Rachela Hutner

Rachela Hutner was born on 2 July 1909 in Warsaw, which at the time was part of the Russian Empire to the Jewish couple Hannah (née Wajdenfeld) and Joel Chaim Hutner. She was the younger sister of Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner (1906–1980). After her primary schooling, she attended the E. Perła-Łubieńska Gymnasium {{langx|pl|gimnazjum E. Perła-Łubieńska}}), graduating in 1927.{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}} Continuing her education, Hutner enrolled in the University of Warsaw to study in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Before graduating, after three years, she transferred to the Warsaw Nurses' School ({{langx|pl|Warszawskiej Szkoły Pielęgniarstwa}}), from which she graduated in 1937.{{sfn|Koroś|2008}}

Immediately after her graduation, Hutner began working in the surgical department at the School of Hygiene. Winning a scholarship from the government to further her education, she traveled to England in 1938 and enrolled at the Queen's Nursing Institute.{{sfn|Koroś|2008}} Graduating in 1939, the outbreak of war delayed her return home and she remained in England,{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Association|2008}} working for the Willesden District Nursing Association.{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}} She was one of the nurses who assisted the wounded during the bombing of London in 1940.{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}} In 1944, she attended additional courses at the Southend-on-Sea Hospital in Essex and upon completion of her studies went to work at the St James' Hospital in London. Hutner remained active there until she attained a scholarship to attend studies in the United States in 1947. She traveled to Detroit, Michigan and attended Wayne State University in 1947 and 1948, graduating from the School of Pedagogy.{{sfn|Koroś|2008}}

In 1948, Hutner returned to Warsaw and began her career at the Ministry of Health, recognizing the nursing shortage caused by the war and inadequate training facilities. She pressed for the organization of the Training Center for Nursing Instructors which opened in 1949{{sfn|Koroś|2008}}{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Association|2008}} and for which she served as director.{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}} Simultaneously, she proposed a center for nurses and candidates to improve their proficiency, though it would not be established until 1961.{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Association|2008}} Hutner was one of the co-founders of the Polish Nursing Association, which was established in 1958. In 1960, after receiving a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation, Hutner went on a tour of the Nordic countries to evaluate nursing practices, standards and educational facilities.{{sfn|Koroś|2008}} Returning from abroad, she opened the nurses' training school, which would be renamed in 1962 as the Central Medical Personnel Development Center ({{langx|pl|Centralny Ośrodek Doskonalenia Średnich Kadr Medycznych}}).{{sfn|Koroś|2008}}{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}} She would direct this organization until her retirement,{{sfn|Koroś|2008}} publishing two nursing textbooks, Podręcznik dla pielęgniarek (Manual for Nurses, 1958) and Pielęgniarstwo specjalistyczne (Specialized Nursing, 1962).{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}}

Hutner took a course offered by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Denmark in 1964 to study nursing management and the following year was asked to represent the Polish Nursing Association as their delegate for the International Council of Nurses (ICN). She was selected by the ICN to serve on the Admissions Committee for two terms.{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}} For seven years she was a lecturer at the Medical University of Lublin for the Nursing Department and taught courses at the Mother and Child Institute (pl) ({{langx|pl|Instytut Matki i Dziecka}}) in Warsaw. She was also an instructor and expert consultant for the WHO until 1968.{{sfn|Koroś|2008}}{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}}

Hutner retired in 1973 but continued to support nursing development.{{sfn|Koroś|2008}} She was one of the co-creators of an international survey sponsored by the Institut Henry-Dunant in Geneva to identify and predict health issues for the decade of the 1980s.{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}}

Hutner received many awards during her career for her work in nursing. Among them are the Honorary Medal "For exemplary work in the health service" (pl) (1953); the Silver Cross of Merit (1954); the Gold Cross of Merit (1964); the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1972); the Medal of the 30th Anniversary of People's Poland (1974); and the Medal of the National Education Commission (pl) (1978).{{sfn|Koroś|2008}} In 1995, Hutner was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal for her development of nursing programs, supervisory duties at the Nursing Faculty of the Medical Academy of Warsaw, and her expert consultations with the World Health Organization.{{sfn|International Review of the Red Cross|1995}} That same year, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Medical University of Lublin.{{sfn|Polish Nurses' Association|2008}} She was awarded the Commander's Cross with the Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2000 in recognition of her exemplary contributions to the country and development of Polish nursing.{{sfn|Koroś|2008}}

Hutner died on 23 July 2008 in Warsaw and was buried in the Jewish Cemetery. She is recognized as a pioneer of the modern nursing profession in Poland.{{sfn|Koroś|2008}}

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• {{cite web|last1=Koroś|first1=Małgorzata|title=Rachela Hutner–wspomnienie…|url=http://www.edukator.koweziu.edu.pl/347/|website=Edukator Zawodowy|publisher=Ośrodek Rozwoju Edukacji|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015222809/http://www.edukator.koweziu.edu.pl/347/|archive-date=15 October 2017|location=Warsaw, Poland|language=Polish|date=14 August 2008|trans-title=Rachela Hutner–memories...}}
• {{cite web|ref={{harvid|Polish Nurses' Museum|2013}}|author=|title=Rachela Hutner 1909-2008|url=http://www.wmpp.org.pl/pl/77-medalistki/202-rachela-hutner.html|website=Wirtualnym Muzeum Pielęgniarstwa Polskiego|publisher=History Commission of the Polish Nurses' Association|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015220235/http://www.wmpp.org.pl/pl/77-medalistki/202-rachela-hutner.html|archive-date=15 October 2017|location=Warsaw, Poland|language=Polish|date=18 January 2013}}
• {{cite web|ref={{harvid|Polish Nurses' Association|2008}}|author=|title=W dniu 23 lipca 2008r. odeszła Nestorka zawodu Pani Rachela Hutner|url=http://www.ptp.na1.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=79|website=Polskie Towarzystwo Pielęgniarskie|publisher=Polish Nurses' Association|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015224328/http://www.ptp.na1.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=79|archive-date=15 October 2017|location=Warsaw, Poland|language=Polish|date=24 July 2008|trans-title=On 23 July 2008, senior Ms. Rachel Hutner departed}}
• {{cite journal|ref={{harvid|International Review of the Red Cross|1995}}|author=|title=Thirty-fifth award of the Florence Nightingale Medal|journal=International Review of the Red Cross|date=31 October 1995|issue=308|url=https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/article/other/57jmrd.htm|access-date=15 October 2017|publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015214854/https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/article/other/57jmrd.htm|archive-date=15 October 2017|location=Geneva, Switzerland}}

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Category:1909 births

Category:2008 deaths

Category:Health professionals from Warsaw

Category:Polish nurses

Category:University of Warsaw alumni

Category:Wayne State University alumni

Category:Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta

Category:Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta

Category:Florence Nightingale Medal recipients