La Junta Mennonite School of Nursing - Nightingale Yearbook (La Junta, CO)

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ALLEN H. ERB, SUPERINTENDENT OF HOSPITAL AND SANITARIUM BRIEF HISTORY The history of institutions is the combinezl history of the individuals related to them. Therefore at correct history of :in institution is the detailed story of the lives of those who have built it. Since Sister Lydia M. Heutxvole. li. N.. our Superintendent of Nurses. has closed her labor here and go11e to her reward, it is fitting that we give tribute to her by a brief history of her work for the Hospital and School of Nursing. Five years after the dedication of the Mennonite Silllifilfilllll. Sister Heatwole entered the hospital as ai student nurse. T1ll'i'IJ1ll'Sl1ilf that time required two years' residence at the Mennonite Sanitariuln und eighteen months' atflintion at IJt llVl'l' General Hospital. Practical training was more prominent then than theoretical instruction. During this training she en- To make cm art of lfifa-that is the finest of all arts.

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ALMA MATER Alma Mater-ours to love, To honor and obey. You'll stand before us through tl1e years For you have led the way. Behind us lay the happy days We spent within thy walls, But soon life takes us quickly on And we must leave thy halls. The three years spent were 11ot ill vaing With confidence we aim To ever give and lift and love The weak, the blind, the lame. The love of life, the crown of strength, You've taught it all, And now you send us into the world To answer the mighty call. Before us lies the unknown path Each one must tread alone, To conquer destiny's designg The goal-must be our own. With heavy heart and tear-dimmed eye Uur feet recede from youg We're .taking with us through the years Sweet memories, joys, of you. Farewell, farewellg ah! can it be We bid farewell to thee? 'Tis even so. but from our hearts We pledge true loyalty. Success in life is not so much a matter of talent and opportunity as of C07Zf0l37'LIfl'Cllf't0'l'L and perseverance.

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deared herself to her patients by her skillful bedside nursing and won the confidence of others by her alert mental conception of the nurse's work. She. at this time. also showed her deep spiritual insight which was to be her guiding light in all her future work. After completing her training and taking a post-graduate course in tuberculosis nursing at Agnes Memorial Hospital. Denver, Colorado. sl1e was appointed Superintendent of Nurses of the Mennonite SZll1ll'2ll'llllll i11 the year 1917. At tl1is time there were less than twenty patients and about four student nurses. From this humble beginning she marched steadily forward un- til death. An alunmae of sixty-eight. a supervising and teaching staff of ten. a student body of thirty-six. and a 11ew standard Class A hospital are the visible results of the labors of which she had a leading part. The many expressions of appreciation from the Church, pa- tients. doctors and nurses are evidence of the very large place she filled in this work. The following telegram is freely reproduced as a tribute to her labors: April 22. 1932. Allen Erb. Superintendent of the Mennonite Hospital. La Junta. Colo. Sincere sympathy to Mennonite Hospital School of Nursing inhits loss of Lydia Heatwole. Folorado has lost airfable administrator and an excellent nurse. Our thoughts are with you i11 this time of sadness. Colorado State Board of Nurse Examiners. Sister Heatwole was a pioneer. She blazed the trail for others to follow. One who makes new paths has a 1110l'6 difficult task than one who has o11ly to follow the trail already clearly defined. The distinct outline of the history of the Mennonite Hospital follows the clear marks of the path of this pioneer trail. Uur hospital's history is marked first by a deep l'hristian piety. The original founders of the Sanitarium ill the years around 1906 were moved by a Christ-like missionary impulse. The sick were folk who had a soul and needed the Spirit of the Master in their ministry. To carly this ministry forward the workers were dependent on God. They had neither money or well trained workers. They l1ad to trust and obey God to secure results. Trust in God led to definite believing prayer. Money. workers, and patients were a con- stant subject of prayer. A common testimony of workers was that they often found Sister Heatwole alone praying. This practice of prayer has been established as a tradition of the institution. Money. workers. and the new hospital have been gotten through prayer. God has been taken into counsel and He has honored this trust. Full obedience to God follows prayer. Obedience in the hospital has meant a negative attitude toward the world and a positive attitude toward the Church. The Prince of the Power of the Air and the Head of the Church are each leading followers with different aims. objectives. and manner of life. Loyalty to Christ leads to true fellowship with and sub- mission to one another. With these principles there has developed i11 the hospital standards which have testified of a life separate unto God. All who associated with Sister Heatwole know the positive part she filled in the establish- ment of these standards. These include standards of private devotion, public worship, sacri- fice. consideration for others. personal work, pleasure, speech. and dress. A third phase of piety is an aggressive missionary zeal. This zeal has been a propelling force carrying the work of the hospital forward. This required faith. labor, and sacrifice. These are illustrated in the part Sister Heatwole fulfilled in the building of the new hospital. Her conviction with others had been growing that we should expand to include general medi- cal and surgical work. With this in view. an appeal was made to the General Mission Board to build a new hospital. XVhen action was deferred by the board. her vision, faith and enthusi- asm inspired the steps which led to the leasing of the old City Hospital. She with three pupil nurses. entered tl1e City Hospital January 1, 1920. This one building was the Nurses' Home and the hospital. Sister Heatwole was matron, instructress. operating room supervisor. Superintendent of Nurses. She cleaned. scrubbed. nursed. supervised. in- structed. taught. prayed. and worshipped. One student's testimony is representative of others. She said. When we were so crowded and distressed we hardly knew what to do, we knew Sister Heatwole was praying. lt was 11ot uncommon to find her somewhere in prayer. 1 tell you that put a spirit in the place that helped. When the house became crowded she was the first to give up her bed for a patient. The missionary zeal here expressed is the vital. dyna- mic impulse of the hospital. This is a unique phase of its history. Faith, works, sacrifice, love, loyalty: these are the warp and the woof of the fabric out of which the institution is l'Vc Heed models more time critics.