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Norfolk’s First Nursing School

Norfolk’s First Nursing School

by | Oct 27, 2022

By the 1890s, more caregivers were needed at the growing Norfolk Retreat for the Sick. Hattie Everingham, the superintendent, opened a two-year training school for nurses at the Retreat in 1892. The program accepted women aged 18 or older with a grammar school...
Providing Care and Education in Hampton

Providing Care and Education in Hampton

by | Oct 27, 2022

Alice Mabel Bacon moved to Hampton, Virginia, in the late 1880s. Born in New England to a prominent abolitionist family, Bacon began teaching at Hampton Institute, a college for freedmen. When she learned that no formal nursing school existed for Black Americans,...
Founding a “suitable hospital” in Norfolk

Founding a “suitable hospital” in Norfolk

by | Oct 27, 2022

In May 1888, the Norfolk Women’s Christian Association (WCA) met to discuss their vision for a new hospital. In an era when less than 200 hospitals existed nationwide, the WCA recognized the need for medical facilities in their growing community. Their goal was to...