![]() Let us not forget to recognize those who cared for us when the “living room” was the triage area for many makeshift surgeries, procedures, obstetric and gynecological procedures, in addition to the emergency room for “many a patient.” You see there are many “nurses” who did not go to school to become a nurse but were still “nurses,” such as mothers who have nursed their children back to life. There are many that we could list within the arena of nursing that have focused on the healing of those within our African American community. Lacey’s specialty in caring for the underserved follows her as the clinic at the Creative Center for Non-Violence (CCNV) Shelter on D Street in Northwest Washington is the recipient of a clinic that Dr. Lacey Endowed Chair was created with the help of a $1.5 million anonymous donation in 1998. She established a community program which skyrocketed. Bernadine Lacey also served as the Bronson School of Nursing’s founding director at Western Michigan University. She was one of the first African American women to lead the Army Nurse Corps, in addition to being promoted to brigadier general and was one of the only African Americans to teach in the PhD program at George Mason University in the late 1990s.Ĭontinuing to serve not just the nation, but at Howard University as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Visitors, Dr. Johnson-Brown not only faced discrimination as an African American nurse but beat it by earning a master’s and PhD degree in her specialty. Twice named the “Army Nurse of the Year,” Dr. One of her last acts of valor was the establishment of the “Harriett Tubman Home for the Aged” in 1908, which cared for the aging African American population. Not only did she free more than 300 slaves, but she also worked tirelessly as a union army nurse. While many of us saw and loved the movie “Harriett,” little is mentioned in the movie about Harriett Tubman being a nurse. She is credited with co-founding the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses and is one of the original members of what is now known as the American Nurses Association. While there were many who officially practiced nursing before 1879, Mary Eliza Mahoney has been noted as the first African American “registered nurse”. When she returned from India, she established a school and church in her native Mississippi and eventually became an administrator of a hospital for blacks in Atlanta. Anna was known as a Christian woman who was strong in her beliefs and thus became one of the first African American missionary nurses to ever travel to India to care for others. Knight for her to nurse them back to health. It is believed that Anna Knight would encounter knocks at her door from family members of victims of “botched hangings’” because God would not allow them to die that way. Meet Anna Knight, born in 1874 and from the state of Mississippi who taught herself how to read and write before attending nursing school. While people brag about our beloved Florence Nightingale, I want to turn your attention to a few of our African American nurses that have made a difference in not just the African American community, but in the world as a whole. ![]() The most poignant comment comes from 11-year-old Pearson G. A nurse must have a quality of care that stems from humility and all of the other branches that come from that humility will heal a patient.” The soft voice of a nurse can almost mask a person’s pain.”Ī nurse will give you hope when there is no hope. “Nurses can alleviate an individual’s stress, anxiety, and in some instances pain. “I love nurses because people who need a nurses’ touch can always count on the nurse to give them exactly what they need, at the exact time that they need it.” When asking people what nurses mean to them, the following quotes were shared with me. While this year is no exception, what makes this Nurses’ Week especially meaningful is the light that the COVID-19 pandemic has shone on the sacrifice of these angels. During the first week of May each year, we honor our “angels” and tell them “thanks for all that they have done and continue to do for us”. While the song is giving God the glory, the words are apropos for nurses that we all love and respect. In 1982, the famed gospel songwriter Andrae’ Crouch wrote a song with lyrics that contain the following words: ![]()
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