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

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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

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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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making James Walker Memorial Hospital a three hundred bed hospital, exclusive of bassinettes. Other changes taking place in 1944 included the moving of the Operating Room from the attic of the original building to its present location on the third floor, south wing. The Maternity Division was moved from what is now our Lower Hall B and Ward B, to the second floor and its present location on the south wing. Ward B or Children’s Ward, was moved from the third floor to its new location. In its old location is the Medical Library, Medical Records, and Dr. L. B. Mason ' s office. In the basement of the building was a separate dispensary for the treatment of white and Negro patients, a modern wall-equipped laboratory, physical therapy, cancer clinic, morgue with equipment for the performance of autopsies. All of these vari¬ ous departments remain in the basement except for the cancer clinic along with the medical clinic, surgical, pediatric and obstetric clinics. These departments are now located in the basement of the Nurses ' Home where the old Education Depart¬ ment was located. In the last part of 1963 the Education Department was completely redecorated with larger and more modern classrooms. It was moved to the third floor of the Nurses ' Home. When this was done, work began on the old classrooms to convert them into a spacious and well-equipped Out Patient Department. This was accomplished in the last part of 1964. A little before this in 1963, the contagion ward on the old East Wing I was rebuilt with wall suctions, blood pressure apparatus on the walls, and other modern facilities. This area was designed for acutely ill pa¬ tients and was named the Intensive Care Unit, or I.C.U. In July of this same year preparations were made for an I.V. Cart. This consist of a cart loaded with glucose, intravenous sets, and apparatus for the giving of blood. Mrs. Margaret Martinis the nurse who makes at least four trips to the various floors during the day. In 1963 the Prep Team was set up for preparing the patients for surgery -- the full value of this team is seen on the 3-11 shift. Our newest change in the hospital came in May of 1965 when the Colored Ward was changed to the William Sprunt Ward. Seeing the changes that have taken place in the hospital let ' s turn our thoughts back in time a bit and see the development of the Nurses ' Home. In 1921 it was lo¬ cated over the Colored Ward where it became too crowded and the need for a sepa¬ rate Nurses ' Home was realized. This time the city of Wilmington desired to erect a permanent memorial to Mr. A. V. McClure of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. The Nursing School was close to the heart of Dr. McClure, so the city of Wilmington donated $100, 000 as a Memorial to be used to build a modern Nurses ' Home to accom¬ modate fifty nurses. In 1926, the number of nurses had so increased that the home had to be enlarged. In 1937, the capacity of the home was increased and again in 1943. On February 5, 1901, a Charter was granted to James Walker Memorial Hos¬ pital to organize and maintain a school of nursing. The first Superintendent was Miss Lillie Heller (Mrs. Thomas R. Little). The first class was composed of two stu¬ dents, Miss Florence Hayes (Mrs. Morriss Caldwell) and Miss Alberta Robinson. Mrs. Caldwell has the distinction of being the first nurse to obtain a certificate of registration issued to a graduate nurse trained in a North Carolina School. She was registered in New Hanover County, July 1, 1903. The second class was made up of three stu dents and each year the number has increased. On September 11, 1950, there were one hundred and three students in the student body. 5