District Two Illinois Nurses' Association Records

Collection

Identifier: RHC-RC-144

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The district includes nurses from DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, and Will Counties. Administrative records comprise the largest series and contain constitutions and by-laws, regular and board meeting minutes, annual reports, correspondence, committee and section records, and histories of the association and hospitals and nursing education programs within the district. The section records document specific nursing divisions within the association such as general duty or mental health nurses. Although distinct from the financial records series, some budgets and treasurer's reports can be found in the regular meeting minute books or the finance committee file. Annual meeting minutes also are interfiled in the regular meeting minutes. Records for Nurses Week in 1978 and awards and commendations complete the series. Materials from the District II Student Nurses' Association, the Illinois State Nurses Association (I.S.N.A.), the Illinois Nurses' Association (I.N.A.), and the American Nurses' Association (A.N.A.) comprises the other organizations' records series. There is a detailed history of the I.N.A. for the years 1901 to 1935 in Box 6, folder 3. Of particular interest is the file containing state nursing acts (1931-1965) indicating the associations' concern for registration and certification laws. The expansion of the I.N.A., as well as office changes and digital access, is noted via a series of newsletters (1995-2004) in box 7. The collection provides substantial information on the development of the nursing profession and it is especially useful for women's history research. Indications of advancements in medicine may also be gleaned from the documents. In particular, the minutes detail the effect World Wars I and II had upon the nursing and medical professions as well as the struggle for standard nursing education requirements. A 3.5" floppy containing historic documents created in 1995 and 1996 can be found in the Historical Committee folder (box 7). The documents included a list of officers (1982-1997), presidents (1914-1996), and contact information for the Regional History Center, where INA District Two Records were donated. These e-records may be accessed on the computer in the Center's reading room. Print copies of the documents are in the collection.

Dates

created: 1914-2004
Other: Date acquired: 08/28/1973

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access to the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights in the collection belong to District Two of the Illinois Nurses' Association; literary rights are dedicated to the public.

Biographical or Historical Information

A group of nurses met in 1901 to form the "Graduate Nurses Association of the State of Illinois.” The group worked for acceptable standards of instruction for nursing schools. In 1911 the association decided to form subdivisions, called districts, determined by railroad facilities. District Two held its first meeting in Retan Hall, Sherman Hospital, Elgin, on November 4, 1914. The by-laws stated the associations objectives--"... to advance high standards of ethical and professional and education advancements in every proper way." Originally, DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, McHenry and Will Counties comprised District Two; today, McHenry County has been replaced by Grundy County. Throughout its history the association strived to better nurses working conditions and improve the medical profession. During World War I, despite a shortage of nurses, the association sponsored a bill stating that nursing education requirements should not be lowered. A Tuberculosis and Relief Committee formed in 1920 and by 1925 twenty-five nurses received free cards at the "Tuberculosis Shack" in Naperville. This later became Edwards Sanitarium for Tuberculosis and today, following reconstruction, the building is used as Naperville's legislation on both the State National levels. Many of the medical laws familiar today were sponsored or supported by the association. In 1933 nurses lobbied for the bill stating that all babies have silver nitrate drops put in each eye immediately after birth to prevent blindness. A 1937 bill raised the requirements for nurses' registration. In 1955, after fourteen years of continual effort by the American Nurses' Association, Congress passed a bill to provide a Commission in the Reserve Nurses' Corps of the Army, Navy, and Air Force for mail nurses. Female nurses had been commissioned since World War II. Various branches of nursing became important in 1947 when the association formed sections. The first sections, public health, institutional staff, and private duty, had their own governing rules complying with district by-laws. Later sections formed included industrial nurses, (now known as occupational health), general duty nurses and education, administration, consultant, and teachers section, (both formed out of the institutional staff), institutional nursing service and administrators, office nurses, and psychiatric nurses. A Student Nurses' Association organized in 1950 with a professional nurse appointed as an advisor. Over the year the association made several contributions to different groups in an effort to improve programs of benefit to nurses. They worked for job security and special insurance programs. Today, the District Two nurses continue to strive for improving nursing skills, their purposes, and their usefulness to society. Note: This historical information was taken from Heritage: District Two, A Past to Remember by Elizabeth A. Hallet, R.N. (1976).

Note written by

Extent

5.00 Linear Feet

3 digital files (44.5 KB) other_unmapped

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement Note

The District II, Illinois Nurses' Association records (1914-1995) are organized in five series: 1) administrative records, 2) financial records, 3) membership records, 4) publications, and 5) other organization’s records.

Technical Access Requirements

Electronic records may be accessed on the computer in the Center’s reading room.

Source of Acquisition

Maxine Zamecnik

Method of Acquisition

Maxine Zamecnik, President, Second District, Illinois Nurses' Association, deposited the associations' records in the Northern Illinois University Archives on August 28, 1973. J. Joseph Bauxar, University Archivist, transferred the collection to the Northern Illinois Regional History Center in June 1978.