Categories: N-S

Saunders, Ruth (1923-2002)

• See Ruth Saunders Fonds 21

Ruth Saunders was born in Camrose, Alberta, and grew up in different regions of British Columbia.  During the war she volunteered with the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, serving with Kitchener, Ontario’s CWAC Military Band No. 3.

After the war she attended the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing in Victoria, graduating in early 1950.  She worked for about a year at the United Church of Canada Home Mission Hospital in Cold Lake, Alberta, then joined the Church’s Missionary Deaconess School and was assigned to the United Church of Canada’s Home Mission Hospital in Manning, Alberta.  After taking a short course in the Korean language at Yale University, she travelled to Korea as a nurse missionary for the United Church, working as a public health nurse in the hill country in southern Korea.  She was particularly involved with the care of Koreans suffering from leprosy.

She became Nursing Administrator of the United Church’s newly built Wonju United Christian Hospital from 1955 to 1989.  Here she developed a school of nursing, which is now associated with Yonsei University.  She retired to live in Victoria and later Chemainus.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Sketch
2. Time Line
3. Letter of Nomination to CNA Memorial Book.
4. Ruth Saunders, “Help! Help!”, The Missionary Monthly, February 1959, pp. 5-6.
5. Page of History for BC History of Nursing Society
6. Abstract from Masters’ ‘Thesis
7. Obituary. Campbell River Mirror, May 8, 2002.
8. Ten photographs: 4 col. and 6 b&w of Ruth Saunders by herself and with various people, including with her father, at her graduation, and in Korea.  Large print of her father includes notes on reverse.  Scanned by Glennis Zilm.
9. CD—BC History of Nursing Society Archives. Files created by Glennis Zilm, 2011.

Schamborzki, Inge (1951-

Inge Schamborzki was born in Montreal and received her BA, Master’s and Phd from McGill.  After work in a Montreal Children’s Hospital, she came to Vancouver where she was vice-president of nursing at VGH from 1984-1993.  She was a sessional lecturer at UBC SON in 1994-1995, then worked for the North Shore Health Region, first as a Transition Manager, then CEO and Executive  Director Health and Home Care Society of BC.

Inge was active in many professional organizations, becoming President of RNABC from 1990-1993.  She received a Nursing Research and Nursing Administration award from RNABC.  During her work in pediatrics she became especially impressed with children’s and families’ coping skills.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Biographical release form

Shore, Helen Louise (1925-2020)

• See Pages of History, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 9, File 2

Helen has made significant contributions to the development of the nursing community.  She received her RN from VGH in 1946, her BSN from the UBC School of Nursing in 1961, and a Master’s of Arts in Adult Education in 1971.  Her initial work as a staff nurse in a psychiatric ward was followed by brief periods of work in Bermuda and Calgary, and longer periods at the Royal Columbian Hospital at New Westminster and as a Public Health Nurse for the Vancouver Health Department.  From 1965 to 1990 she was a faculty member at the UBC School of Nursing.

Helen was involved with many volunteer activities and professional organizations, most recently as President from 1992-1994 of the History of Nursing Professional Practice Group.  In 1972 she received a Woodward Foundation award to travel to England to survey health needs of the elderly, and services available.  In 1975 she received a Merit Award for excellence in teaching and in 1990 the Nursing Division’s Distinguished Alumnae Award. Later awards included the UBC Nursing Partnership Award in 2013 and 2016, in recognition of the UBC Faculty of Applied Science 100^th year, the Dean’s Medal.  Helen is an honorary life member of the BC History of Nursing Society

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. UBC Curriculum Vitae
3. UBC SON Project oral history transcript October 31, 1993
4. Articles by Helen Shore
   1. “Adopters and Laggards”, The Canadian Nurse (July 1972), pp. 36-38.
   2. “Pioneering Spirit Lives On”, Nursing BC, January-February 1993, pp. 22-23.
   3. “Frances Redmond: A Pioneer in Community Health in Vancouver”, Canadian Journal of Public Health, January-February 1993, p. 13.
   4. “Emily Susan Patterson: Vancouver’s First Nurse”, B.C. News (Summer 1993), pp. 20-21.
   5. “Cottage Hospitals in British Columbia”, BC Historical News (Fall 2000), 33 (4), 4-17.
5. Remembrance Day program, November 11, 1998. UBC address on the history of military nursing in Canada, given by Helen Shore, with two colour photographs.
6. Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia, “Overview of Helen Shore’s Professional Career”.  Presented March 1990 on the occasion of Helen receiving the Nursing Division’s Distinguished Alumnae Award.
7. “Helen Shore Endowment Fund Supports Chronic Illness Research”, Touchpoints, July 2003, p. 6.
8. Jennifer M.L. Stephens, “A Profile of Helen Shore, UBC Nursing Leader and Patron”, UBC Nursing Student Journal 2 (1), pp. 12-14.
9. Transcript of oral history interview, October 31, 1993
10. Helen Shore: Nursing Pioneer Leaves Bequest to School of Nursing: UBC Gift and Estate Planning,
11. Photograph
12. On her 75^th birthday, 2000.
13. Biographical information in Health and Home Care newsletter, Spring 2016.
14. Correspondence with Sheila Zerr. – 2005.
15. Pages of history information

Slaughter, Dorothy (nee Tate) (1911-1993)

• See Dorothy Slaughter Fonds 8
• See Oral History files, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8.  Audiocassette tape available AU- 0016.

Dorothy Emeline Tate graduated from the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in 1932, and received her nursing degree from the University of British Columbia in 1933.  The following year she gained experience in tuberculosis nursing at the Vancouver General Hospital and at a tuberculosis clinic.  In 1943, she obtained a Master’s degree in Public Health Administration from Columbia University.

In 1944 she was appointed Director of Public Health Nursing, and worked to implement a uniform salary schedule for all provincial health nurses, a standard uniform for staff, policy manuals of approved written procedures, and a simplified record system.  Her tuberculosis manual, the first major manual of its kind, was followed by an information kit with an up-to-date guide on venereal diseases.

Her marriage in 1948 to Walter Slaughter led to her move to Saudi Arabia for four years.  Upon her return to Vancouver, Dorothy returned to a staff position at the Boundary Health Unit, Surrey.  She was active in the RNABC, serving as chair of a committee struck to develop a booklet on the Association.  She co-chaired the RNABC Committee on Public Relations from 1958-1961, and chaired this committee from 1962-63.  After her retirement, she remained active in many community groups.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical release form
2. Biographical referral form
3. Biographical Information Profile
4. Shelley Nicholl, “Scholarship Leads to UWC Devotion”, Surrey News Leader, November 9, 1986, p. A19.  Also published in The Peace Arch News as, “Area UWC  a Real Going Concern”, November 12, 1986, pp. A22, ?.
5. Frank Bucholtz, “Foundation Wants to Help.”
6. “Nurse Honored by Staff”.
7. Nomination for RNABC Memorial Book.
8. Biography entered in RNABC Memorial Book.
9. Letter from niece Dorothy Meyerof to Helen Niskala, March 10, 1996.
10. Letter from Ethel Warbinek to Dorothy Meyerof, March 22, 1996.
11. Monica M. Green, “Through the Years with Public Nursing”, The Canadian Public Health Association, 1984.  Includes references to Slaughter.
12. Graduation photograph, 1933. On CD.
13. Photograph
14. Transcript of oral history interview April 4, 1988.

Sloan, Harriet (Hallie) J.T. (1917-2016)

“Hallie” graduated from Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in 1940. Harriet was awarded the Order of Canada in 2003 for her work with the RCAMC from 1942 to 1968.  During the war she served in a number of venues in Europe, and participated in the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands. She choose to remain in the military and rose to the rank of Matron-in Chief of the Canadian Forces Medical Services. Hallie worked as a general duty nurse, in the OR, and in family clinics in bases across Canada.  From 1954 to 1956 she returned to Germany with the NATO forces.

After retiring, on the invitation of Dr. Helen Mussallem, she joined the staff of the Canadian Nurses Association as CNA Co-ordinator for the 14th Quadrennial Congress of ICN.  In 1970 she was appointed CNA Nursing Co-ordinator.  She saw the ending of apprenticeship training and the professionalization of nursing education as a major improvement in nursing and was a strong supporter of the Nursing Sisters Association of Canada.  Callie received several awards during her lifetime such as the Legion of Honour in 2015.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Greenfield, Nathan M., “Always at the Ready”, MacLean’s, June 16, 2003, pp. 65-66.
3. Photograph
4. Letter from Sloan to Janet Gormick, September 2, 2005.
5. Obituary, Globe and Mail, January 30, 2016.s
6. “Order of Canada to Hallie Sloan”, CAHN Newsletter, 17, No. 1 (Spring 2004), 3-4.
7. Newspaper photograph, Vancouver Sun, May 4, 2005, p. A15.
8. Newspaper photograph with Betty Brown and Paula Flynn, September 14, 2007.

Smith, Alice Katherine (1910-1998)

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

Through her work with the Manitoba Department of Health and 25 years with the federal government, Alice Smith implemented programs that led to major improvements in health care for Canadian aboriginals, especially in the north.  Her successful efforts to decrease maternal and infant mortality and reduce the incidence of tuberculosis led to her being awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa in 1975.

Her RN from the Winnipeg General Hospital (1933) and a certificate in public health nursing from the University of Toronto (1938) was followed by a BA in nursing education from Columbia in 1950 and her Master’s in Public Health from Yale in 1957.  In 1948 she was asked by the Canadian Nurses’ Association to travel to Britain to study the effects of Britain’s new national health insurance plan on nursing.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Nomination to the CNA Memorial Book
3. Photograph
4. “Information for a possible obit notice”

Smith, Rosalind (1920-1990)

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

Rosalind Smith had a major impact on the quality of children’s care.  She received her RN from St. Paul’s Hospital in 1949, where she worked in pediatric nursing until 1954.  She completed her BA in nursing at McGill (1956) and became Director of Nursing at the Montreal Children’s Hospital from 1956 to 1976, and subsequently at the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver until 1982.

Contents of Biographical File

• Nomination to the CNA Memorial Book.

Splane, Verna (nee Huffman)  (1914-2015)

• See OH175

Verna Splanes’s recognition for her work in international nursing has included being appointed (with her husband Richard) as an Officer of the Order of Canada.  She also received honorary degrees from Queens, St. Francis Xavier and the University of British Columbia, along with numerous other awards for her work in Canada and throughout the world in the health field.

She was born in Peterborough, Ontario, where she received her initial training.  She later received her BSc in nursing from Columbia University and her Master’s of Public Health from the University of Michigan.  Her career in the public service of Canada culminated with her being appointed Principal Nursing Officer and adviser to the Deputy Minister of National Health and Welfare.  She also worked extensively with the World Health Organization, serving as an adviser to governments in the Caribbean, British Guyana, and Libya.

On her retirement in 1985 she embarked with her husband on a tour of fifty countries to examine their public health policies.  The result was Chief Nursing Officer Positions in National Ministries of Health:  Focal Points for Nursing Leadership.  Maria Salmon, Director of the Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing, states that because of her, “government chief nursing officers are having a greater favorable impact on the health of their peoples”. She was a great advocate for history of nursing and was an honorary life member of the BC History of Nursing Society

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Biographical Summary
3. Curriculum Vitae
4. Biographical Sketch
5. Biographical information
6. “Names”, The Canadian Nurse (1972), 68 (9), 54-55.
7. Notice of citation, The Canadian Nurse, May 1975, p. 41.
8. “Splane Honored by Queens University”, RNABC News, October 1980, p. 18.
9. “Fashioning the Future”, Presented at the Canadian Association of University Schools of Nursing, June 1-3, 1983.
10. Invitation, 1996.
11. Program for UBC Convocation, May 1996.
12. Letter accepting invitation to give Marion Woodward lecture, May 18, 1996.
13. “International Nursing: Advancing from a Creditable Past to a Challenging Future” Marion Woodward Lecture, October 24, 1996.
14. Thorne, Sally, “Another Award for Verna Splane”, HON News, 19, No. 1, p. 3.
15. “Chief Nursing Officer Positions in National Ministries of Health: Focal Points for Nursing Leadership”, by Verna Splane and Richard Splane.
16. Nomination for Honorary Membership in the History of Nursing Professional Practice Group, April 10, 1997, with photocopy of certificate.
17. Yvonne Zacharias, “International Public Health Nurse Always Took Plunge”, The Vancouver Sun, June 5, 2003, p. B6.
18. “An Afternoon of Dialogue and Reflection on the Remarkable Nursing Career of
19. Verna Huffman Splane”, November 22, 2004, University of British Columbia.
20. [On Her Ninetieth Birthday], History of Nursing News, January 2005, p. 1.
21. Dr. Sally Thorne, “Pioneering Policy”, Touchpoints, UBC School of Nursing, January 2005, pp. 1, 4.
22. “A Commitment to Global Citizenship”, Rpt. From Touchpoints, July 2008, p. 7.
23. Verna Huffman Splane ,“Glimpses of a Career in Public Health and International Nursing” by Verna Huffman Splane.  “The Caribbean Years 1959-1962”.  With annotations.
24. “Canada’s First Chief Nurse Turns 100”, The Canadian Nurse, November 2014, p.20.
25. “Dr. Verna Splane: The First Century”
26. Obituary
27. Memorial Service program
28. “A Strong Legacy,” CNA Now, January 2015, p. 20.
29. 2 CDs. Contents unidentified.Two videotapes of UBC round table, November 22, 2004. Transferred to video collection as Video 14 and Video 15..
30. Note to Sheila Zerr, May 3, 2005
31. Zilm, Glennis, “Verna Splane Honoured”, Nurses’ News, March 1996, p. 3.

Stanton (nee Creeggan), Sheila

Sheila graduated from the Toronto General School of Nursing in 1951, and received her BSN from the University of Windsor in 1965 and her MSN from the University of Western Ontario in 1970.  She held nursing positions in Ontario before being hired as a teacher at the University of Western Ontario in 1970.  In 1975 she was hired as an Associate Professor at UBC’s School of Nursing.

Sheila believes that the role of the nurse has progressed from being caregiver to a skilled technician.  The nurse has become increasingly a health educator and councilor, and thus more involved with decision making.

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. Biographical release form
3. “Names”, The Canadian Nurse, December 1975, p. 36.
4. Transcript of on oral history interview, November 12, 1993. Describes her experience as a faculty member during the Muriel Uprichard and Marilyn Willman years.

Staples (nee Matties), Sara “Sally” (1926-2012)

• See Sara Staples Fonds 27
• See Oral History Files, Fonds 18, Series 3, Subseries 8

Sara “Sally” Staples was born in Siberia, Russia.  After graduation in 1953 from St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver she started work at St. Paul’s in the medical ward, subsequently holding positions of increasing responsibility in which she contributed to changes and improvement in the quality of patient care.

She helped plan and design the first Intensive and Coronary Care Unit in the province in 1966.  Her development of the extended work day and the master rotation concept greatly influenced nursing in BC.  She became Supervisor of Critical Care Areas and Senior Director of Nursing Operations from 1982 to 1986.  She was also involved with labour relations and contract negotiations, participating on a number of committees.

On her retirement July 1, 1986 she received the RNABC Award of Excellence in Nursing Administration.  She describes her nursing philosophy:  “To be a good nurse, first and foremost you must enjoy working with people.  I see technology as a tool which enables the nurse to do a better job.”

Contents of Biographical File

1. Biographical Information Profile
2. “Nursing in Fore in Times of Change”. Letter from E.J. McGraf to Staples February 17, 1986.
3. Letter from Dwight Peretz to Staples, March 3, 1986.
4. Letter from Peter McAllister to Staples, February 12, 1986.
5. Letter from Margaret Reith to Staples, April 16, 1986.
6. Copy of obituary with a photograph
7. Page from CRNBC Memorial Book.
8. 2 photographs