Esther Hasson

Infobox Military Person
name=Esther Voorhees Hasson
born= birth date|1867|9|20
died= death date and age|1942|3|8|1867|9|20
placeofbirth=Baltimore, Maryland
placeofdeath=Washington, D.C.


caption=Chief Nurse , USN and USA
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Navy Nurse Corps and Army Reserve Nurse Corps
serviceyears= 1908-1911 (Navy) and 1917-1919 (Army)
rank=Chief Nurse
commands=Superintendent of the United States Navy Nurse Corps
unit=
battles=Spanish-American War World War I
awards=
laterwork=
portrayedby= Esther Voorhees Hasson was the first Superintendent of the United States Navy Nurse Corps. Prior to and after serving in the United States Navy Nurse Corps, she served as an Army nurse.

Early life

Esther Voorhees Hasson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on 20 September 1867. She graduated from the Connecticut Training School for Nurses, in New Haven, in 1897.

Nurse Corps career

In June 1898, during the Spanish American War, Miss Hasson became a contract nurse with the U.S. Army, subsequently serving on the hospital ship Relief and in the Philippines. She left the Army in 1901. In 1905-07, she served as a nurse in Panama.

When the Navy Nurse Corps was established in 1908, Miss Hasson became its first Superintendent, taking the oath of office on 18 August 1908. Under her leadership, 19 additional nurses were recruited and trained for Naval service during 1908. The Nurse Corps had grown to 85 trained nurses by the time Miss Hasson resigned as Superintendent in January 1911.

In June 1917, Esther Hasson became a U.S. Army Reserve Nurse. She served in Europe during the First World War and into 1919, including duty as Chief Nurse of two Army Base hospitals, and left active service in June 1919. Chief Nurse Esther V. Hasson died in Washington, D.C., on 8 March 1942.

Contributions as Superintendent

As the first superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps Esther Hasson had the task of recruiting qualified nurses and setting up training for the incoming nurses, as well as administering the Corps once it was established. The first nineteen nurses, in addition to Superintendent Hasson, carefully chosen from 33 invited candidates, came to be known as the "Sacred Twenty". Superintendent Hasson worked with Surgeon General Presley Marion Rixey to establish an orderly, disciplined corps with a respectable reputation and excellent benefits, if somewhat limited pay.

Further reading

*cite book |last=Sterner |first=Doris M. |title=In and Out of Harm's Way: A history of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps |date=1997 |publisher=Peanut Butter Publishing |location=Seattle, WA |isbn=0897167066
*cite book |last=Godson |first=Susan H. |title=Serving Proudly: A history of Women in the U.S. Navy |date=2001 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |isbn=1-55750-317-6
* Hasson, Esther V., "Uncinariasis: A Medical Problem of To-Day",The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 7, No. 9 (Jun., 1907), pp. 689-692.
* Hasson, Esther V., "The Navy Nurse Corps",The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 9, No. 4 (Jan., 1909), pp. 267-268.
* Hasson, Esther V., "The Navy Nurse Corps",The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 9, No. 6 (Mar., 1909), pp. 410-415.
* Hasson, Esther V., "How to Become a Trained Nurse",The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 10, No. 6 (Mar., 1910), pp. 419-420.
* Hasson, Esther V., "The New Navy Nurse Corps Superintendent",The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 11, No. 6 (Mar., 1911), p. 474.
* "Obituaries",The American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 42, No. 5 (May, 1942), pp. 602-605.

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/prs-tpic/nurses/nurses.htm Nurses and the U.S. Navy --Overview and Special Image Selection] Naval Historical Center
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-h/e-hasson.htm Esther Hasson] Naval Historical Center
* [http://www.womensmemorial.org/H&C/Exhibits/exspanam/SpanAmsplash2.html Under Contract: Nurses in the Spanish American War] This online exhibit reflects a special exhibit that was sponsored by The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and was formerly on display at the Women's Memorial, located at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery.