Louise Dietrich
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A. Louise Dietrich (November 17, 1878 - January 22, 1962) was an American nurse, activist and
suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
who was based in
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
. Dietrich came to El Paso in 1902 and stayed to help with the
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
epidemic. In El Paso, she started the first nurses' registry in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and also created the El Paso Graduate Nurses Association. She worked at several hospitals both in El Paso and in other cities. Dietrich was one of the organizers and founders of St. Mark's Hospital in El Paso. Dietrich was active with the El Paso Equal Franchise League and later became a president of the Texas
League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...
(LWV). Dietrich served as secretary in both the Texas Graduate Nurses Association and the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). After Dietrich's death, she was honored by the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...
for her lifetime of work in nursing and other activism.


Biography

Dietrich was born in
Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: * Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossi ...
and was one of eleven children. She graduated from St. John's Riverside Hospital in 1899 and went on to work as a private nurse in the state of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. Dietrich came to
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
"on the same train with
Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...
" in 1902. Because of an
epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...
of
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
, Dietrich stayed on in El Paso, even though it wasn't her intended destination. She worked at
Providence Hospital Providence Hospital may refer to: *Providence Hospital (Columbia, South Carolina) *Providence Hospital (Mobile) in Mobile, Alabama *Providence Hospital (Southfield), Michigan *Providence Hospital (Washington, D.C.) in Washington, D.C. *Providence Al ...
where she was a director and superintendent. At Providence, she started the first nurses' registry in Texas. Dietrich established the El Paso Graduate Nurses Association in 1903 and served as the first president of the organization. She resigned from Providence early in 1906. Dietrich went to work at the St. Louis Skin and Cancer Hospital in 1907. She soon came back to El Paso to work at St. Marks Maternity Hospital as the superintendent. She was an attendee of the second Texas Graduate Nurses Association meeting, held in
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
in 1908. Dietrich helped to write a bill that required that nurses be registered with the state. The bill was passed in 1909. Also in 1909, Dietrich, nurse Emily Greene, and others organized and began to build a "woman's hospital" called St. Mark's Hospital in El Paso on the corner of Ange and Nevada streets. In the summers, Dietrich and Greene helped work at the
Cloudcroft, New Mexico Cloudcroft is a village in Otero County, New Mexico, United States, and is located within the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 674 at the 2010 census. Despite being located in an otherwise arid region, its high elevation (; one of ...
Baby Sanitorium. Dietrich went on to work as the St. Mark's Hospital superintendent until 1916. Dietrich became involved in the
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
in 1912, serving on the Nursing Service Committee. She also provided classes on Red Cross work. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, she stayed active with the Red Cross and also was involved in
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
in El Paso. Dietrich was a member of the El Paso Equal Franchise League. She went on to help women
register to vote In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...
, helping
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and
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
women in El Paso register. Later, Dietrich became involved in the Texas
League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...
(LWV) and served as president from 1938 to 1940. In 1923, Dietrich became the first educational secretary of the Texas Board of Nursing (BON). She became a general secretary of the BON and worked full-time for the group. In this capacity, she provided additional training for members of the Texas BON. She also was heavily involved in organizing many projects for the BON. Dietrich also became a general secretary of the Texas Graduate Nurses Association. In 1954, she retired from the Texas Graduate Nurses Association. The next year she was honored by the El Paso Graduate Nurses Association for her lifetime of work. A fellowship grant was established in her name for graduate nurses to continue their professional education and for inactive nurses to return to the field. Dietrich died on January 22, 1962 in El Paso. She was buried in Rest Lawn Cemetery in El Paso. In February 1962, the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...
honored her nursing work in Texas. They passed a resolution which said in part that Dietrich did "almost as much to improve and advance the profession of nursing as her revered predecessor,
Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...
."


References


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dietrich, A. Louise 1878 births 1962 deaths People from El Paso, Texas American women nurses American suffragists American hospital administrators People from Ossining, New York Nurses from Texas American nursing administrators Activists from Texas Nurses from New York (state) American Red Cross personnel American anti-poll tax activists Activists from New York (state)