FaU 1998 Vol Ll No 1
rSSN 1049-2259
DEATH OF A TWENTIETH CENTURY NURSE LEADER BY JOAN
E. LYNAUGH, PHD, FAAN
Eleanor . Lambert en , who died at age 82 on March 30, 1998. was a long time and ery important ad vi.sor, supporter and friend to the Center. We tUll1eu to her often tor her experienced c unse! and insights into the vagaries of nursing and heallh care. nly during the very last year of he r life , when Parkinson ' s uisease d id fi nally ~Iow her down. was Eleanor anythi ng but force ful. interested, inf0ll11ed and ready t go. And. even then . whe n she could no longer tmvel, she wanted to know what we would be do ing nex t and continued her keen intere t in history . eleanor was well aware thill her career 'panned some of the m 5t hectic ti mes and far-reachi ng changes in nul' ing 's hi 'lory . She be lieved ' he was luc k.y to li ve and be in nur in g during those lime . And, o f cour e, ~ I e will b remembered for her own deep inv Ivemem in so me o f nursing's most far r ching and controvers ial ell nges . A fter her 1939 graduat ion from Ove rlook Hos pital Schoo l o f Nurs ing in Summil New Jersey, Eleanor Dr. Eleal1ur Lamherlst'n prac ticed and Laught there for nearl y ten year . For four ye. rs she directed the schoo l of mlf'i ng and hospital nu rsing serv ice. She a1 0 did a brief stint as director of the Overlook Hospital before heading off to Teache rs's College. Co lumb ia University wheTc she earned her bachelor's, master of arts and doc torate in education . At Teac her's College she was tapped b I its n ursing education director. R. Louise McManus. Lo conduct an 'e 'periment in reorganizing hospital nursin g' funded by the W.K. K Il ogg Founda tion, The srudy tested an d promoted the concept which i:ame 10 be call d team nur ing. - leanor looked back on those years fro m 1950 to 1957 wi th pleasure. Showi ng what well educated nur e ' with contro l over thei pra tice could do to impr ve patient eare filled he r with enthu iasm. Later. she spent four years with the American Hospita l Ass ciLti on us Direct r o f their Divisi n r Nursing. She fc lt that of ered hcr a great cducation Hnd opport uni ty to obtai n !l na tional and inte rnat iona l view of health care. he spen t the I 60s at Teacher' CoUege, risi ng to the rank of protes or and directi ng the Div i ' ion of Nursing Educatio n and th.:n the Div ision of He al111 Scrv ices, Scicn c · and Educalion. In 1970 she moved to Corne ll Unive rsi ty- ew York Hospital School of N rs ing as Dean and Pro fessor, remaini ng there until the Schoo l clo ed in 1979. She served as Seni r Associate D irector and D irector o f Nursi ng at the ew York H ~pi Lal Corne ll Medical Ce nter for ttle rest of he r career.
Center for The Study of The History afNursing UNlVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANL\
SOmOL OF NURSING
Begin ning abou t 1960 El ea nor cou ld be fo und on vil1 uall y e very important committee .'tudy ing or recommending ab ut nu rsing. 1 wi ll li s! onl y a few. She worked on To ward QlIality in Nursing ( 1963), 111(: Surgeon Genc ral ' Rep rt lhal led to The Nurse T raining Acl, the f rerun ne r o f more than U,irty years of fund ing for nursing ia the Division of Nur ing in the US Pub lic Health Service. Sbe continu ed on page ,