrlies in Bellevue,
the city's charity sickrooms The men
that wAat by this title always seemed
an insepanble part ot the public in
stitutions. They were traditional, and
no Improvement seemed possible. Yet
In short eleven years hundred or
40 graduates have bccn turned out.
finding in all save a few instances a
ready market For their professional
services. steady employment at s. a
day. The classes OF this school were
small the first few years. but they
have grown until there are now 81 stu
dents taking the course In this build
lug-a two years course, to which
men can be admitted the first of each
month, and which graduates two
classes year,
So valuable are these young men in
service, even In their first days " tute-
lage, that the male wards of Bellevue,
both medical and surgical have been
agu the orderly system Of the hospital
wns finally done away with and the
student nurses were put in the ORDER
Hes places, with the entire care OF
these wards as II part and portion Of
the nursing course, 1t IS not far from
being the major part OF the course, in
deed, for It embraces all that Is prac-
teal. The nursing students have their
own lectures, qui2zes and theoretical
researches besides, but It is this varied,
difficult energy and judgment-com-
pelling experience in these Bellevue
wards that goes furthest toward Mt
ting them to take up nursing as a
genuine profession,
Such has been the training Of the
men who are about to SO out to the
war In South Africa The stun they
are made Of Is evidenced by the eager
ness with which they volunteered con-
senting to leave good private posts
here. What is practically the pick of
the graduates has been secured for
this Transvaal campaign, though
many who will be left behind would
prove themselves quite as valuable.
Already the Mills training school men
have made themselves con-, .cuous at
the front. They We're eagerly seized
upon in the Spanish American war,
all the graduates available icing talk
en- six were nurses on the Solace, five
at Portsmouth, N. H., with the Span
ish prisoners These latter went to
Spain afterward with the sick men and
proved nightly efficient. " e VI ere