In 1945, she became assistant professor at New York University, the university's first black instructor. In 1936, Thoms became the first nurse to receive the Mary Mahoney Award.Įstelle Massey Osborne was the first black nurse in the U.S. An author, educator, and crusader, she wrote Pathfinders: A History of the Progress of Colored Graduate Nurses. During her seven-year term as president of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, Thoms worked for acceptance of black nurses as members of the American Red Cross as well as campaigning for equal rights for black nurses in the U.S. In 1917, Thoms was among the first to recognize public health as a new field of nursing, adding a course on this subject to the school's curriculum. ![]() She graduated from the Lincoln School for Nurses in New York, where she later served 18 years as assistant superintendent of nurses. Today, the Mary Mahoney Award is bestowed biennially in recognition of significant contributions in interracial relationships.Īlong with working to ensure equal opportunity for blacks in nursing, Adah Belle Samuel Thoms strove to improve relationships between persons of all races. When NACGN merged with the American Nurses Association in 1951, the award was continued. In recognition of her outstanding example to nurses of all races, NACGN established the Mary Mahoney Award in 1936. In 1909, Mahoney gave the welcome address at the first conference of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN). Mahoney's calm, quiet efficiency and expert, compassionate care inspired glowing testimony from both her patients as well as other nurses. ![]() America's first black professional nurse, Mary Eliza Mahoney is known for both her outstanding professional career as well as for her exemplary contributions to local and national professional organizations. Graduating from the New England Hospital for Women and Children Training School for Nurses in 1879, Mary Eliza Mahoney was one of only three persons in her class to complete the rigorous 16-month long program. At the time of her death, Annie Damer was probably one of the most well-known nurses in the country. Unfortunately, she died from a serious injury incurred in a carriage accident at the height of her career. Damer later worked with tuberculosis patients in a hospital starting a social services department for them and, in 1906, became supervisor of a convalescent home for children. In addition, she was president of the American Journal of Nursing Company and served for five years as the second president of the Nurses' Associated Alumnae (now known as the ANA). Through these memberships, she promoted the advancement of educational standards for nurses and advocated for legal recognition of the profession of nursing as well as acknowledgement of public health issues such as care for tuberculosis patients and the temperance movement.ĭamer worked as a private duty nurse and later in public health, as well as a member of the first Board of Nurse Examiners and later their president as well as serving as president of the Buffalo Nurses Association where she was chair of the committee that organized the first state nurses' association, NYSNA, of which she later served as president. ![]() Serving as the leader, and often founding member of several nursing organizations, Annie Damer was an outstanding nursing leader at the turn of the century - a critical time in nursing history. While forging their way forward through leading members of the largest health profession and disruptions in the entire healthcare delivery system, these leaders have positively improved the lives of the individuals and communities. Along with recognizing icons of the past, several of whom are included in this posting, it is important to acknowledge those currently engaged in making history. There is a long history of black nurses who we honor for their efforts to break barriers, challenge practice norms, and engage as leaders and members of nursing and other national organizations that improve health care service delivery. Honoring the Past, while Acknowledging Black Nurses Making History as They Lead the Profession into the Future
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