Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1922-05-12
FRIDAY is HOSPITAL
DAY IN nation

On May 18th the hospitals Of
the United States and Canada
will join in the celebration of the
lOZnd anniversary of the birth oil
Florence Nightingale, she who
made it possible for women OF
gentle birth and breeding to en-
ter the nursing profession. A
profession which next to mother
hood has been called the noblest
for women.
Florence Nightingale was born
of English parents in the city OF
Florence, Italy, and was given
the name of the city of her birth.
From earliest childhood the nurs
ing spirit dominated her. Her
dolls were delicate children re-
qulrlng constant care and few of
her blographers have failed to
write of her beautiful collie,
Shep, who suffered what was
thought to be a fractured leg and
how little Miss Florence nursed
him back to health again.
Miss Nightingale spent her
childhood at Lea Hall, in Eng
land, beautiful old place of gray
stone, which stood on a hill sur
rounded with meadows full OF
buttercups and clover and hedge
rows full of wild roses.
AS she grew to womanhood ev-
cry advantage of family, social
position culture and wealth were
hers. Her father had a passion
for education and saw that her
fine mind was trained with a
thoroughness uncommon both
then and now.
Miss Nutting says in her His
tory of Nursing, Much as Miss
Nightingale owed to her family,
she was even more a product OF
her time"
The nineteenth, often called the
Womans' Century, was one of TIL
eXampled richness in strong per-
sonalites, insistent inquiring
minds, protest, dissent, research,
discovery and reform.
The span of her days was the
time of Owen and SALISBURY, OF
Huxley and Darwin, of John
Stuart Mills, Mrs. Fry. Mrs. Jam
eson, George Eliot Margaret Full
Ter and the Brownings.
1t was the time when the whole
galaxy of strong, noble women
began working for causes, re-
forms and progress.
Miss Nightingale began her
life work by investigating nurs-
ing conditions in the hospitals OF
England. She was Mortified by
what she found. Dirt, misery and
needless suffering among the pa
tients. Drunkenness, ignorance
brutality among the nurses. Sairy
Camp of whom Dickens wrote
was typical nurse of the time
But Miss Nightingale had visions
of different type of nurse anC
better hospitals.
She then went to the continent
where she found things different
The hospitals were clean anc
cheerful and the Sisters of Mer-
cy as good and kind and capable
as our own trained nurses of to-
day. She staid at Kaiserwertf
on the Rhine for number Of
months and took the training
which the good Pastor Fleidnel
and his wife, Fredrica, were Civ
ing the deaconesses under theil
care.
Returning to England, she tool
! charge. of a home for sick gov
ernesses and brought order out
chaos. Soon after came the cal
for her great work in the Crlmes
which is well known to every
student of English history.
After the war, the English peo-
pie made her a present of fifty
thousand pounds with the CRATE
, full thanks of the nation. But she
J declined to accept it and asked
that it might be used to establish
a training school for nurses
which was done at St. ThomaSe;
Hospital, in London, the frs
training school for nurses.
A few years later the first trair
! ing school in the United States
was established at Bellevue, New
York City, and now there is ne
city of any Importance that ha:
not a hospital with its training
school.
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