To view this timeline on mobile, turn your phone horizontally and scroll to the left. You can also leave your phone vertical and scroll down to read each individual story.;xNLx;;xNLx;This timeline was developed for the 2024 Louise Daniel Women's History Luncheon honoring nurses. Great thanks are extended to Susan Coleman, Amarillo College's Lynn Library staff, Renea Dauntes and Warren Stricker at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum Research Center, Selena Aleman with the Catholic Archives of Texas, Garrett Spradling, Clay Renick at the Hutchinson County Historical Museum, Laura Reyher, Virginia Sicola, Linda Ladehoff, Emily Smallwood with the Amarillo VA Health Care System, and countless others!
St. Mary's Infirmary, est. 1866 in Galveston, Texas by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Top row (l-r): Srs.Gabriel Wheelahan, Alexis Harrison, Mary John O'Shaughnessy, Athanasius Vauthier, St. John Reibe Bottom row: (l-r): Srs. Alphonse Brollier, Mother Madeleine Chollet, Mary of the Sacred Heart Bradley
The John Sealy Hospital, established in 1890 in Galveston, Texas as the state’s first nursing school. Inaugural graduating class - 6 students in 1892
Sister Mary Conrad (Conrad Urnau) was one of the original contingent of nuns who established St. Anthony’s Sanitarium in 1901. She served at St. Anthony’s for 38 years.
St. Anthony’s Sanitarium, established in 1901 as the area’s first hospital by four members of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word.
The Graduate Nurses Association, now the Texas Nurses Association, was founded in 1907 in order to help establish nursing as a licensed profession.
Emma Allison was the first registered nurse in Texas. She practiced in Texas and Oklahoma after graduating from Fort Worth Medical College in 1909.
The Graduate Nurses Association (now Texas Nurses Association) advocated for the passage of legislation to regulate the practice of nursing in Texas. The Nursing Practice Act of 1909 established the Board of Nursing Examiners. Jennie Cottle Beaty, RN, Superintendent of Nurses at St. Joseph Hospital in Houston
Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell signed Senate Bill 111, establishing the Board of Nurse Examiners. The Board of Nurse Examiners became the Texas Board of Nursing following passage of House Bill 2426 in 2007.
The first school of nursing in the Panhandle was established in 1909 at the St. Anthony's Sanitarium.
Established in 1910, the Adair Hospital provided medical care to the cowboys of the JA Ranch and their families.
SB 334 amended the Nursing Registration Act of 1909. Amendments included lowering the registration fee for nurses, changing the requirements for two of the representatives on the Texas Board of Nursing, and the state of Michigan requested that Texas recognize their licenses nurses.
Eleanor Heasler was part of the first graduating class of nurses from the St. Anthony's Training School.
Maynie Carter Walker graduated from the St. Anthony's Training School in 1917 and joined the Army Nurse Corps. She was sent to Camp Travis in Austin, Texas. After the war, she returned to Amarillo to continue her career in nursing.
Justine Verhey graduated from the nurse training school at St. Anthony's Sanitarium and served in World War I as a nurse.
SB 40 granted the Board of Nursing authority over nursing education in the State of Texas. The first educational secretary, Louise Dietrich, was appointed.
Northwest Texas Hospital was established in Amarillo, Texas as a general hospital and a nursing school.
Northwest Texas Hospital School of Nursing, 2209 West Sixth in Amarillo, opened in 1924 to meet a vital community need for nurses. The original charter “provided for a school to instruct students in the science of nursing for the care of the sick, and to support a charitable and educational undertaking.”
The first hospital serving the Borger area was established in the mid-1920s. It served as the community hospital for a few years until a new hospital was built, North Plains Hospital. The name was changed to Golden Plains Community Hospital in 1984. In 2011, a new modern hospital was built to replace the aging building complex.
SB 75 changed terms for appointees to the Board of Nursing. It also granted temporary permits to graduates of accredited nursing programs to practice until the next examination were held.
Coon Memorial Hospital was founded in 1929 by Dick Coon and his wife Katherine Coon. It is currently managed by the Dallam-Hartley County Hospital District.
House Bill 329 brought big changes to nursing in Texas. This bill declared that all general hospitals of at least 25 beds and had a continuous occupancy of at least 15 patients that taught a board approved curriculum would be called "accredited schools".
Graduates of the Northwest Texas Hospital School of Nursing in 1939.
Originally established in 1940, the Thomas E. Creek Veteran’s Administration Medical Center now serves over 25,000 veterans across two states.
Eunice King was instrumental in nursing education in the Panhandle. She served in positions including staff nurse, charge nurse, head nurse, supervisor, occupational health nurse, and private duty nurse.
Nurses like Willa Glenn Eilers entered nursing schools across the country to attend nursing training. These nurses served in World War II. This program was established by the Nurse Training Act of 1943.
At the end of the pre-clinical 9-month term, nursing students earn their cap and recite the Florence Nightingale Pledge.
Known as the Hill-Burt Act, this legislation made available funds to communities that demonstrated viability and a need for hospital/healthcare infrastructure.
Frances McCoulskey was the first Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) in Texas. She attended Shannon West Texas Memorial Hospital in San Angelo. She was appointed to the Texas Board of Vocational Nursing Examiners by Governor Allan Shivers and served until 1955.
Occupational health nursing at Pantex began upon the plant's re-opening for it's Cold War Mission
The Texas Board of Vocational Nurse Examiners is established in 1951. HB 47 established the board and named the inaugural members.
The vocational nursing program (2 year program) began at Amarillo College around 1955. The program was intended to be an accelerated program that led to a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN).
Colonel Helen M. Norris served in the United States Air Force. She was nominated for an Unsung Heroine Award from the VFW for her service during Vietnam. Col. Norris flew over 1,200 hours or approximately 177 evacuation missions into Vietnam. 129 of those missions flew into the combat zone.
Marilyn Dyer-Whelan began her career as an instrauctor at the Northwest Texas School of Nursing in 1960. She became the Director of the school in 1962 and remained in that position until 1985. She joined the faculty of West Texas State University in 1970 when their nursing program began.
Professional nursing was defined in state statute by SB 242. This provided a professional recognition for nurses in Texas.
High Plains Baptist Hospital was established in February 1968 as a 68 bed hospital. One of three in Amarillo at the time.
The Nursing Practice Act became a "practice control" act with the passage of Senate Bill 476 in 1969. This meant that all persons practicing nursing (licensed or not) would fall under the Texas Board of Nursing Examiners.
Edith Rust was a pioneer in women's health in the Panhandle region. She worked to put women's health first and to create programs for sexual assault victims.
Ardis Martin began her nursing career at age 60. She graduated with her MSN in Family Nursing at age 79. Ardis contributed much to the nursing profession in Amarillo and focused her care on mental health.
The nursing program at West Texas State University was established in 1972. This new program filled a need for more training locations for aspiring nurses.
Minnie Pearl Bowser was the 1,000th graduate of the Northwest Texas School of Nursing in 1973.
Virginia Sicola attended Texas Women's University from 1967 - 1974, earning her BSN and MSN.
The first Advanced Nurse Practitioner Program in Texas was approved. Houston Baptist University Advanced Perinatal Nurse Practitioner Program began in 1978 with 15 students.
Sister Olivia Predergast is known as the “Founder of Hospice in the Texas Panhandle”. She helped to established the Life Enrichment Department at St. Anthony’s Hospital in 1980. This department provided assistance and resources to terminally ill patients.
The recently formed National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) propagated a new standardized exam for nursing candidates, the NCLEX. This test was adopted by the Texas Board of Nursing Examiners in 1982 for use in Texas. This test is still used today.
St. Anthony's Hospital opened the doors on a 20-bed hospice facility in Spring 1985. This facility was the only free-standing hospice in the State of Texas.
High Plains Baptist Hospital and St. Anthony's Hospital consolidate into one entity. The new Baptist St. Anthony's (BSA) Hospital was established in February 1996.
SB 572 established the Nursing Shortage Reduction Program (NSRP) which provided additional funding for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to distribute to universities in order to enroll additional students, retain faculty, and recruit nursing students.
Texas Tech University established its own nursing program in Amarillo, Texas in 2013. This program began with an initial enrollment of 6 students.
U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Mary McCowen, a registered nurse assigned to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Maryland, updates a patient’s medical chart after conducting a check on the patient at the Northwest Texas Healthcare System in Amarillo, Texas, Jan. 27, 2022.
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