Finding aid for the Greater Cleveland Nurses Association Records, Series III

History of the Greater Cleveland Nurses Association

The Greater Cleveland Nurses Association (f. 1900), one of 27 districts of the Ohio Nurses Association encompassing Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties, is an organization for nurses offering informational, educational, involvement and leadership development opportunities. The mission of the organization is to be a "dynamic organization whose mission is to work for the improvement of health care for all people in significant and visible ways, to foster high professional standards and to promote the professional development of nurses."

The organization provides educational opportunities at quarterly district meetings and other events and is an active participant in legislative hearings about health care issues as well as providing other avenues for political action regarding nursing and health care. They have worked with other agencies such as the Nursing Roundtable, Health Systems Agency, and WomenSpace on various initiatives. The organizational structure of the Greater Cleveland Nurses Association has evolved over the years and such a change that occurred in 1993 is documented in this collection.

The Greater Cleveland Nurses Association, District #4 of the Ohio Nurses Association, has grown out of a number of organizations which formed to promote the nursing profession in Cleveland, Ohio. On May 28, 1900, a group of women met to establish an association of nurses practicing in Cleveland. This group, which became known as the Graduate Nurses' Association, had as its objectives to "improve the standard of the profession of trained nursing in Cleveland and elsewhere and to improve the conditions affecting the members in the prosecution of their profession, to raise a fund for the purpose of furnishing nurses to deserving persons unable themselves to pay in full for the services of nurses, to stimulate an interest in nursing affairs and to conduct a central registry."

The central registry was a major activity of the Association after it opened for calls in February of 1901. With fifty-five nurses enrolling the first year, the registry provided both hospitals and private patients in the community with trained nurses, and continued to do so until its closing in 1974.

Three years after its incorporation in 1909, the Association moved its headquarters to a house at 2100 East 40th Street. This property had been purchased by the Isabel Hampton Robb Memorial Committee to provide a clubhouse for the Association in honor of Isabel Hampton Robb, a leader in the nursing profession and a member of the Graduate Nurses' Association until her death in 1910. The headquarters of the Association were at three subsequent locations, including the Cleveland Nursing Center on Euclid Avenue from 1920 to 1942.

In November of 1917, another group of nurses met to organize District #4 of the Ohio State Graduate Nurses' Association which would include the Cleveland area. In June of 1918, the Graduate Nurses' Association agreed to merge with the newly-formed District #4. Another group which joined District #4 was the Visiting Nurse Club of Cleveland (later the Thursday Social Club and Public Health Club) which disbanded so that its members could join District #4.

In 1921, when the District filed new articles of incorporation, it stated its purpose as "the study of more efficient care of the sick, and the participation in the solution of all problems relating to the health of the community; the advancement of the educational standards of nurses, the maintenance of the honor and character of the nursing profession and the establishment of reciprocity between graduate nurses of Ohio and other states and countries."

These objectives are reflected in the varied interests and activities of the Association over the years. The Association has continually worked with other health care and community service agencies to sponsor projects such as health awareness fairs and immunization programs. It has also taken an active interest in the educational standards of area nursing school programs.

In the 1930s, the Association was concerned with advancing its profession by calling for the establishment of a nursing division in the State Department of Health. It also worked at this time for proper salary and position recognition of public health nurses and for the establishment of an eight-hour day for private duty nurses working in hospitals.

In the 1940s, the Association became involved in the defense movement, working with agencies such as the American Red Cross and the Ohio Council of Defense to ensure that adequate nursing was available for both military personnel and civilians.

Throughout the years the Association has supported nurses working in specialized areas of the profession, establishing committees to meet their particular interests, including Industrial Nursing and Public Health Committees, a Psychiatric-Mental Health Practice Division (established in 1971), the Nurse Practitioner and Cardiovascular Nursing Conference Groups.

Activities in the 1970s reflected the Association's concern for the promotion of the role of the nurse and the study of the health care situation in the community. In 1973, the Association initiated the organization of the Greater Cleveland Joint Professional Practice Committee, designed to bring together representatives from medicine and nursing to discuss the roles of the physician and nurse. In 1975, the Association's Council on Practice completed a study entitled "Identification of Current and Extended Nursing Practice in Hospitals in Greater Cleveland," providing insight into the nurse's current role in health care.

The Greater Cleveland Nurses Association continues to function as a district of the Ohio Nurses Association, and remains active as a professional organization with a vital interest in the health care situation of the community.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Greater Cleveland Nurses Association

Scope and Content

The Greater Cleveland Nurses Association Records, Series III, 1920-1999 and undated ( bulk dates 1981-1999), consist of advertisements, agendas, annual reports, brochures, budgets, bylaws, charts, correspondence, financial information, forms, journal articles, lists, magazine articles, manuals, membership applications, memoranda, minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings, notes, photographs, reports, scrapbooks, and surveys.

This collection is of value to researchers studying nursing in general and Clinical Nursing more specifically in the United States, Ohio, and the Greater Cleveland, Ohio, area. It focuses on the Greater Cleveland Nursing Association, the Ohio Nurses Association, and American Nurses Association, of which Greater Cleveland Nurses Association is an affiliate. This material includes data about both the internal structure and employment activities of these organizations. Information about these agencies, their role in public education on nursing and health issues, and information about legislators and nurses collaborating on laws related to nursing practice is covered in these files. Newsletters and other public relations material of nursing organizations and other health agencies in Ohio are also present in this collection. The membership files containing demographic characteristics of members of nursing organizations in the Greater Cleveland area are also of note.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

The researcher should also consult MS 3866 Greater Cleveland Nurses Association Records; and MS 4317 Greater Cleveland Nurses Association Records, Series II.

Photographs directly attached to reports and membership applications were retained with the collection. All other photographs have been removed to PG 581 Greater Cleveland Nurses Association Photographs. Video tapes have been removed to the Audio/Visual collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5085 Greater Cleveland Nurses Association Records, Series III, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gifts of the Greater Cleveland Nurses Association in 1989, 1990, 1993, and 2000.

Processing Information

Processed by Rosemary Miller in 2011.

Detailed Description of The Collection