Sophia French Palmer (May 26, 1853 – April 27, 1920) was an American
nurse, an editor and a
health administrator
Health administration, healthcare administration, healthcare management or hospital management is the field relating to leadership, management, and administration of public health systems, health care systems, hospitals, and hospital networks ...
.
She was the first
Editor-in-chief of the ''
American Journal of Nursing''. She was the President of the New York State Board of Nurse Examiners.
She was also associated with the American Nurses Association, and various American Training Schools for Nurses including the
Garfield Memorial Hospital
Garfield Memorial Hospital is a small hospital with 41 beds and two trauma rooms, located at 200 North 400 East in Panguitch, Utah, United States. In 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services HCAHPS survey named Garfield the highest-rat ...
. She made significant contributions in establishing a number of health institutions particularly in the field of nurse training.
Biography
Born on May 26, 1853, in
Milton, Massachusetts, Sophia French Palmer was the daughter of physician Simeon Palmer and Maria Spencer Palmer. In 1876 she graduated from the Boston Training School for Nurses (now called as the
Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing).
She later moved to
Philadelphia, where she worked with
Dr. Weir Mitchell as a private nurse, and specialized in nervous and mental illnesses.
In 1884 she became the superintendent of the newly established
St. Luke's Hospital in
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
, where she laid the foundation for making it a training school for nurses.
However she resigned a year after following the reduction of the number of nurses due to “hard economic times”.
Meanwhile, she started pursuing graduate study at the
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...
.
She played an important role in establishing different health institutions including the New York State Nurses Association. In 1889 she moved to Washington, D.C., where she established the training school for nurses at the Garfield Memorial Hospital, and became its administrator.
In 1893 she founded the
, and drafted its constitution.
During 1896 – 1900, she served as the superintendent of the Rochester City Hospital and Training school in New York.
In 1900 she started the ''American Journal of Nursing'', under the American Nurses Association and became its first editor-in-chief, the position that she held until her sudden death when the post was assumed by
Katharine DeWitt
Katharine DeWitt (1867–1963) was an American nurse, writer and co-editor of the ''American Journal of Nursing''.
Life and work
DeWitt was born June 11, 1867, as one of five children, in Troy, New York, to Mary Hastings and Abner DeWitt. She ...
.
In her editorials, she highlighted a number of professional and social issues.
In recognizing her outstanding contributions in the field of nursing, in 1976, she was inducted into the “
American Nurses Association Hall of Fame”.
She never married. She died in
Forest Lawn, New York on April 27, 1920.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Sophia French
1853 births
1920 deaths
Nurses from Massachusetts
American editors