Anna Maxwell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Caroline Maxwell
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| Born | 14 March 1851 |
| Died | 2 January 1929 (aged 77) |
| Known for | Pioneering professional nursing in the United States Establishing the Army Nurse Corps |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Nurse |
| Institutions | New England Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital St. Luke's Hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital of New York |
| Sub-specialties | Nurse training |
| Awards | Medaille de l'Hygiene Publique |
Anna Caroline Maxwell (born March 14, 1851, died January 2, 1929) was a very important nurse. Many people called her "the American Florence Nightingale". She did a lot to help nursing become a respected profession in the United States.
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Early Life and Training
Anna Caroline Maxwell was born in Bristol, New York on March 14, 1851. Her father, John Eglinton Maxwell, was from Scotland. Her mother, Diantha Caroline Maxwell, was American.
Her family lived in Canada for some of her childhood. They moved back to the United States in 1874. That year, Anna started working as an assistant matron at New England Hospital. She was nursing without any formal training.
In 1876, she left the hospital and spent two years in England. After that, she joined the Boston City Hospital Training School for Nurses. She was interested in this school because Linda Richards, one of America's first nurses, taught there.
Her Nursing Career
In 1880, Anna Maxwell was asked to start a training school for nurses at Montreal General Hospital. She found the work there very slow and left after only six months. She then traveled around Europe, visiting many hospitals.
She returned to America in November 1881. She became the head of the Training School for Nurses at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In 1889, she moved to New York to be the director of nursing at St. Luke's Hospital.
From 1892 to 1921, she was the superintendent of nursing at the Presbyterian Hospital of New York. Anna Maxwell was also the first director of the Presbyterian Hospital's nursing school. This school started in 1892 and later became the Columbia University School of Nursing.
Helping During Wars
Anna Maxwell played a big role in nursing during wartime.
Spanish-American War
During the Spanish–American War, she asked if trained nurses could go to military hospitals. She wanted them to care for injured soldiers. She was sent to a field hospital in Chicamauga, Georgia.
There, she and her nurses found very bad conditions. There was poor sanitation, many diseases, and a lot of deaths. Anna Maxwell and her team worked hard and made the conditions much better.
There was also an outbreak of typhoid fever at a nearby military camp. Anna led 150 nurses who cared for over 600 sick soldiers. They also helped with cases of malaria and measles. The military was very impressed with what the nurses achieved. Because of her efforts, the United States Army Nurse Corps was created in 1901.
World War I
In World War I, Anna Maxwell helped prepare nurses for military service. In 1916, she traveled to Europe to visit hospitals on the front lines. France gave her the Medaille de l'Hygiene Publique (Medal of Honor for Public Health). This was to thank her for her important work.
After the war, Anna worked to get nurses a special rank in the armed forces. This goal was achieved in 1920.
Other Important Work
Besides her work in education and with the military, Anna Maxwell did many other things.
- She co-wrote a textbook called Practical Nursing with Amy E. Pope.
- She was a member of the American Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses (started in 1893). This group later became the National League for Nursing.
- She was also part of the Nurses' Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (started in 1897). This group later became the American Nurses Association.
- She was a member of the International Council of Nurses (1899) and the American Red Cross Nursing Service (1899).
- She helped start the American Journal of Nursing and the Isabel Hampton Robb Scholarship Fund.
How She Was Honored
In 1928, the first building at the new Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center opened. It was the home for the university's nursing school. This building was named "Anna C. Maxwell Hall" to honor her.
The hall was taken down in 1984 to make room for a new hospital. However, the university created a special teaching position (an endowed professorship) at the nursing school in her name. Anna Maxwell was also one of the first women to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Columbia University gave her an honorary Master of Arts degree.
