Presbyterian St Lukes Hospital School of Nursing - Alpha Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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to be paid back at the convenience of the borrower. The Fund is kept up to a certain amount by Mrs. Borden, and is of the greatest assist- ance in emergencies arising in Social Service work. The Woman ' s Board has also established an Occupational Therapy Department, with a trained teacher in charge. Junior nurses are given training in this department as oppor- tunity permits. This work is of great importance and helps very materially in the cure of many cases where the period of convalescence can be shortened by interest in work of some description. Knitting, car- pentry, basket-weaving, leather work, wool work, artificial flowers, rug-weaving and many other forms of handicraft are taught to the con- valescing patients. Nurses find the training obtained in this department of great value in private nursing. The Woman ' s Board employs a trained kindergartner for half of each day to conduct a Kindergarten in the ward, which is a great help to the nurses in care of the children. The Delicacies Committee of the Woman ' s Board solicits gifts of preserves, jellies, fruits and other delicacies for distribution to the patients in the wards. At Thanks- giving and Christmas appropriate dinners for everyone in the Hospital are provided by this Committee, and during the Summer gifts of fruit and vegetables are distributed among the nurses and patients. The Emergency Committee of the Woman ' s Board endeavors to meet the needs of the Hospital in the matter of unusual and expensive apparatus which can not always be purchased with the ordinary funds of the Institution. This applies especially to X-Ray and Laboratory apparatus. The Library Committee subscribes for magazines and periodicals which are of interest to the nurses. Stand- ard and modern novels are also provided for the nurses ' sitting-room and for the use of the patients. The Nurses ' Committee of the Hospital arranges for occasional dances for the nurses, and for other entertainments from time to time. This Committee also endeavors to keep the nurses ' rooms in as cheerful a condition as possible, and secures money in order to defray expenses of the nurses ' graduation by arrang- ing for a series of lectures to be given each year in Lent. At the time each class graduates the Committee ar- ranges for the services in church and for the reception to the nurses and their friends which follows. This Committee also gave an entire equip- ment of new china and silver for the nurses ' dining-room, and has just had the nurses ' sitting-room, and rooms for the use of nurses who are ill, redecorated and refurnished. The Committee on Free Beds contributes liberally to the support of free beds and in this way enables the Hospital to care for more tree patients than otherwise would be possible. [27]

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The Woman ' s Board THE Woman ' s Board of St. Luke ' s Hospital was organized to supplement the work of the officers and nurses in the Hospital. In order that the best results pos- sible might be obtained various committees were formed to carry out this project. A Linen Committee solicits linen of all kinds for use in the Hospital and Training School, and also ar- ranges with the churches in the di- ocese to have sewing done by the various guilds in connection with the churches. In this way it is possible to have many thousands of articles made each year. The Social Service Committee, since its formation in 1915, has extended its activities to include many new departments besides the regular office work. This is main- tained by trained Social Service workers and a stenographer. There are also two pupil nurses on duty who are given training in this depart- ment. This work enables the nurse to specialize in Social Service work, if she so desires, after the conclusion of her training as a nurse. In connection with the Social Service Department free clinics are maintained for the treatment of former or prospective hospital pa- tients; they are comprised of the medical, prenatal, gynecological and orthopedic patients as well as smaller clinics for throat, nose, skin, etc. The Social Service workers, nurses-in-training, and volunteer workers, secured by the Woman ' s Board, help with the dressings and records of these patients and do follow-up work. In connection with this follow-up work the Woman ' s Board has organized a Motor Corps to assist the nurses in visiting out- side patients. The women who drive the cars report on certain days of the week for orders which include return- ing patients to their homes, taking invalids on outings, and bringing patients to the clinics, or taking the nurses to visit the patients. In connection with the Social Service Department there is a Cloth- ing Committee. This Committee endeavors to keep the department supplied with clothes of every kind for distribution to needy patients. The Elizabeth Wallace Waller Loan Fund has been established by Mrs. John Borden in memory of her mother. This money is available for loans to deserving patients in order to assist them in purchasing artificial limbs or appliances, and in helping them financially in any way that might relieve their anxiety and expedite their recovery. This money is loaned at the discretion of the Director of the Department and is [26]

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CHARLES A. WORDELL Superintendent [28]