CLASS NOTES
Health-Care History in the Making Ozzy’s Girls: The Story of the Gutsy Women Who Built a Healthcare Empire by Terri Wallo Strauss Ozzy’s Girls tells the stories of a group of nursing students who worked under the guidance of Harriet Osborn (i.e., Ozzy), director of education for St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing, which merged with University of Portland in the 1930s. Many of Ozzy’s students became important players in the fabric of Portland’s health-care systems. Their stories are revealed through the experiences of the late Dee Rennie Wallo, the author’s mother, during her years as a nursing student from 1942 to 1946. Dee Wallo later became a nurse leader at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. The narrative notes the historical context in which these nursing students were getting their start in the profession—nurses had to find a “source” from the local drugstore to give them the tip when the silk hose shipment came in, which, if obtained, they’d need to dye white themselves for their nursing uniforms. (The material was in demand for parachutes during World War II.) There were food rations, air drills, and there was sometimes bad news about loved ones fighting in the war. When the war ended, “the party downtown lasted for days.” Some of the stories feel somewhat timeless— students sneaking out of living quarters through the fire escape, and dating and flirting seems to be the same (sometimes awkward) dance it may always be. Dee met her husband, Ed Wallo, at UP. The scene we’ve excerpted notes the presence of the polio epidemic during Dee’s pediatric rotation as she was trying to decide what field of nursing she wanted to pursue. The high stress of health care during a pandemic offers some eerie perspective.
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PORTLAND
Dee Rennie Wallo ’46 (front) with other members of the Class of 1946 lined up at the St. Vincent School of Nursing
