(From the News and Citizen, week of May 15, 2008)
Copley Nursing History Recorded and Preserved
by Amy Kolb Noyes
“This DVD is a wonderful addition to our library which documents the history of Vermont and its people,” Carnahan commented. “It is impressive that the nurses of Copley Hospital have taken the time to record the history of their profession in this way. This DVD will join other items in our collections, from uniforms to pins to photographs, that serve as a record of the profession over the past century or more.”
Among those featured on the DVD are nurses who worked at Copley three and four decades ago. Marcoux asked them to share their recollections and descriptions from their time at the hospital. They talked about everything from training and uniforms to how the hospital functioned and protocol between nurses and doctors. Did you know a nurse used to be required to stand when a doctor entered the room?
“Nursing has changed in a lot of different ways,” said Marcoux. “It’s important to have our stories told, to share these memories and document how nursing developed.”
Registered nurses who participated in the project include Mary Hoisington, Marthe Valcour, Dale Porter, Joanne Masi, Dottie Cook, Judy Stancliff, Gloria Wing, Barb Hill, Linda Libby, Sandy Gebbie, Linda Romans, Eleanor Garland, Carol Farnham, Marge Washburn, Madeline Hooper, Bernie Thayer, Phyllis Mayo, Ernestine Cram, Inga Paine, Donna Castor, Butch Castor and, of course, Denise Marcoux. Doctors David Coddaire and Henry Southall also contributed to the project.
Hospital President Patashnick commented, “We’re delighted to share this historic look at the nursing profession and Copley Hospital through the eyes and voices of our nurses with the Vermont Historical Society. It is fascinating to hear how much the field has changed over the last few decades."
The DVD is available for viewing at the Vermont Historical Society as well as through the hospital library.
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VHS Leahy Library Displays Historical Nursing Exhibit
In celebration of the receipt of the DVD on the history of nursing at Copley Hospital, the VHS’s Leahy Library has assembled a small exhibit of materials related to the history of nursing in the state. The exhibit, located on the second floor of the Vermont History Center in Barre, includes photographs of nursing students at the Heaton Hospital School of Nursing in Montpelier and the Barre Hospital School of Nursing in addition to histories of the profession and of the state nurse’s association. Also on display are a traditional nurse’s cap and pins worn by Beatrice Jones at Gifford Memorial Hospital in Randolph in the 1940s. Accompanying the newly-minted DVD in the display case is a 16mm movie created in 1950 at the Rutland Hospital entitled “A Day in the Life of a Student Nurse.” A video copy of this film is available for viewing in the library upon request. - Paul Carnahan, VHS Library Director
