Case Study of Institution‐Building by Nurse Bertha Wright and Colleagues

Purpose: To illuminate the history of nurses' participation in institution‐building in the early 1900s, using the Baby Hospital in Oakland, California (now called Children's Hospital Oakland) as a case. Design: Historical research using a framework of women's history theory focused on the women who founded Oakland's Baby Hospital, 1910–1930. Method: Data collection included studying original sources, archival material, and interviews. Data evaluation included external criticism for authenticity and genuineness, and internal criticism for accuracy and bias. Findings: In 1912, nurse Bertha Wright and social worker Mabel Weed, with a circle of community women, including Jessica Peixotto and Jean Howard McDuffie, established the Baby Hospital. Their activism included home visits, education, research, publications, political lobbying, and state policy and program development. At the center of this activity, was the lifelong commitment of Wright and Weed, who created new definitions of family. With social changes in the late 1920s, the male Board of Directors seized control of the hospital, and relegated women to auxiliary roles. Conclusions: Health and social issues of the United States at the turn of the century are still problematic as a new century approaches and pertain to maternal‐child health, foster care, and immigration. Feminists, including nurses, have played a central role in creating solutions. Knowledge of some of their incredible effort has been lost, particularly nursing's history in the western United States.