MCCC Explores the History of Nursing through Reenactor

On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began. On May 12, 1820, Florence Nightingale, the woman whose name has come to epitomize “nurse” was born.

Not quite 191 years after the Nightingale’s birth, and a bit more than 150 years after the beginning of the Civil War, historical interpreter Pat Jordan will impersonate Clara Barton, the American who followed in Florence Nightingale’s footsteps, giving nurses, nursing students, nursing alumni and interested community members a key to the history of their profession.

Montgomery County Community College’s Alumni Association will host the free, living history performance May 1 in the Science Center Auditorium, Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. 

“On May 12th, Florence Nightingale would have been 191 years old,” said Dr. Maria Henninger Toth, director of Montgomery County Community College’s nursing program in an interview by e-mail. “The basis of our nursing practice today is based on what Florence learned regarding the care of the ill in 1800s.”

The program, “Nursing — The Oldest Art and the Youngest Profession,” will open with a reception at 1 p.m. followed by the performance at 2 p.m. Jordan, a highly regarded historical interpreter, will take on the persona of Clara Barton, the Angel of the Battlefield.

Barton tended wounded Massachusetts soldiers in Washington at the start of the war, established an agency to supply soldiers and provided care to the wounded in the front lines. During war, nurses were considered the angels of the battlefield, caring for wounded and dying soldiers in unsanitary and rudimentary conditions.

From this tragic scene, modern nursing practices were developed through the leadership of people like Clara Barton, according to an MCCC press release.

Jordan presents the stories of famous Americans such as Clara Barton, Betsy Ross, Martha Washington and Mary Todd Lincoln to audiences nationwide, including at the Library of Congress, the Franklin Institute, Valley Forge National Park and Smithsonian Institution. She has also appeared on the professional stage in Philadelphia and New York, and she portrayed Sarah Gibbons in “Eyewitness to History” for KYW-TV.

This performance is particularly timely since this year marks the 150^th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, the press release stated. Civil War nursing artifacts will be displayed, and people will have the opportunity to ask questions after the presentation.

“Our historical roots in nursing laid the basis for our contemporary nursing practice with the understanding of simple but important concepts such as cleanliness, light and nutrition,” Toth said. “It is important to understand our historical beginnings, so that we can truly understand the progress that nursing has made and will continue to make.”

According to the press release, nurses will earn 1.0 contact hour of continuing education credit for attending the performance, as approved by the PA State Nurses Association.

RSVP by contacting Lisa Altomare, Alumni Relations Office, by telephone at 215-641-6529 or by e-mail at laltomar@mc3.edu.