US Army School of Nursing - Taps Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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Pi.€ n. isitorp of (Occupational i tvapy IXCE the vear of 17 ' ' 1 there has lieeii mention of occupational therajiy hv various doctors, thou{,4i the ])ractice of supplementing medical treat- ment with curative and diversional occupations was not known hv that name until December 28, 1914, when Edward Barton, at a conference of hos- pital workers called by the Massachusetts State Board of Insanity at Boston, used that term. From a slow, strugjjling existence, occupational therapy was suddenly swept into the current of necessity which the war had created and. to meet the emergency, schools of occupational thera])y were estaljlished where short courses of intensive training were given to ycmng women, most of whom had alreadv had experience in teaching, design, craft work, library work, com- mercial and academic work, etc. The first reconstruction aides in occupational therai)y were apV)ointed by the War Department early in 1918. Three enthusiastic, determined women, Mrs. Helen T. Smith and the Misses Julia and Alice Brice. began the work at Walter Reed General Hosi)ital in Wards A and B. now 18 and 19. They faced many obstacles and discour- agements. Thev made the diet kitchen of Ward 18 their headquarters, cloak room, office, and supply room. They soon discovered that the refrigerator on the porch made an excellent storeroom for their reed and raffia, until one day it was discovered by the inspector. This was the first of a long .series of adjustments to unfamiliar regulations, but they cheerfully continued to do their work and to learn the ways of the Army. At the end of the first month there were thirty ])atients working. They made ba.skets with odds and ends of reed and bead chains from bits of bead trimmings sent in by ' ashington ladies. Each day at 12 o ' clock the nurses came for instruction in basketry and mop-making, at that time considered a suitable and worth-while occupation. April 23. 1918. a Director of Occupaticjnal Therapy was a])])ointed. ' ith this added dignity, the department was moved into the old Lay Mansion, a two-storv. weather-stained building which stood on the ground back of the nurses ' mess hall where the two tennis courts now are. The Supervi.sor ' s office, the su] i)lies for the craft work, the weaving shop, and the academic and commercial dejiartments occupied the rooms upstairs, while the ortho- pedic shoji and other offices occupied the lower floor. The woodworking, drafting, and jewelrv were crowded into tem])orary quarters in the power house. During September and October of 1918. the number of aides rapidly in- creased. Talented women left important ixisitions and professions to lend their services to occupational thera])y. In November. 1918. the de])artment was moved to the new building in 1923 [27 J

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!• aen the ninety section which had just been comjileted, and where the department now continnes its work. That was an important epoch in the histor} ' of occupational therapy at Waher Reed General Hospital. At last there was an opportunit ' to develoj) new ideas and to fornnilate better plans to broaden the scope of the work. Many aides were apjjointed and sent to this hospital for a short course of work prei)aratory to ajipointment for overseas service, as well as for work in the many Army hosj)itals then bein established in this country. With this in mind, a series f)f lectures and demonstrations were arranged and given. There were lectures on jisychologfy, 7 rmy discipline, and customs oi the service, and the importance of coo])eration with doctors and nurses. There were denifjiistrations of yari(nis crafts that could he done with very little equipment or extra planning ; there were others analyzing the various move- ments of joints and muscles as they were brought into play in using different tools, devices, and machinery. This was the outgrowth of tests made in metrotherapy, a subject dealing with the measurement of im])rovement in the range of movement in joints and strength of muscle as applied to ortho- pedic cases, and many j)atients of this type were assigned to definite shop work in order to develop and strengthen the injured members. Aides were continually coming and going: some were sent overseas; others were sent to the Army hospitals in this country. With the signing of the armistice more definite plans were made and conditions became more settled in the spring of 1919. • Occupational Therapy, Walter Reed General Hospital 1923 L2!l J