Ethel Johns historic plaque unveiled

Ethel Johns, first Director of the UBC School of Nursing, has been honored by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Parks Canada, as a “Person of National Historic Significance”.  Johns is one of a very few nurses that have been so honoured.

Photo Credit: BCHNS Lenore Radom

A recognition ceremony on February 10, 2015 at Cecil Green Park at UBC was attended by 40 guests. For a full report on the event please visit http://news.ubc.ca/2015/02/10/ubcs-first-nursing-school-director-celebrated-as-person-of-national-historic-significance/

The bronze plaque will likely be mounted in the patient park near the Koerner Acute Care Hospital Pavilion, which now houses the UBC School of Nursing.

Many thanks to BCHNS members Glennis Zilm and Nan Martin who have worked tirelessly and diligently with Parks Canada for many years to see this recognition happen.

To view more photos click on link below

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ubcschoolofnursing/sets/72157648558819033/

Verna Huffman Splane Passes Away

It is with deep sadness that we share news of the passing of Verna Huffman-Splane, one of Canada’s most noted nursing leaders and an honorary life member of  BCHNS. Verna died early Saturday, January 10, just weeks after her 100th birthday.

Photo Credit: BCHNS

Verna was an icon of nursing and a mentor to hundreds of nurses all over the world. After a career in public health, including short stints with the World Health Organization, she joined Health and Welfare Canada, becoming Canada’s first federal principal nursing officer in 1968 until 1981; she was the first nurse to be a key advisor to the deputy minister of health. During this time, she married Dr. Richard Splane, a social worker by profession who had served with National Health and Welfare in Ottawa from the 1950s to the early 1970s, becoming widely known as a chief architect of public social policies, such as the Canadian Social Assistance Plan. Their strong interests in international health and social welfare led to work with a number of non-governmental agencies, including UNICEF and the International Red Cross.

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HEALTH HISTORY LECTURE SERIES

Sponsored by the Consortium for Nursing History Inquiry

  • Place: UBC School of Nursing T182
  • Time: 12:00-1:00 PM
  • January 29th 2015 Dr. Sally Mennill, Douglas College faculty, will present a talk entitled “Reducing Risk: Caesarean Section at Vancouver’s St. Paul’s Hospital, 1950-1970”
  • March 11th 2015 Dr. Lesley McBain, the Consortium’s 2015 Visiting Associate Professor from First Nations University of Canada, will present a talk entitled “Place and Nursing in Remote Northern Communities”.

For more information on both these presentations visit http://blogs.ubc.ca/nursinghistory

Nov.16,2014 “Nursing on the Battlefield” presentation by Glennis Zilm

I was very pleased to represent the Canadian Association for Nursing History and to attend the presentation of Glennis Zilm on Sunday, November 16th at the Royal BC Museum Neucomb Auditorium.

Glennis’s presentation: Nursing on the Battlefields: Canada’s Military Nurses: 1885-1945 struck a timely cord to the standing room only crowd. Following the presentation Glennis fielded a half hour discussion that included some very poignent stories about relatives and friends who had been nurses in the war and a number of new connections were made and addresses and information exchanged. Glennis’s expertise in this area of historical inquiry skillfully guided the discussion which ended only because she had to get the ferry! What a pleasure!

Margaret Scaia”