History of nursing at Baylor University Medical Center

Linda F. Garner, PhD, RN, and Karen Anne Bufton, MS, RN, C

From Baylor University School of Nursing, Dallas, Texas (Garner) and the Department of Nursing, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas (Bufton).

Historical articles published in Proceedings will be reprinted in the centennial history of Baylor University Medical Center, edited by H. Lawrence Wilsey and scheduled for publication in 2003. Readers who have any additional information, artifacts, photographs, or documents related to the historical articles are asked to forward such information to the Proceedings' editorial office for possible inclusion in the book version.

Corresponding author: Linda F. Garner, PhD, RN, Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing, 3700 Worth Street, Dallas, Texas 75246 (e-mail: Linda_Garner@baylor.edu).

Throughout the 20th century, development of Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) as the humanitarian hospital envisioned by Dr. George W. Truett and other Dallas-area sponsors was as dependent upon the devotion and efforts of nurses as upon the dedication and skills of physicians. Nurses have contributed to the quality of service--both general nursing care and highly specialized technology-based nursing care--that has established the standing of BUMC and other Baylor Health Care System (BHCS) institutions among the finest US health care institutions.

Individuals committed to humanitarian and professional service have built the nursing care at BUMC and BHCS and the education programs at Baylor University School of Nursing (BUSN). In 1912, Helen T. Holliday brought a team of nurses and the nursing standards of Johns Hopkins Hospital to the recently established Texas Baptist Memorial Sanitarium (TBMS), progenitor of BUMC. Since that time, over a period of nearly a century, nurses who were trained or served in BUMC hospitals have cared for patients with skill and dedication. (BUMC Proceedings 2001;14:385-405)

Subheadings:

Early development of nursing • Development of nursing in the USA • Nursing at the Baptist Memorial Sanitarium: 1903-1920 • Nursing at Baylor Hospital and Baylor University Hospital: 1920-1950 • Nursing at Baylor University Hospital and Baylor University Medical Center: 1950-1980 • Nursing at Baylor University Medical Center: 1980-2000 • Nursing at affiliated Baylor Health Care System entities: 1980-2000 • Nursing leadership, organization, and staffing: 2000 • Nursing in the 21st century: the challenge ahead