James Walker Memorial Hospital School of Nursing - Epitome Yearbook (Wilmington, NC)

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MRS. LAURA MURRAY It is with a great deal of admiration and respect that the annual staff of the 1965 EPITOME dedicates our annual to our favorite housemother- - MRS. LAURA MURRAY. One of our earliest memories of our new life at James Walker is the helpfulness, warmth, and friendliness of ’’Murray. Throughout our three years, she has constantly been a source of companionship, advice, and mothering. This token of our appreciation is small, but it encompasses the hearts of eighteen girls who wish to say, Mrs. Murray, we love you, and thanks. 3

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I solemnly pledge myself before God, and in the presence of this assembly, To pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standards of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters com¬ mitted to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my profession. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care. 2

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HISTORY OF IjOalker Wl moricil dud i cUooL cl Before James Walker Memorial Hospital was organized in 1901, there were two other hospitals in this community. They were the W. W. Lane Hospital, es¬ tablished in 1875, and City Memorial Hospital, founded in 1881. This building was built and equipped by Mr. James Walker, a native of Scotland. He presented it to the city of Wilmington and New Hanover County with the following provisions: That the management would forever remain free from political control; that the city and county would appropriate sufficient sums of money for the care of indigent sick and injured of said city and county. Mr. Walker was a philanthropist and a genuine benefactor, whose life ' s work may be summed upas, After a frugal and industrious life, he left to the afflicted and suffering a lasting memorial of his beneficence in yonder hospital which bears his honored name — The inscription found on his monument in Oakdale Cemetery. The original building, completely furnished for fifty patients, still stands as a part of the present building. A Board of Managers was appointed, three members by Mr. Walker, three memb ers from the county, and three members from the city. Today new members are appointed by the Board of Managers. The first Superinten¬ dent was Dr. Thomas R. Little. As the years have passed additions to this building have been made. A ward consisting of thirty-five beds, was built for the colored patients. This wing origin- allyincluded the dispensary and until 1921 the second floor was the Nurses ' Quarters. This addition was the donation of Mr. W. H. Sprunt, who saw the need for such a division for the colored people of Wilmington and New Hanover County. In 1915, Mr. Samuel Bear gave as a donation the Contagious Ward, named the Bear Building. This building was demolished about 1942 or 1943. The Contagion Unit was moved to what was known as East Wing I and later moved to the Marion Sprunt Annex. Part of the present Nurses ' Home is located on the original site of the Bear Building. The third addition made to James Walker Memorial Hospital was in 1917, the Marion Sprunt Annex, a maternity and Children ' s Ward of thirty-three beds. Money for this addition was furnished by Dr. James Sprunt in memoriam to his daughter, Marion, whose name it bears. A new wing was added to the other end of the original building in 1939, which increased the capacity of the hospital to one hundred and eighty-five beds. In 1943, the Federal Government aided James Walker Memorial Hospital in the construction of additional buildings. There was a Ward D holding approximately thirty beds which was made into our now present linen room. The administrative offices were moved to this new building from the original building in the early part of 1944. In this new building one hundred and twenty patients may be cared for 4