St. Bernard's School of Nursing (Chicago, Ill.) records, 1906-1975.

  • Creator Names Religious Hospitallers of Saint Joseph.
  • Title St. Bernard's School of Nursing (Chicago, Ill.) records, 1906-1975.
  • Physical description 12 linear feet.
  • Collection arrangement The fonds consists of nine series: Subject correspondence, Minutes of meetings, Student records, Roll call registers, Nursing service registers and daily time books, Admissions and withdrawals register, Photographs, Yearbooks, and Miscellaneous.
  • Access and usage restrictions Some restrictions. See series, subseries, and file descriptions for details.
  • Collection summary The fonds consists of the records generated by St. Bernard's School of Nursing between its opening in 1905 and its closure in 1975. The fonds contains a relatively large subject correspondence series belonging to the Director of the School of Nursing. It also contains minutes of meetings, records of student grades and attendance, an admissions and withdrawals register, photographs, yearbooks and some miscellaneous material. For the most part, it has been possible to reconstruct the original order of the records. Most of the series proved to be distinctive, with the exception of the photographs and miscellaneous series. The arrangement of these two series was imposed by the Archivist.
  • Biographical or Historical Note St. Bernard's School of Nursing was founded in 1906 and dissolved in 1975. Incorporated by charter on 7 February 1906, St. Bernard's Hotel Dieu Training School for Nurses provided theoretical and clinical instruction in nursing science until its closure in 1975. Popularly known as St. Bernard's School of Nursing, the School graduated its first class of 16 lay women and five religious in June 1909, and, over the course of next 66 years, graduated over 1500 nurses. In 1913, the School affiliated itself with Loyola University for the purpose of offering extension courses. In 1935, association with the University was cemented with the amalgamation of St. Bernard's, St. Anne's, St. Elizabeth's, Oak Park, and Columbus Hospitals Schools of Nursing to form the Loyola University School of Nursing. A three year curriculum was approved by the School of Nursing's Administrative Board in June 1935 and in November 1937, the School of Nursing established a five year program leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. In 1942, the School established affiliation with the Illinois State School of Psychiatric Nursing and the Municipal Contagious Disease Hospital, the latter relationship terminating in December 1952. In 1944 the School established psychiatric nursing affiliation with the Veterans Administration Hospital at Hines, Illinois, and in 1950 established tuberculosis nursing affiliation with the same institution. On 1 February 1949, what had come to be known as Loyola University School of Nursing, St. Bernard's Unit was renamed St. Bernard's Hospital School of Nursing. The School retained some course affiliation with Loyola, but was no longer under the University's administrative umbrella. In 1954, the School established affiliation in obstetrical nursing with the Chicago Maternity Center. In 1951, the School sought accreditation status from the National Nursing Accrediting Service, achieving full accreditation from the organization in 1958. Mary L. Long, a lay nurse, served as the School's first director. In 1909, Sister Alice Burns was appointed to this position and was succeeded by Sister Helen Jarrell in 1917. Sister Jarrell remained Director of the School until August 1935, at which time she was named Director of the newly created Loyola University School of Nursing. In 1939, she became Dean of the Loyola School, retiring as Dean Emeritus in 1948. Sister Bridgit Creighton became Director at this time, but left office in February 1950 to pursue a Masters Degree in Nursing at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Sister St. Joseph (Charlotte Peacher) served as Acting Director until Sister Creighton returned in February 1952. She remained in office until her death in August 1961, at which time Sister St. Joan of Arc (Elizabeth Peyton) was appointed Director. Upon Sister's appointment as Administrator of St. Bernard Hospital in August 1962, Sister St. Gerard (Elizabeth Fitzsimmons) became Director, followed by Sister Dolores Kane in June 1973. Sister Kane left for an assignment in Hartford, Wisconsin in 1970, leaving Assistant Director Ita Murray as Acting Director of the School until her retirement in July 1974. Since, by this time, the decision had been made to close the School, a new director was not appointed to replace Miss Murray. On 13 November 1928, a new nurses' residence was dedicated. In 1974 the School itself was torn down to make way for the 1976 wing of St. Bernard Hospital. Those students still enrolled in the School received the remainder of their theoretical training in quarters provided in a nearby convent.
  • Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Permission for publication must be obtained from the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph, St. Joseph Province Archives, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
  • Location of Other Archival Materials Note
    • St. Bernard Hospital Community (Chicago, Ill.) records, 1903-1992.
    • St. Bernard Hospital (Chicago, Ill.) records, 1906-1975.
  • Finding Aids Note Finding aid available in repository; series level.
  • Names
    • Religious Hospitallers of Saint Joseph Archives.
    • St. Bernard's School of Nursing (Chicago, Ill.) Archives.
    • St. Bernard's School of Nursing (Chicago, Ill.) Records and correspondence.
    • Loyola University Chicago. Archives.
  • Subjects
    • Nursing schools Administration.
    • St. Bernard's School of Nursing (Chicago, Ill.) Students Yearbooks.