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

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Nursing With Operating Teams at the Front VVhen the United States started activities in this World War,t e e ' and the care of the wounded in the Field fact that something had to be done to speed up the operating upon, ' ' f h hos itals was not sufficient in numbers to attend to all the and Evacuation hospitals, as the personnel o t ese p I h M dical Department recognized the surgery in times of activity. Hence, from the Surgeon-General came orders to the medical organizations to form operating or sur- gical teams, as quickly and in as great numbers as possible. The order stated that a team should be composed of an operator an assistant, an anaesthetizer, two nurses and two corps men. It further indicated that it was 7 desirable to have the members of a team accustomed to working together. With this in view, Base Hospital No. Z0 chose two teams, later designated as No. ol and No. 62- Major Carnett, now Lieutenant-Colonel, headed one team with Captain Laws as assistant, Lieutenant Gold- smith as anaesthetizer, Miss Pratt and Miss Bergstresser as the nurses and Sergeant Bell and Private jones as the corps men. Major Eliason headed the other team with Major Keene as assistant, Captain Bates as anmsthetizer, Miss Williams and Miss Landis as the nurses, and Sergeant Dougherty and Private Farabaugh as the corps men. Later, because of sickness, No. 62 had Miss Gallagher as nurse and Private Yost ascorps many Still later Major Keene replaced Lieutenant-Colonel Carnett, who became Commanding officer of Base No. 20. Captain Laws, with Miss Grenville, headed another team. Major Eliason had also replaced Miss Williams with Miss Hume, due to sickness, and lWajor Keene with Captain Edwards. Major Keene had to beleft at the base which otherwise wouldihave been destitute of an experiencd surgeon. Very shortly after their formation 'both teams were called to the front to work. Y The members were told to travel light, that is with the minimum of baggage, which meant a bedding roll, a hand bag each, and ra package of instruments. A p ' Traveling was very uncomfortable, there were, of course, no sleeping accommodations, and only occa- sionally could seats be obtained. Nurses and men alike had to sit and sleep or lie upon the seats or floor, either in the compartments or in the corridor of the car. Very frequently the trains were stopped when near the zone of activities, and 'Hhostile aeroplanes alertw would be given. Of course, alllights were shaded or hooded and covered with a blue globe. The trains of course did notrun very near, and so ambulances and trucks carried you to your post farther up and nearer the fighting. This traveling had to be accomplished at night and without lights. n From this point on, the hardships of the nurses were increased in greater proportion than were those of the male members of the teams. 104 '

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-:Q-5.5 lx ggi, R. ,':.1,,f3 ..1 ' .- . t.1.-.'.:si,-:.,,t,,.- .. . Q Em'--.9i1': g3i-if.ng1--r , -' . . 'ary-QXNQI gif 1, .fy I 5.9.0 : 1, I ,gg!igc.3-g5.t'.f,g4,g.-. fx -. , . . , 1 . vxxifbtiisi-liar'-q.f 41,1-s - - . . , , . H V. ., 451:-jggikwxgisj-.frx,,A:'f,',.xt h R V . , I' - g -i Q iam, Y qi AAF-Klwg F- wif,--, ,. ,,.,,,,,,,i. .Ln..L4,.....W::.:...--4' QHSQ- Leffldff 1 We received our first patients june 8, 1918, and discharged the last ones january 20, 1919. Our Nurses' Home was one of the newer hotels in the town, with just enough rooms to accommodate the sixty-Hve nurses, two secretaries, and one dietitian. The rooms accommodated two and three persons very nicely. There were large built-in wardrobes with mirrored doors, hot and cold running water, and electric lights in each room. During the winter, electric stoves were in every room. The rooms were equipped with beds and bedding and a chair. Many of the girls had tables, desks and even chiffoniers made with cretonne curtains furnished by the Red Cross. Our rooms were very attractive and most comfortable. We had one fairly large living. room and two small ones. The Red Cross rented very pretty wicker furniture, a piano and victrola, and with our U. of P. pictures and pennants, our quarters were very homelike. The dining room was a very pretty one, our tables were long wooden ones, picnic style. Gur food was always very good, and we had plenty of everything at all times. 4 Before our patients came we had a number of dances. Our Hrst one will always linger in our memories, it was held in the dining room of the Du Pare Hotel, and everybody was interested and helped in some way. VVe gathered wild flowers, and there were beautiful ones growing everywhere, and with our large American flags, Base Hospital, U. of P. and RedfCross flags, red and blue bunting and pennants, the dance hall was beautifully decorated. The music was furnished by our orchestra of Unit men. After the patients arrived, when we were not busy, we had numerous dances and parties of various kinds, sometimes held in the Nurses' Home, but usually in the Du Pare Hotel. 0ne dance was held in the dining room of the Continental Hotel, rented for the evening by the Red Cross. Aviators from a nearby camp were always invited to our parties and seemed to enjoy th-em very much. They gave a number of dances for us at their camp and always were excellent hosts. Also when not busy, we had time for a number of picnics and walks among the hills of the beautiful country around Chatel-Guyon. There were a number of interest- ing old chateaux within walking distance and we enjoyed exploring them. . Cn October 19, 1918, three nurses were detached and sent to Hospital. Train No. S6 for duty. January 7, 1919, three nurses were sent to Camp Hospital No. 45, Aix-les-Bains, january 13th, fifteen nurses to Treves, Germany, for duty with the Third Army, and January 22d, twenty were sent for further duty to Beau Desseta Hospital Center near Bordeaux. j During our stayin France we were allowed seven days' leave every four months, and most of us were able to see some of the interesting cities and the southern part of France along the beautiful Mediterranean. j EDITH B. IRWIN. 103 j

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lN1any of the hospitals were in tents, some in old chateaux and others in abandoned French hospitals made up of barrack fAdrianj buildings. As a rule, the nurses were the last persons thought of when organ- ization matters were on hand, but the first ones thought of when surgical work was pending. A camp or ad- vanced hospital is no Ht place for females, the hardships, deprivations, dangers and embarrassments are too manifold. The lavatory facilities were nil, merely a flimsy blanket screen protection out of door. There were no bath facilities at all. The men would rig up a hose or an inadequate talcum box top spray in some shed and so get a canary-bird bath. The nurse had to take her bath in her tent with a towel and basin and very often cold water. They had to do their own laundry in buckets and with a limited supply of water at that, sometimes. To dry the washed articles, they hung them on tent ropes, wire fences, posts or trees in plain view of thousands of people's eyes. Very often our nurses stood in line at mess and received their meals in mess kits borrowed from an ofiicer, as they were not furnished eating utensils by the government. Occasionally it happened that there was no table for the mess, and nurses, officers and men had to stand or sit on anything available while they ate. This was especially disagreeable when it was raining hard, as it often was, for orders precluded the taking of food into your tent. Rubber boots and heavy shoes were very frequently the only foot gear to be thought of, because of the rain and mud. Then, too, sometimes the tents were not water-tight and you awoke to find your cot and blankets soaked. . A team operated in shifts, twelve hours on and twelve hours off, or eight on and eight off, and ran three operating tables. One nurse would be suture nurse, and the other would be floor nurse to wait on the Hrst one. She would receive her instruments through a small window or door from a central sterilizing room if in an old French Evacuation hospital. If the work was in a tent, the sterilizing was done over an alcohol lamp. Gloves, dressings, and supplies were very dear and had to be used very sparingly. Our two teams took their own gloves which they had dry sterilized. ' ' The work was hard, and the nurses had more than their share of the load, for in addition to running three tables which were kept filled with patients all the time, the suture nurse often acted as first assistant on the second case while the ofiicer assistant was Hnishing the first case. Later on, the teams were cut down to one nurse and she got her supplies and instruments direct from our central sterilizing nurse. After we were through operating, the nurse and her corps men had to clean up the rooms, which were quite bloody after thirty and forty cases had been done, dry and wipe the instruments and fix up the gloves. 105