Beth-El Chart (1987), The

1987

Beth-El

Chart

2

eth-El

"CChe

House of God", its nanie:

CChine

m~y it ever truly

be

!

A

place

of holy ministries,

A

sacred

dwelling

shared

by CChee !

CCh

₁

Presence ever fi'll this house !

CChy

love be

ever

manifest

CCo

all who come within these doors,

And

weary su

ff'

rers here

find

rest !

,_Mrs.A.

C.

Speaking of spiritual matters, a wise man once noted, "Where there is no

vision, the people perish." Indeed, it is the vision shared that sustains

any worthwhile endeavor long after

the author has passed from the scene. For Beth-El that vision has been carried in the hearts of the scores of graduates who have taken a joyful

and c9ring spirit from these halls.

Some used their training as volunteers; some answered a call to the mission field or worked in public service projects across the globe. Others expanded their nursing

respon-si6i1ities to graduate degrees and

administrative levels. Always the

vision remained: quality of life and

excellent health care for all.

One era closes in 1987 with the

graduation of the final diploma class

of Beth-El School of Nursing. However, the v1s1on lives still, broadened by the birth in recent yea rs of Beth-El Co 11 ege of Nursing

and the baccalaureate program. With pride in the past and progress in the

future, Beth-El nurses invite you to catch the vision!

Vision Fosters Decades

Of Care, Service

In 1903 the vision of Beth-El began

with Mrs. A.C. Peck, whose ability to

dream reached from Denver to see the

need for a Protestant hos pita 1 in

Co 1 orado Springs. So began the

Colorado Conferences Deaconess

Hospital, an arm of the Women's Home

Missionary Society of the Methodist

Church. Nurse Superintendent, Miss Caroline Rotis and one probationer,

Sarah E. Bradshaw, cared for the

first patients in January, 1904.

A 1 though the qua 1 i ty of ca re at the hos pita 1 received praise 1 oca lly,

space was cramped. The v1s1on expanded; money was raised, land was donated by William Palmer, and a new hospital was begun only to stand unfinished for several years.

In 1909 new 1 ife

carrie

Deaco-ness II when Miss Florence Standish

arrived as Superintendent of the hospital. Taking the $5000 that had been put aside for a prized elevator,

she equipped operating and steriliz-ing rooms,_ delivery room, and dining

room. Within a year, though, the hospital had its elevator as Miss Standish raised the entire sum by subscription. The new building, which had opened its doors on July 1,

1911, became Beth-El Hos pita 1; the nursing program was Beth-El Training School.

In 1915 Julia Ray Work (class of

1913) was appointed Superintendent of Nurses and Director of the Training School. Nearly fifty years later, after a career that included nursing duty with the Army in WWI, work as a Public Health nurse and service with the Visiting Nurses Association and City Health Department, Julia and Margaret Glew (class of 1912) would collect and edit History of Memorial Hospital and Beth-El School of Nursing for the school alumnae. Their "gift of love11

became a priceless tribute to the original vision that had fostered decades of care and service.

4

Changes marked Beth-El's march across the decades from its beginnings in

1904. No real surprise as health care procedures and the responsibilities of the nursing professional changed dramatically. In the early years the students were the staff; nurses did a 11 the

cleaning--rooms, halls, baths, stairs, TB tents--as well as caring for patients. Twelve-hour shifts were the rule, with only a half-day off each week unless additional time was available on Sunday.

Primary treatment for "pneumonia, heart failure, convulsions, and great prostration from any cause" was the mustard pack or flax seed poultice. Six weeks spent at the contagion hospital were remembered by one graduate, "If we contracted any contagious disease during this time we were thought to have broken sterile (contagion) technique and were punished with suspension or dismissal." When the National Methodist Sanatorium opened in August 1926, it was described in Beth-El's 1927 yearbook TPR as "one of the most modern and up-to-date institutions of the middle west." Tuberculosis patients from across the United States received care from young Beth-El nurses, who reported taking them outside daily to enjoy the benefits of the sun.

Changes Mark

All this familiar, though limited, health care changed with the advent

of sulfa drugs, penicillin, and other

antibiotics. TB patients received

successful treatment with medication in addition to the fresh air and

sunshine. Although the students initially saw little difference in

their full-day duties, the gradual addition of more registered nurses to

the hos pi ta l staff and of more

faculty members to the school staff

made class hours into duty hours as

well.

Many changes have occurred in the

post of Superintendent of Nurses

since Miss Caroline Rotis, a

Methodist Deaconess, was first

appointed in 1903. Most served only

a year or two. While excel lent

nurses, few made the impact of Mary K. Smith. As Superintendent from

1930 to 1941, she earned a reputation for being stern but fair. Perhaps no

wiser women could have shepherded the

students through the hardships of the

Depression, when they and the

patients alike received their meals

from churches in the area. "Mary

K.," as she was remembered by

graduates of those years, taught

students to make the most of what was

never enough. Her well-remembered advice--"Improvise!"--made resilience a Beth-El trademark.

Beth-El History

Just as predictably as medical

procedures and personnel have

changed, so has the cost of a nursing

education for the Beth-El student. In the first years of the school,

students paid no tuition. In fact, for their twe 1 ve-hour duty days the

hospital gave them two or three

dollars a month. By 1937 the three

year program cost each student $150;

in the early 1950's the cost had

risen to $390. In 1986 the cost of a

baccalaureate degree, earned over

four years, was more than $14,000.

Nine different uniforms have been

worn by Beth-El students since 1904.

Early graduates remember a blue dress

with white apron, bib, and cuffs;

caps, black hose and shoes. Many

photographs show students then in the

traditional nurse's cape as well.

Perhaps the most simple of the

uniforms was the 1940's edition, a chambray dress with white collar and

cuffs but no apron. Students and

graduates · have a 1 so worn four different nursing caps; the most

recent style was first worn by the

class of 1983 at graduation on May

27th graduation.

Receiving that cap, a career hallmark to nursing students, has been

accomplished in many different ways

over the years. Students from 1914

received their caps after three

months in training. Graduates from Depression and Wor.ld War II years may have carried Florence Nightingale lamps as part of a solemn capping ceremony. Only in the last few years

has the capping tradition been replaced with Transition into Nurs-ing, an evening's program that marks in other ways the entry into the profession.

The opening of the Nurses Home in 1917 gave a rea 1 sense of community to Beth-El students. Their scrap-books reveal the richness of the dormitory experience as groups gathered around the piano or relaxed on the porch. Many graduates remem-bered the positive influence of a loving house mother. Classrooms in the dormitory also had their own well-remembered residents, like the practical model dubbed Mrs. Chase. The closing of the dorm in 1973 reflected yet more changes for Beth-El; students had new needs and the hospital had new directions. With the Nurses Home went Daniels Hall, site of dances so popular in the 1950's and 1960's. Gone was the glee club that had expressed musical thanks to Beth-El supporters. Gone was the competitive basketba 11 team, a notorious area champion for years. Gone were the "Sarah Gramps,11

high-spi rited students who joined in an informal sorority and met in the boiler room.

6

Beth-El survived these changes, as it had others. City Council efforts to close the school despite voter support in 1949 had taken a brief toll: six graduated in 1949, ten in 1959, only five in 1951. The threat to c 1 ose resurfaced; there were no students admitted in 1964, no grad-uates in 1967. The Alumni Associa-tion led another fight in the 1971 referendum with door-to-door campaigning and posters that asked, "When you need a nurse, wi 11 one be there?" A victory in all precincts seemed to say that voters wanted their nurse to be a Beth-El graduate. The school survived, too, the jump from one facility to another: from Nurses Home to "Old Contagion," from one Ent building to another, from the former obstetrics ward in the main hospital to 1 eased facilities on North Farragut Avenue.

Where marriage had not been allowed for many years, and then only in the last six months of the program, Beth-El as a commuter schoo 1 had a student population with large numbers of married students.

Already-employed RNs returned for additional study with the beginning of the baccalaureate program in 1985. Other students even came to start a second, new career in nursing.

In spite of decades of change the vision remained and fostered great pride among graduates. Part of a special history and tradition, each one can celebrate an individual commitment: "I am a Beth-El nurse."

From September 1934 to August 1937, fourteen Beth-El students made many memories on their way to RN status. With a routine so different from their sister-graduates of 1987, members of the class of 1937 studied Materia Medica, Hygiene, Dietetics and other courses under the direction of professionals such as Mary K. Smith and Georgia Shanstrom.

CLASS OF 1937

MARTHA COGSWELL THOMAN MAXINE ELLIS DANIELS HELEN SHANKLE HERBERT ALICE HUSTON BRITTON WINIFRED JOHNSTON NICHOLS

ROWENA MALONE SHEARER HELEN MILLARD ORR BRONWEN MOOG JONES PHYLLIS ROHRER WOLFE

LOIS STORER

MADELINE TURNER ANDERSON FLORENCE WILLIAMS SKINNER

RUTH MC NAIR BANKER MILDRED GERCKEN HENRY

Smith meant the cap had to be clean and straight, hair off the collar, uniform clean and no runs in the stockings. "Certainly, 11 _Winifred remembered, "only the barest touch of make-up i f any and never - never perfume. To this day I judge a nurse's personal appearance very much as the same as Mary K. Smith's required standards."

With experiences perhaps typical of Early nursing experiences took the those seeking an education during the students no further than the central Depression years, Winifred Johnston utility room, where bed pans went Nichols remembered raising turkeys on into a bathtub full of lysol water. a ranch in western Kansas. She and There were perhaps no more than ten her mother sold turkeys for a dollar registered nurses, including Miss each, gaining enough for her tuition Smith and the teaching staff. They with five dollars left each month for would supervise the floors from 7 spending money. a.m. to 3 p.m., while students Once at Beth-El, Winifred and her handled the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and 11 classmates woke and dressed at 6:00 p.m. to 7 a.m. shifts with evening each morning before running to the and night supervisors.

dining room for breakfast. "We were Advancing medical technology has always hungry," she said. In the big changed the course of treatment. waiting room on the dormitory's "But," Winifred Johnston Nichols second floor, students would line up cone l uded, 11

a good bedside ca re nurse with everybody on the day shift, is a jewel beyond price ••••• when I

"probies" in the front and on back to graduated, a Beth-El trained nurse the seniors. Director Mary K. Smith had the reputation of being capable would conduct a short devotional, and reliable wherever she was followed by a hymn and announcements. placed. 11

To the graduates of 1937, A head-to toe inspection by Miss that's one thing that hasn't changed!

Neal Jepson, MD Robert C. Gardner, MD

8

Jean Johns prepared to finish responsi-bilities as Director of the school, assuming the new post of Dean. She returned to school part-time to comp 1 ete coursework toward a Docto-rate but with characteristic energy continued to sew, play the piano, and bowl on a league.

College Administration

Associate Dean Carole Schoffstall, applaude~ as Colorado Nurses Associa-tion District #3 Nurse of the Year in

1985, earned distinction as an outstanding contributor to nursing education research. In the class-room, her wit made the maze of health communication theories a lively lesson.

As Director of Students Services, Marilyn Atwood (on right, with

secretary Bonnie Gish) used

experiences as a teacher of

"everything from kindergarten to high

school," as well as an M.A. in

Guidance and Counseling, to minister

through her open door to student

needs. She invested energy in the

community as well, volunteering

regularly at the Penrose Library.

J. Robert Peters

Executive Director College President

COLLEGE BOARD MEMBERS

Mrs. Nancy Andersen Mr. John Armstrong, Jr. Brig. Gen. Kenneth I. Curtis

Ron Hathaway Mr. Dexter Peak Ms. Mary Vieth Mrs. Marjorie Westbay EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Mrs. L. Jean Johns J. Robert Peters Mrs. Lois Pruitt Dr. Richard Modlin

Hospital

Administration

Patient Care Services

LAY ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Mr. John Armstrong, Jr. Mrs. Pat Grennell Barbara Gordon Vanessa Howell Mrs. Sharon Lee Mrs. Joan Lovett Ms. Marcy Morrison Dr. Donald Schwartz Reverend 0. Gerald Trigg Mrs. Mary Vieth Dr. Stephen Teletnik Dr. Richard Modlin EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS J. Robert Peters Mrs. L. Jean Johns Mrs. Lois Pruitt

Associates in OB/GYN, PC

10

Faculty Continues

Involved as they were in the transi-tion from diploma to baccalaureate education, faculty members still managed to continue the community activities that had won them various individual accolades over the years:

Colorado OB Nurse of the Year, Colorado Nurses' Association District

#3 Nurse of the Year (multiple awards), AJN Book of the Year Award, and memberships in Sigma Theta Tau. Professionally they authored text-books and journal articles, developed specialty courses such as Preopera-tive Nursing, held ANA certificates in areas such as Gerontological Nursing, and served as CNA District #3 President.

Personally they loved sailing and golf, Old English Sheepdogs and art. They served with Silver Key and CARES, the Red Cross and Boy Scouts of America. They came from distin-guished military and academic back-grounds with experiences from Vietnam to Pennsylvania, Loma Linda to St. Paul.

Faculty members enjoy the buffet at the annual Christmas party.

Community Involvement

LEFT, A Senior Center patron talks with Jo Ruth before a presentation by gerontological nursing students. RIGHT, Instructor Tricia Lind uses a moment during Emergency Room simulation lab to take care of paperwork.

Colorado Springs

Knowing they had a fondness for self-analysis, Director of Student Services, Marilyn Atwood, shared statistics on the student body in a fall newsletter. The average age of a Beth-El student was 30.4, up 8 months from the last year. Freshmen, with an average age of 24.1, were the

youngest class. Of the total population, 47% were married

students. The majority, 86%, had prior college and 27% were degreed. Age and education, though interesting facts, appeared unimportant beside the personal drive demanded of nursing students. Entering freshmen

might take as many as 18 hours during

the fall semester, a brutal initiation with lab assignments and English papers. With only one nursing class each term, students' ties to Beth-El seemed weak. Upperclassmen, finished with courses at the University of Colorado, would

still spend precious little time in the college building; their responsibilities moved to the hos pita 1 floors with courses such as Medical-Surgical and Maternal Child.

Seniors Sue Hafey and Penny Sharkey peer into an ambulance after an Emergency Room simulation lab.

12

Neiland R.Olson,MD, PC

ABOVE, Beth-El Freshman, joined by a pre-med student at

UCCS, hesitantly begins a

dissecting exercise, BELOW, Nancy Larson prepares medications during her Nursing

Everything's Academic

UPPER LEFT, Tereze Kierstead and Lucienne Nelson role play a situation in health

communications. UPPER RIGHT, Instructor Tricia Lind observes David Stamps and

Mary Schoenecker practicing assessment skills in Nursing Care of Adults rotation.

LOWER LEFT, Senior students simulate their emergency resuscitation techniques.

LOWER RIGHT, Lori Meyer builds rapport with a pediatric client at the Public

Hea 1th Center.

•

14

Students Relate, Relax

Sma 11 touches increased students

connectedness. A bookstore opened in the fall. T-shirts with the college

logo became the first item sold, with

school mugs, pens, and pocket

calendars added later. School

gatherings such as the Christmas

party offered time for relaxation,

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

Colorado Student Nurses Association

{CSNA)

Process and Communication Committee

(PACC)

Yearbook Staff

Class Officers and Representatives to Faculty Committee

Joanne Smiley confers with her Public

Health Nurse Preceptor.

LEFT, Elaine Kunzman and Arlene Bosma offer a class on skin care to participants at the Senior Center. RIGHT, Supervised by a paramedic instructor, senior

students assess the condition of a classmate in a simulated emergency situation.

and

dove

,,

16

'87 Grads Enter Profession

Noting that every group has its own

persona 1 ity, one graduate nurse

called the class of 1987 11

feisty11

and

11

assertive.11

Certainly this last

diploma class contained a spectrum of individuals. Seniors could be 20

-or 40 - years old. Of the twelve

graduates, eight were married and

juggled home responsibilities with

clinical experiences such as Peds or Medical-Surgical III. Goal-oriented

class members began the job search in

January, enjoying recruitment efforts such as a luncheon hosted by the

nursing administration at Memorial

Hospital. Spring activities included an annual banquet and a Senior "skip day"; who'd ever be 1 i eve Seniors actually spent that day in studying for midterms? Graduation would mark

the end of a three-year effort with

moving graduation ceremonies held at

the Fine Arts Center.

NOT PICTURED: Alison McDonald

Carolyn Cook Nancy Edmundson Beth Gogolewski

Sue Hafey Penny Hi 11 Tanya Nichols

LEFT, Senior Penny Hill shares her warmth for lab with Mrs. Chase. RIGrT, Senior Shirely Pierce gazes at the camera as she enjoys her lunch before class.

Shirley Pearce Faye Rice Penny Sharkey

~ynthicJ Stinso_n Jennifer Winograd Ruth Edgertc,n, Class Sponsor

J.R. Edgerton,MD J.H.Selby,

Jr.,

MD

/988

/989

- -

20 John Campbell Valerie Chappell Mary Corbett Tracy Cowden Kelli Curtis Stephanie Flitcraft

June Hatton Susan Hatton Wandering the ha 11 s with curiosity, freshmen arrived for orientation in August to receive a warm welcome from

Dean Jean Johns and faculty. Many

freshmen expressed amazement over the

casual manner in which faculty were addressed; only later would they learn this to be an expression of

colleagiality, an intimacy that

allowed students to approach instructors with a variety of problems. For that first day,

J

Carlos Johnson Ami Kandra k

however, freshmen were content to mingle with returning students and

develop new ideas about the importance of expressing their professionalism through outlets such

as the student nurses' association. As students shared their backgrounds and interests, new friendships began. Sharing anatomy labs or enrolling in

the same psychology class at the

University cf Colorado strengthened

these early ties.

Henrietta Mascarenas Amanda Matejka

Tereze Kierstead Debbie Nowland Nancy Larson Mary Lechner Terry Leske Ann Lowery Amy McIntyre Elaine McIntyre ,Jennifer Martin

Orientation

Sparks

Friendships

Jerry S. Graul, MD, PC

22 Inez Mahon Valorie Meaders Emily Nelson Lucienne Nelson Nancy Nicolicchia Judy Oettinger Susan Olemeda Norella Pittle Diane Polo~us

While freshmen may have attracted

attention by their looks of

bewilderment, and seniors by their look of determination, no particular

look defined the sophomores and

juniors. Although each individual

knew full well when he expected to graduate, it was nearly impossible to define the middle classes because many proceeded through the program as

part-time students. LPNs with

advanced status, students with

degrees from other colleges,

transfers who had been out of college for one year or ten years - these

people qualified as sophomores and

juniors. But to them went a 11 the

richness of the Beth-El years: the

excitement of that first uniform,

purchased for Fundamentals of

Nursing; the wonder of the Transition

into Nursing ceremony; and the

spectrum of clinical experiences.

Finding a professional position was

still a year or two away, so

sophomores and juniors had the luxury

of learning with only the pre~sure of

the moment. These became the years

of definition: determining a nursing

philosophy

Donna Poyner Michelle Reimer Sally Reiners Dawn Reynolds Dottie Roberts Maureen Ransom Mary Schoenecker Kelly Shaw Michael Sie Chris Simosky

Students watch a favorite soap opera·(General Hospital) before 1--:ealth Communications class.

Esper Snyder Karen Standiford Vicky Stetson Deborah Tews Tate Ulrich Rebecca Vnasdale Melissa Wagner Betina Washington Karen Whitmore Fran Widick Phyllis Zimmerman

Markert, Carlton,

®~1r[K]-~[b

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

26

To

the dedicated ...

Memorial Hospital

and its entire staff

congratulates

the graduating

class of Beth-El

College of Nursing.

SECURITY FLORIST, INC.,

Security Shopping Center s~rurity, Colo. 80911

•

•

Phone: 392-4243 "We're Nicer"

Flowers for all occasions

ed•u•ca•tion

(ejOO-ka

'shan)

The difference betwe~n a good

.

life and

a great life.

l

•fF.)

The Penrose

Health System

Penrose Hospital

Penrose Community Hospital

The difference between a good hospital and a ~r_eat hospital.

6..\t..

Saint Francis

.,Hospital

28

For all of the times of your life

The Family Birthplace at Saint Francis

Saint Francis Emergency Care

Golden Care Plus

East Pikes Peak and Prospect, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903, (303) 636-8800 PATRONS John D. Hillman, M.D. John D. Norton, M.D. David W. Albrecht, M.D. Phyllis V. Clark, M.D. Melinda E. Goodin, PA-C L. Jean Johns

Sidney D. Rubina, D.O.

Michael Berman, M.D.

Thoma~ P. Dlugos, M.D., P.C.

Joseph S. Pollard, M.D., P.C.

Beth-El Chart

Carolyn Cook, Senior Editior

Dottie Roberts, Copy and Layout

Mary Schoenecker, Advertising

Nancy Edmundson, Art