Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania - Record Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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MISS EDITH B. IRVVIN, R. N. Chief Nurse U. S. Army Base Hospital No. 20

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LIEUTENANT-COLONEL J. B. CARNETT Director-U. S. Army Base Hospital No. 20, U. of P x

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Wi h B Hos ital No. 20 at Chatel Guyon, France t ase p On February 18, 1918, the nurses, enrolled in Base Hospital No. 20, left Philadelphia for mobilization Th were quartered in large wards, twenty-two in each on Ellis Island No. 3, New York Harbor. ere, we ward. A small table and a chair to each bed were the only furniture. fWe hung our clothes on a T at the head of our beds. There was one bathroom to each ward. The entire place was well heated, and we were very comfortable. Qur meals were served in a small restaurant on Island No. Z, breakfast from 7 to 8, lunch 11 to 1, and dinner 4.30 toX5. The dining room held ninety-eight, and at times there were two hundred to three hundred nurses stationed on the Island. Roll call was held each morning at 9 o'clock in the general assembly room, at which time each unit received orders for the day. ' Y k th 10.30 boat to Red Cross Headquarters The first day after our arrival, we were sent to New or on e 65 rses one dietitian and two secretaries. We were divided into three sec- to be outfitted. There were nu , a , ' 'Q - ' ' b fitted for suits and long coats, street uniforms, another tions, one section went, to Pollock s and Weltman s to e section to Weinstein Dress Company to be fitted for gray chambray duty uniforms , and rain coats, and the third section to Coward's for shoes and rubber boots. At the end of two days our measurements had all been taken, and at the end of one week we were all in uniform, and a very proud- and happy set we were. After spending two days in the various outfitting places, we were sent to Hoboken to have passports made out, there we posed for photographs and had our finger-prints taken. Then the next few days were spent in filling out papers for War Risk Insurance and Allotments, and at the end of one week we were ready ,to 'l From that time on after 9 -o'clock each day,.we were free to do as we pleased, and the 10.30 boat sai . usually found us on our way to New York to shop and see the shows. ' ' A ' ' d l - reiinformed the . For three weeks we had a grand time seeing New York, and then quite sud en y we we Immigration Hospital of Ellis Island was to be taken over by the Army, and the nurses of Base .Hospital No. Z0 were to go on duty March 8, 1918. We were very much disappointed over the news, for we were fearful it might mean our permanent stay on Ellis Island. However, we all went to work getting the place cleaned and the wards equippedg The experience was well worth while, for we had our initiation into the H ' fi . k 1 hen army routine and were better prepared for our work UOver There. We were on duty just ve wee s w l ' d to Ellis Island. , Q V we were relieved by the nurses who were permanent y assigne O A 'l l the ofiicers and enlisted men of the Unit arrived at Camp Merrit, N. J., and -then we were n pri , hopeful we might be on our way. During the time they were at Camp Merrit, someone of the ofiicers came ' ' ' A ' k d set but finall to Ellis Island each. day to teach the nurses military drills. At first we were a very aw war , y were able to keep in step and march either two or four abreast. . 100