Guide to the St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing faculty records

St. Mark's Hospital opened in 1872 under the direction of the Episcopal Church in a two room adobe house on 500 East and 300 South in Salt Lake City. Two years later it admitted its first patients. The 1879 expansion saw the purchase of land and the erection of a new building with room for fifteen beds to better treat the infirm miner lead poisoning, industrial injuries, and typhoid fever.

St. Marks Hospital School of Nursing: On March 24, 1893, the St. Mark's Hospital Board of Directors authorized the establishment of a training school for nurses in connection with the hospital. In 1894, a new 50-bed St. Mark's hospital opened with a nurses training program at 200 North 700 West. Twenty-three year old, Miss Mary Edith Newitt, a recent graduate of New York City's St. Luke's Training School, served as the head nurse. The first class of four nurses graduated from the two year program in 1896. While St. Mark's Nursing School began as a two-year program, a third year was added in 1898. Between 1892 and 1898, the hospital more than doubled its capacity when it added a new wing to house the surgical, medical, and women's wards.

The nursing students were initially housed in a cottage owned by the hospital on Reed Street, later they lived in the basement of the new wing, and finally they moved into a new three-story residence constructed in 1906. The Nurses Home was opened on May 8, 1907, as a memorial to Episcopal Bishop Abel Leonard. Its first floor apartments housed the head nurse, the assistant head nurse, and the night nurse plus a living room, while the second and third floors housed the nursing students.

The school's curriculum evolved as state and national standards and trends changed. Initially, the program required extensive clinical training and little classroom work. New students were assigned to the hospital a day after their arrival. Student nurses, known as probationers, spent their first year assisting in general cleaning, food preparation, and other tasks as well as nursing. Each nurse was assigned to a particular ward on regular rotations. Between 1896 and 1920, more than 200 nurses graduated from St. Mark's. Students worked twelve hours per day and attended classes in the evening. Students were provided board and lodging, reasonable laundry and a monthly allowance of $5 for the purchase of uniforms and textbooks and to meet other expenses. In 1927, requirements were tightened requiring high school diplomas for students to be admitted into the program. From 1914 to 1966, clinical work requirements fell from seventy-six hours per week to twenty-eight hours while total classroom hours increased from 208 to 1,543.

Between 1935 and 1950, the need for nurses increased dramatically as the number of patients in U.S. hospitals doubled while the number of stateside nurses declined as more nurses joined military service during World War II. The U.S. Congress responded by creating the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps as an incentive to increase the number of students in the program by providing financial aid to nursing students. Additionally, St. Mark's Nursing School created its own incentive by making it possible for students to gain university credit at the school. Students could graduate with a Bachelor of Sciences by taking courses in conjunction with the University of Utah. However, this program ended in 1948 when the University tried to gain control of St. Mark's Nursing Program. St. Mark's declined the University's offer and instead became academically affiliated with Westminster College that same year.

The diversity of the school's student body broadened with the addition of the first graduating African American student (Nancy Bankhead) in 1955, and the first graduating male student (Kenneth Ross Church) in 1963. The 1960s saw a national decline in the supply of highly skilled nurses.

St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing: On August 15, 1968, the Board of Directors of St. Mark's Hospital voted to terminate the Diploma Program of the St. Mark's Hospital School of Nursing as of June 1970. In an effort to build support for the program, Westminster College and St. Mark's Nursing School commenced a baccalaureate-nursing program together, completing the transition in 1970, in time for the first Westminster students to graduate from the program in 1972. Malouf Hall on the Westminster College campus was created as an extension of the Dick Science Building in 1974 and housed the nursing classes for 31 year.

Westminster College School of Nursing and Health Sciences moved to a new facility on the third floor of the Dolores Doré Eccles Health, Wellness, and Athletic Center just before the spring semester of 2006.

St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing Alumni Association: In the Summer of 1895, St. Mark's Hospital completed the first year of its two-year nursing training program. The St. Mark's Nursing School Alumni Association (originally spelled Alumnae) was established in the 1904/1905 school year as an organization to maintain contact between the school and its alumni. It was organized by Nellie Crossland, superintendent of nurses at the hospital, and began with twelve original members. In 1958, the Association was officially incorporated with the State of Utah. Membership was opened (after payment of dues) to all graduates of the St. Mark' Hospital nursing program.

The organization's changes reflect the changes in the St. Mark's Nursing School. In 1949, the hospital developed an official association with Westminster College, culminating with St. Mark's phasing out of their independent nursing program in favor of full integration with Westminster College in 1970. The school was renamed St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing and the Association's name was changed accordingly. In 1995, the School held a large Centennial Celebration to mark its "100 Years of Caring."

The Alumni Association's membership was for all graduates of the St. Mark's nursing program, regardless of whether they attended before or after the merger. All dues-paying members received Stethoscope (the Association's official newsletter), containing the news of the association, school, alumni, upcoming events, and newsworthy items.

In the late 1960s, the Alumni Association became interested in its own history, and that of St. Mark's Hospital, and began to collect college histories, pictures, and personal stories from its members. This effort resulted in the publication in 1970 of St. Mark's Hospital School of Nursing story by Lottie Felkner. It was later updated with Felkner's 1995 A century of caring: 1895-1995 St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing.

More information on the current Westminster College School of Nursing and Health Sciences is available online.

Sources of information for this biographical/historical note:

• Felkner, Lottie. A century of caring : 1895-1995, St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing (Salt Lake City, Utah : Westminster College of Salt Lake City, 1995), p. 1.
• Felkner, Lottie and Mildren Larsen. St. Mark's Hospital School of Nursing story (Salt Lake City, Utah : St. Mark's Hospital Nurses' Alumni Association, 1970).
• Sillito, John "A conflict and contributions : women in churches, 1847-1920", in Women in Utah history : paradigm or paradox, edited by Patricia Lyn Scott and Linda Thatcher. (Logan : Utah State University Press, 2005), p. 110-111.
• St. Mark's-Westminster College Nursing Alumni Association records, 1917-1997" (ACC-063), Giovale Library Archives, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah. Unpublished historical notes by Carol Malbone and Beatrice Smith, as well as the Articles of Organization of the alumni association found in the collection.
• Westminster College website, viewed November 20, 2014.
• Willes, Laura G. "St. Mark's Nospital : excerpts from St. Mark's Hospital Nursing School, a history (hospital)", in St. Mark's Hospital School of Nursing administrative records, 1913-1969, ACC-066A, Giovale Library Archives, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah.)
• Willes, Laura G. "Untitled speech given to the Meeting of the Utah State Nurses Association, April 30, 1927", in St. Mark's Hospital School of Nursing administrative records, 1913-1969, ACC-066A, Giovale Library Archives, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah)

This collection consists of faculty records of the St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing (Salt Lake City, Utah) dating from 1974-1980. The materials consist of bylaws, memoranda, and minutes that document the activities of the nursing school faculty.

Gaps in the collection: No faculty minutes for the year 1975 are found in the collection.

Restrictions on Access:

Open to public research.

Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Twenty-four hours advance notice is encouraged.

Restrictions on Use:

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.

Permission to publish material must be obtained from the director of the Giovale Library.

Preferred Citation:

St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing faculty records, 1974-1980, ACC-148, Giovale Library Archives, Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by subject, and thereunder chronologically.

Processing Note:

Processed May 2007 by Patricia Lyn Scott.

Creator:

St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing

Language:

Collection materials are in English.

Quantity:

0.3 linear foot

Language of the Finding Aid:

English.

Author of the Finding Aid:

Finding aid written May 2007 by Patricia Lyn Scott; expanded March 2015 by Sarah Shaw.

EAD Creation Date:

2015 March 17 by Sarah Shaw

Standard:

Describing Archives : A Content Standard (DACS)

Subarea:

Related Material:

Related collections and photographs in Giovale Library Archives:

• St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing Alumni Association records, 1917-1998 (ACC-063)
• St. Mark's-Westminster College School of Nursing administrative records, 1973-1995 (ACC-067A)
• St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing scrapbook, 1973-1974 (ACC-067B)
• Photograph of St. Mark's Hospital
• Photograph of Malouf Hall dedication, 1974
• Photograph of group of nursing students, undated
• Photograph of Jayne Bushell with child and Miss Piggy Doll
• Photograph of nurse with elementary students
• Photograph of nursing faculty member with students

Corporate Names:

St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing--Archives
St. Mark's-Westminster School of Nursing--Faculty

Subject Terms:

Nurses--Utah--History--Sources
Nursing schools--Utah--History--Sources
Nursing schools--Faculty

Form or Genre Terms:

Bylaws (administrative records)
Memorandums
Minutes

Geographical Names:

Salt Lake City (Utah)--History--Sources