Categories: N-S

Ritchie, Diana (1925-2007)

Diana obtained her RN from St. Paul’s Hospital in 1950 and her BSN from McGill in 1964.  She held general duty positions at various hospitals in BC, California and Hawaii, was an instructor at. Paul’s School of Nursing from 1956-1964, and held administrative positions at St. Paul’s from 1964-1972.   She ended her distinguished career as the Director of Nursing and Patient Care at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Vancouver, winning many awards.  She also was an active volunteer as a Serving Sister with St. John’s Ambulance.

Contents of Biographical File

1.   Biographical Information Profile
2.   Biographical release form
3.   Note to Helen Niskala from “Myrtle” on Ritchie’s death.
4.   Obituary
5.   Program for requiem mass
6.   Four photographs of Ritchie
7.   Nine photographs of her certificates and medals.

Olive Wilson entered the nursing program at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, graduating in 1937.  In 1941 she joined the Royal Canadian Naval Medical Service, and was one of three nurses to staff the hospital at HMCS Naden in Esquimalt.  In December 1944 she was posted overseas to take charge of the Canadian naval hospital Niobe at Greenock, Scotland.

She was assistant matron at the DVA Hospital in Victoria from 1947 to 1950, then from 1950 until her retirement in 1974 she was on the staff at RJH, first as a teacher, then in the Nursing Service Department.  In 1953, during an outbreak in polio, she assisted the Victoria Medical Society in a program to immunize the general public.  She received a Canada Centennial Medal in 1967.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical information from The Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing 1891-1982 by A. Pearson
2. Four photographs with accompanying information, including e-mail from Bud Squair.

Ross (nee King), Betty (1943-   )

Betty Ross received her BSN from the University of Victoria in 1991 and her MSN from the University of British Columbia in 1998.  She was a clinical nurse with management and nurse educator experience and clinical expertise in the care of patients in neuroscience, respiratory science, critical care, and emergency settings.  She received an RNABC Award of Excellence in Nursing Practice in 2003 and an Excellence in Thoracic Surgery Nursing Award in 2004.

During the late 1970s she was involved in dialogues at Vancouver General Hospital which focused on giving nurses a stronger voice in the management of their profession, which brought them into conflict with senior management and the board of trustees.  Lack of sufficient skilled nurses to give high quality patient care became the subject of an independent inquiry which resulted in the nurses getting most of what they wished.  The Board of Trustees was dismissed, and sixty additional nurses and other key personnel were hired.  Ross saw this as “A good example of what a group of dedicated nurses can do when their profession is being devalued and roles not respected”.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical (Information Profile
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Report on VGH by Peter Bazowski, Public Administrator, October 16, 1978.
4. Message from L.V. Truitt, President of VGH, to VGH employees, April 26, 1978.
5. Action Plan, nd.
6. RNABC Fact Sheet, VGH, September 12. 1977-May 26, 1978.
7. Letter to Mrs. B. Lantz from Dr. F.P. Patterson, Head, Dept. of Surgery, October 13, 1977.
8. VGH. Strawman, Clinical Nursing Structure, September 29, 1976.
9. What’s Wrong at VGH, nd.
10. Letters from the Committee of Concerned Nurses to Mrs. D. Babcock and L. Babcock, April 19, 1978.  Includes list of nurses.
11. Letter to Betty King from Mrs. D. Babcock, May 1, 1978.
12. Memo to Dr. G.B. Thompson from Betty King, June 28, 1978.
13. Letter to Dr. F.P. Patterson from G.B. Thompson, August 3, 1978.
14. Letter to Dr. F.P. Patterson from Betty King, August 2, 1978.
15. Letter to Betty King from Dr. F.P. Patterson, August 4, 1978.
16. Letter to Mrs. C.Y. Lim from Dr. F.P. Patterson, July 17, 1978.
17. Hand written notes from meetings, April-May 1978.
18. “Nurses Seek Inquiry into VGH Situation”, May 12, 1978.
19. “A Summary of Strivings to Control Conditions of Nursing Practice”, nd.
20. Letter to Mr. Milton Wong, Chairman of Board of VGH, from the Committee of Concerned Nurses, May 5, 1978.
21. Letter to CKVU from Betty King, June 12, 1978.
22. Letter from the Committee of Concerned Nurses to VGH Nursing Staff and Colleagues, May 5, 1978.
23. List of Nurses
24. “VGH Finally Boils Over”, RNABC News, August-September 1978, pp. 6-7.
25. “Minister Acts on VGH Problems”, RNABC News, November 1978, pp. 3-5.
26. “Nurses Fight to Improve Care at BC’s Major Referral Hospital”, RNABC News, June-July 1978, pp. 3-7.
27. Newspaper clippings:
    1. “Three More Senior Nurses Resign”, Vancouver Sun, August 9, 1978
    2. “Another Nurse Resigns”, nd
    3. “Another VGH Nurse Resigns Predicting More Likely Soon”, nd
    4. “Neurosurgery Head Nurse Quits VGH Post”, Vancouver Sun, July 28, 1978.
    5. “Problems at VGH Blamed on Summer Staff Shortage”, Vancouver Sun, July 27, 1978.
    6. Andrea Maitland, “Air of Calm Slowly Returns to Strife-torn VGH”, Vancouver Sun, nd
    7. “Hospital ‘Routinely’ Closes 158 Beds”
    8. “Shortages Delay Surgery, Says Top Nurse Who Quit”, Vancouver Sun, July 26, 1978.
    9. “Resignations Pile Up at ‘Disastrous’ VGH, Vancouver Sun, August 9, 1978, A1-A2.
    10. “’Horse Sense’ Has Tamed VGH”, Vancouver Sun, August 26, 1978, pp. A1- A2.
28. “VGH Nurses Speak Out”, Kinesis, July-August 1978, p. 4.
29. Two photographs

Ross, Florence Mary (1919-1995)

Florence Mary graduated from the VGH School of Nursing and UBC, and received her Masters’ in Public Health from the University of Michigan.  She worked for public health in Burnaby and Vancouver for over thirty years, developing support services for women, seniors, and recently released psychiatric patients.  She lobbied governments for wheelchair accessible sidewalks and public building access.

She was a devoted member of the Anglican church, raising money by thrift sales which was largely devoted to social development.  She was a major contributor to her church and its Outreach and mission work, Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, and a tireless worker and fundraiser for OXFAM

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Notes by the Reverend Thomas Anthony
2. Program for Memorial Service

• See Oral History files, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8

Rossiter emigrated from England to Canada in 1925, where she studied nursing at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria.  After working as night supervisor at the RJH from 1932, she enlisted in 1941 in the RCAMC and was principal matron of Pacific Command in army hospitals on the west coast of BC.  In 1944 she was appointed principal matron of nos. 12 and 24 Canadian General Hospitals in England and Belgium, becoming Major Rossiter, and was awarded the Royal Red Cross, First Class.

After the war, she became Nursing Consultant for the Department of Veteran Affairs, and matron and later Director of Nursing at Shaughnessy Hospital from 1948.  She was active and influential in all nursing affairs, becoming President of the RNABC from 1957-1961 and president of the CNA from 1962 to 1964.  After her retirement from Shaughnessy in 1968, she became active in the Red Cross.  On July 26, 1979 she received the Red Cross Florence Nightingale medal in honour of her devotion to the sick and wounded in difficult and perilous situations, the 14th Canadian to receive the award since its creation in 1912.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biography
2. Department of Veterans Affairs Corner, The Canadian Nurse (1946), 42 (5), 428.
3. Recently appointed DVA Matrons, The Canadian Nurse (1946), 42 (4), 339.
4. “Nursing Profiles”, The Canadian Nurse (1948), 44 (1), 931.
5. “BC Nurse Honored”, RNABC News, July-August 1979, p. 17.
6. “Address of the President”, News Bulletin, July 1958, pp. 2-5.
7. “Address of the President”, News Bulletin, July 1960, pp. 4-6.
8. Chuck Bayley, “One of Us: Edna Rossiter Red Cross Florence Nightingale Winner”, Pioneer News, p. 5.
9. Miscellaneous notes and correspondence
10. “No Complaints from Wounded Says Former Jubilee Matron”, nd.
11. Edna Rossiter 1932
12. Notes on staff retirement dates
13. Text and handwritten notes for speech at the last graduation of the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing, September 5, 1982.
14. Funeral program
15. Commemorative brochure
16. Notes from Alan Rossiter and obituary
17. Photograph. From Ruth McIlraith

Rothwell, Emily Sue (1943-2013)

Sue received her BSc from Cornell University and her MSN from the University of California, where she also studied for her Phd.  She was recruited by Dr. Muriel Uprichard to teach in the School of Nursing at UBC from 1975-1985, and while here also worked as Assistant Deputy Director for Nursing and Patient Care Services at the Cancer Control Agency of BC.  She continued to work in various senior positions for the Ministry of Health, finally as the Director of Performance Monitoring and Measurement and Acting Director of the Aboriginal Health Policy Branch.

She was the author or co-author of twelve articles or abstracts published in professional journals, association newsletters, and textbooks.  She states that being President of RNABC 1977-79 and 1986-1988 was a highlight of her career.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Biographical Release form
3. Curriculum Vitae
4. Letter from Rothwell to Janet Gormick, May 20, 1997.
5. Biographical information with e-mails on the occasion of her death.
6. Rothwell, Sue (nd). Cancer: Advances in prevention, screening and diagnosis. 10-14.
7. Obituary. The Times Colonist, September – Oct 5, 2013.
8. Photograph
9. Biographical information with e-mails on the occasion of her death.
10. “Cancer:  Advances in Prevention, Screening and Diagnosis,” pp. 10-14, nd.
11. Obituary, The Times Colonist, September-October 5, 2013

Rumen, Nina (1927-

• See Nina Rumen Fonds 12
• See Memorial Nursing Portrait Collection Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 9, File 7
• See Pages of History Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 9, File 2

Nina Rumen was born in what was then Poland, and has since become Belarus. In 1930, she brought her mother to Canada to join her father, who had immigrated earlier to the Fernie/ Cranbrook region of British Columbia.

She graduated from St. Paul’s Hospital School of Nursing in Vancouver in 1949 and joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC) in 1951. Her military career took her to Churchill, Manitoba (1952-54) when Canada’s north was opening up. From here she went to Isherholm, Germany with the British Army of the Rhine and then to Lahr, Germany. She served with NATO from 1970-72.

Nina completed her Bachelor of Nursing from the University of Toronto. Following retirement from the services, she moved to Vancouver, where she worked on short-term contracts with various agencies. She is a great supporter of the BC History of Nursing Society and is an Honouary Life Member.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical information
2. Article from BC History of Nursing Group newsletter (2003)
3. “Nina Rumen—Our New Honorary Member”
4. Photograph
5. Notes on her life and other subjects
6. Thank you note and card to Sheila Zerr on occasion of her 80^th birthday.
7. “Honouring Nina Rumen”, BC History of Nursing Society News, December 2009.
8. Photograph

Runka (nee Zitko), Celia (1938-

• See also oral history files fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8, AU0H32, CDOH32

Celia received a pediatric award on receiving her RN from the Royal Columbian School of Nursing in 1960.  She worked primarily as a home care nurse while raising her two young children.  She feels nursing has become more technical, with less emphasis on patient care.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. “Memorable Experiences”
3. Photograph

Russell (nee Large), Winnifred Emily (1905-2001)

Winnifred attended Vernon Jubilee Hospital.  She worked at various BC hospitals, including Bulkley Valley Hospital in Smithers, Grace Memorial Hospital in Vancouver and Prince Rupert Hospital.  Involvement in the Prince George Chapter of RNABC and the Red Cross Corps was “very important” to her.  The transcript of her interview describes early life and many of the challenges of nursing in early days in the interior of BC.  She left nursing after her marriage but returned to work as a nurse from 1940 to 1957.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Transcript of interviews with Russell, November 1988.
3. Photograph

Saunders, Helen (1917-2014)

Helen graduated from the VGH School of Nursing, in 1939  and from UBC School of Nursing in 1940,  specializing in Public Health.  She took a Post Graduate Obstetrics course in Chicago which brought her into intimate contact with poverty in the ghetto.  She joined the army as a nursing sister in World War II where she served on the home front.  A postgraduate course in OR nursing and in teaching and supervision led to an 11-year appointment as a clinical nursing instructor  VGH School of Nursing.

In 1961 she took her Masters’ degree in Nursing Education at the University of Washington, and moved to Victoria BC to become In- Service Education Supervisor at Royal Jubilee Hospital.  She retired in 1975 to care for her elderly parents. In retirement, she was active in improving health care and was a contributor to the completion of a new patient tower at Royal Jubilee Hospital

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biography from “1940’s Amazing Alumni Stories” on Internet.
2. E-mail correspondence
3. Biography