Via Florida Elder Law and Estate Planning blog, comes this story
Now, Our Angels in Uniform Need Our Help
As a nurse, I should've been aware of this part of nursing history, and sadly, until today I wasn't.
From this page on Army Nurse Corps History comes a mention of the Cadet Nurse Corps program....
Public health administrators as well as the American public believed that the increasing demands of the U.S. armed forces for nurses were responsible for a shortage of civilian nurses. Responding to these concerns in June 1943, Congress passed the Bolton Act, which set up the Cadet Nurse Corps program. The U.S. government subsidized the education of nursing students who promised that following graduation they would engage in essential military or civilian nursing for the duration of the war. The government also subsidized nursing schools willing to accelerate their program of study and provide student nurses with their primary training within two and a half years. Cadet nurses spent the last six months of their training assigned to civilian or military hospitals, which helped to alleviate the critical nursing shortage. Possible assignments included hospitals run by the Army, Navy, Veterans Administration, Public Health Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Cadet Nurse Corps training program was extremely successful and enjoyed enthusiastic public support. By 1948 when the program was discontinued, more than 150,000 nurse graduates testified to its value.
According to this page about Frances Payne Bolton, the sponsor of the 'Bolton Act' :
This act created the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, which graduated a total of 125,000 nurses for the nation's war effort. In 1945, 85 percent of all nursing students in the United States were part of the Cadet Corps. Being a Cadet provided the nurse with military status and compensation equal to that of a full commissioned officer.
In The Advertiser News I found a recent story about one of those nurses who served in the Cadet Nurse Corps
‘Forgotten Angel’ not giving up hope
To do as the Florida Elder Law and Estate Planning blog suggests and"Contact your congressional representatives and urge them to support the proposed United States Cadet Nurse Corps Equity Act ( H.R.1522 )" ......click the links listed in their post to find out the direct emails of your representatives.
Let's say a long overdue Thank You, to some Forgotten Angels.
2 comments:
OMG this is fascinating! Sometimes I think, this is what I should have done...then I remember I hate camping and realize I would have been drummed out of the military...I am better as an Army Auntie!!!!
and you will be a Wonderful Army Auntie, just as Ryan will do great:)
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