Login
Login

Alma E. Foerster

{{Short description|American nurse}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Alma E. Foerster

| image = AlmaFoerster1921DAR.jpg

| alt =

| caption = circa 1920

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1885|07|25}}

| birth_place = Ontarioville, Illinois

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1967|08|01|1885|07|25}}

| death_place = Chicago, Illinois

| nationality = American

| other_names =

| occupation = nurse

| years_active = 1910-1940s

| known_for = An inaugural recipient of the Florence Nightingale Medal, who had service in Archangel, Russia during the Russian Revolution.

| notable_works =

}}

Alma E. Foerster (1885–1967) was an American nurse who worked in both civilian and military care. She began her career as a public health nurse in Chicago and during the First World War helped establish hospitals in Kiev, for which she received the Cross of Saint Anna. She worked in Romania, receiving the Order of the Cross of Queen Marie for her service, before being sent on a humanitarian mission to Archangel, Russia. As one of only two American Red Cross nurses in Archangel, she provided assistance at the military surgical hospital, while the other nurse assisted with civilian nursing. She was one of the inaugural recipients of the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1920. After her return to the United States, she worked in the United States Public Health Service as a nurse, instructor and director of nursing in Chicago, Mobile, Ann Arbor and Racine, before returning to Chicago where she ended her career.

Early life

Alma E. Foerster was born on 25 July 1885 in Ontarioville, Cook County, Illinois{{sfn|U.S. Census|1900|p=4B}}{{sfn|National Archives and Records Administration|1917|p=102}} to Friederike (née Boerner){{sfn|Illinois Public Board of Health Archives|1925|p=552}} and Rev. Paul Foerster, who were German immigrants.{{sfn|National Archives and Records Administration|1907|p=287}}{{sfn|Dock|1912|p=677}} Foerster obtained a diploma from Presbyterian School of Nursing in Chicago in 1910.{{sfn|University of Michigan|1928|p=263}}

Career

Foerster's career began as a public health nurse working with the Infant Welfare and Jewish Aid Societies of Chicago. In 1911, she enrolled as a relief nurse with the American Red Cross{{sfn|Dock|1912|p=677}} and began working at Michael Reese Hospital.{{sfn|University of Michigan|1928|p=263}} She joined the disaster relief nurses of the Red Cross to help with the 1913 Ohio flood.{{sfn|Dock|1912|p=677}} In September 1914, Foerster went with a contingent of Red Cross nurses from Chicago to establish a hospital in Kiev.{{sfn|The Chicago Daily Tribune|1915|p=5}} In June, 1915, Foerster, along with Charlotte Burgess, Alice Gilbourne and Rachel Torrance were transferred from the Kiev units to the Serbian Units.{{sfn|Dock|1912|p=158}} They returned in August to the United States{{sfn|The Chicago Daily Tribune|1915|p=5}} and Foerster was recognized by the Russian government with the Cross of Saint Anna for her service.{{sfn|The Chicago Daily Tribune|1919|p=15}} Forester began working at the Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, where she remained until 1916. Simultaneously, she was working at the Rush Medical Dispensary,{{sfn|University of Michigan|1928|p=263}} where she served as head nurse.{{sfn|The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review|1917|p=236}} In 1917, the Red Cross sent her to Romania{{sfn|The American Journal of Nursing|1920|p=40}} and after serving for a year, she was awarded with a brevet order third class for her service from the Romanian government.{{sfn|Wilkes-Barre Evening News|1918|p=5}} The following year, she was awarded the Order of the Cross of Queen Marie by the Romanian government.{{sfn|The Chicago Daily Tribune|1919|p=15}}

From Romania, Foerster was sent to Archangel, Russia where she served until 1919.{{sfn|University of Michigan|1928|p=263}} The Russian assignment, included a party of eleven members, two of whom were nurses, Forester and a New Jersey nurse, Beatrice M. Gosling. Their task was to deliver 4,200 tons of food and medical supplies to civilians in Archangel, but when they arrived, they realized the conditions were much worse than had been anticipated. Intense fighting between the Bolshevik forces, White Army and Allied troops from the British and U.S. Armies during the Russian Civil War had left a dire situation. Civilians, cut off by ice and conflict had to depend on the humanitarian aid provided by the small Red Cross and YWCA units. The nurses who were serving at the hospital were facing starvation and were willing to care for the troops in exchange for food. Gosling ended up helping with civilian relief while Forester assisted in the operating room of a small "Annex" hospital set up in a chapel by the Red Cross to care for wounded and sick soldiers.{{sfn|Dock|1912|pp=678-682}} When the ice finally broke in the spring of 1919, Gosling and Foerster were returned to the U.S. and the American Red Cross Hospital was closed.{{sfn|Dock|1912|p=684}} Upon her return, Foerster became one of the inaugural winners of the Florence Nightingale Medal, first awarded in 1920, for exemplary nursing service.{{sfn|The British Journal of Nursing|1920|p=334}}

Foerster was appointed as supervisor at Michael Reese Hospital and worked there until she accepted a position to work at the U.S. Public Health Service in Mobile, Alabama in 1922.{{sfn|University of Michigan|1928|p=263}} Foerster was placed at Marine Hospital Number 13.{{sfn|The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review|1922|p=442}} In 1927, she became an instructor and the Supervisor of the Outpatient Department of the University of Michigan Hospital. She was tasked with teaching public health practices to student nurses.{{sfn|Titus|1928|p=88}} In 1934, Foerster moved to Racine, Wisconsin to serve as the Director of Nursing Activities of the Red Cross chapter of Racine{{sfn|The Racine Journal-Times|1934|p=20}} and was in charge of the Public Health Nursing Service for the area.{{sfn|American Journal of Public Health|1936|p=87}} While working in Racine, she oversaw the four "well baby stations", located throughout the city, which allowed women to bring children up to five years old for a medical consultation and evaluation. She also oversaw conferences which covered parenting and prenatal care, which the Red Cross sponsored in conjunction with the local Junior League.{{sfn|Foerster|1935|p=44}}

By 1940, she had moved back to the Chicago area,{{sfn|U.S. Census|1940|p=11A}} where she remained until her death on 1 August 1967.{{sfn|Social Security Death Index|1967}}

References

=Citations=

{{Reflist|30em}}

=Bibliography=

{{refbegin|30em}}

  • {{cite book|editor-last=Dock|editor-first=Lavinia L.|title=A history of nursing: from the earliest times to the present day with special reference to the work of the past thirty years|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofamerica00dock#page/158/mode/2up/search/foerster|volume=IV|year=1912|publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons|location=New York and London|oclc=951101915}}
  • {{cite news|last1=Foerster|first1=Alma E|title=4 Baby Clinics Open Doors to Little Citizens|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6577736/the_racine_journaltimes/|access-date=10 September 2016|publisher=The Racine Journal Times|date=April 17, 1935|location=Racine, Wisconsin|via = Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}
  • {{cite journal|last1=Titus|first1=Shirley C.|title=The Years Development in the Department and School of Nursing|journal=Scalpel|date=1928|pages=86–88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NjRtAAAAMAAJ&pg=PT88|access-date=9 September 2016|publisher=Student Nurses of the University of Michigan Hospital School of Nursing|location=Ann Arbor, Michigan}}
  • {{cite book|author=University of Michigan|title=General Register|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdDhAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA263|year=1928|publisher=University of Michigan Libraries|location=Ann Arbor, Michigan|id=UOM:39015071517802}}
  • {{cite web|ref={{harvid|U.S. Census|1900}}|author=|title=1900 U.S. Census: Cook County, City of Chicago|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DHRQ-G69?i=7&wc=9BQF-L22%3A1030552601%2C1031967101%2C1033018901%3Fcc%3D1325221&cc=1325221|website=FamilySearch|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration|access-date=9 September 2016|location=Washington, D.C.|date=June 4, 1900|id=microfilm publication T623}}
  • {{cite web|ref={{harvid|U.S. Census|1940}}|author=|title=1940 U.S. Census: Cook County, City of Chicago|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MB-NKYF?i=20&wc=QZXT-3PT%3A790104501%2C791862901%2C801475601%2C801489301%3Fcc%3D2000219&cc=2000219|website=FamilySearch|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration|access-date=10 September 2016|location=Washington, D.C.|date=April 12, 1940|id=microfilm publication T627}}
  • {{cite web|ref={{harvid|Social Security Death Index|1967}}|author=|title=Alma Foerster - Death Record|url=http://death-records.mooseroots.com/l/95258820/Alma-Foerster|website=MooseRoots|publisher=Social Security Administration|access-date=1 September 2016|location=Washington, D.C.|date=1967}}{{Dead link|date=September 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  • {{cite journal|ref={{harvid|American Journal of Public Health|1936}}|author=|title=Association News|journal=American Journal of Public Health and the Nation's Health|volume=26|issue=1|date=January 1936|pages=85–87|url=http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.26.1.85|access-date=9 September 2016|publisher=American Public Health Association|location=Washington, D.C.|doi=10.2105/AJPH.26.1.85|issn=0090-0036}}
  • {{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Chicago Daily Tribune|1915}}|author=|title=Chicago Nurses Back from War Tell of the Horrors in Hospital|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6563627/chicago_daily_tribune/|access-date=9 September 2016|publisher=The Chicago Daily Tribune|date=August 29, 1915|location=Chicago, Illinois|via = Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}
  • {{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Chicago Daily Tribune|1919}}|author=|title=Chicago Nurses Honored|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6564087/chicago_nurses_honored_the_chicago/|access-date=9 September 2016|publisher=The Chicago Daily Tribune|date=January 16, 1919|location=Chicago, Illinois|via = Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}
  • {{cite journal|ref={{harvid|The British Journal of Nursing|1920}}|author=|title=The Florence Nightingale Medal|journal=The British Journal of Nursing|date=5 June 1920|volume=64|issue=1679|url=http://rcnarchive.rcn.org.uk/data/VOLUME064-1920/page334-volume64-05thjune1920.pdf|access-date=3 September 2016|publisher=Royal British Nurses Association|location=London, England}}
  • {{cite web|ref={{harvid|Illinois Public Board of Health Archives|1925}}|author=|title=Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths: Friederike Foerster|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NQZV-R8M|website=FamilySearch|publisher=Illinois Public Board of Health Archives|access-date=9 September 2016|location=Springfield, Illinois|date=January 30, 1925|id=GS Film #1487769, Reference ID rdn 6303 cn 3}}
  • {{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Racine Journal-Times|1934}}|author=|title=New Deal Sweeps Democrats Into Power|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6568706/the_racine_journaltimes/|access-date=9 September 2016|publisher=The Racine Journal-Times|date=December 31, 1934|location=Racine, Wisconsin|via = Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}
  • {{cite journal|ref={{harvid|The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review|1917}}|author=|title=Overseas|journal=The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review|date=October 1917|volume=59|issue=4|pages=193–254|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858051048159;view=1up;seq=566|access-date=9 September 2016|publisher=Lakeside Publishing Company|location=New York, New York|issn=0893-3251}}
  • {{cite web|ref={{harvid|National Archives and Records Administration|1917}}|author=|title=Passport Application: Alma E. Foerster|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9X7-DKH8?i=101&wc=3XZD-VZS%3A1056306501%2C1056634901%3Fcc%3D2185145&cc=2185145|website=FamilySearch|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration|access-date=10 September 2016|location=Washington, D.C.|date=July 19, 1917|id=Cert. no. 60101-60400, M1490, Roll 385}}
  • {{cite web|ref={{harvid|National Archives and Records Administration|1907}}|author=|title=Passport Application: Paul Foerster|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9DD-6SW5?i=286&wc=3XCT-Y4S%3A1056306501%2C1056431601%3Fcc%3D2185145&cc=2185145|website=FamilySearch|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration|access-date=9 September 2016|location=Washington, D.C.|date=January 29, 1907|id=Cert. no. 25601-26300, Series M1490, Roll 28}}
  • {{cite journal|ref={{harvid|The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review|1922}}|author=|title=Public Health Service|journal=The Trained Nurse and Hospital Review|date=May 1922|volume=68|issue=5|pages=397–458|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044102980190;view=1up;seq=342|access-date=9 September 2016|publisher=Lakeside Publishing Company|location=New York, New York|issn=0893-3251}}
  • {{cite journal|ref={{harvid|The American Journal of Nursing|1920}}|author=|title=Six American Nurses Recipients of Florence Nightingale Medals|journal=The American Journal of Nursing|date=October 1920|volume=21|issue=1|pages=38–41|doi=10.2307/3406491|jstor=3406491|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|issn=0002-936X|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1504583}}
  • {{cite news|ref={{harvid|Wilkes-Barre Evening News|1918}}|author=|title=(untitled)|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/6564113/untitled_wilkesbarre_evening_news/|access-date=9 September 2016|publisher=Wilkes-Barre Evening News|date=August 29, 1918|location=Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|via = Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

{{refend}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foerster, Alma E.}}

Category:1885 births

Category:1967 deaths

Category:People from Hanover Park, Illinois

Category:Female wartime nurses

Category:American women civilians in World War I

Category:American nurses

Category:American women nurses

Category:University of Michigan people

Category:Florence Nightingale Medal recipients