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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1978)
I Portland Observer Thursday, October 19,1978 Page 3 ^Mùhf ^UniM H/AikuMt b y Kathryn H. Bogle W ho was the first Black Registered Nurse to practice in an Oregon hospital? When and where did she first work? Audrey C . Ellis was the nurse. Good Samaritan Hospital was the place and 1943 was the year. Add thirty years and we have the date o f Audrey's retirement — 1973. Mrs. Ellis was born in Oklahom a but was reared in Missouri. For het nurse education and training. Audrey attended classes in General Hospital, No. 2, in Kansas C ity. In that hospital one o f her instructors was D r. De Norval Unthank. Theit paths were to cross again within a few years with an important for Audrey as a result. General Hospital graduated Audrey in 1930. Directly after being graduated, Audrey said she remained several months to work at General Hospital before she moved on to New Orleans and Charity Hospital there. An illness forced a return to Missouri and her fam ily, Mrs. Ellis remem bers. •Í X X «4 — Vf ? Audrey Ellis, (standing, right) is shown with Anne Williams, Gertrude Rae and Charlotte (Rutherford) Williams in April of 1950. (Photo courtesy of V. Rutherford) gone to the hospital to visit her mother. W hile there, attending to her mother's small wants. D r. U n thank also dropped in to see his patient. Knowing only too well there were no Negro nurses in any o f Oregon’s hospitals, and, knowing equally as well that many hospitals were needing nurses during those war years, D r. Unthank suggested in his special kind o f quiet, wry humor that “ this would be good timing to put M rs. Ellis to work at Good Audrey Ellis at Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital. 1944. W ith her recovery Audrey took a post at St. John’ s Catholic Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahom a. St. Johns had both Black and white patients in the population. A t this hospital the patients were all un- *der the same roof, but the races were divided so that people o f color were confined to one floor. O nly Black nurses and white doctors attended patients on this floor. Total white medical staff looked after all other patients on all other floors. Segregationist policies, this way, were kept intact. Black physicians were not permitted to practice here at all. Mrs. Ellis worked for several she may not be immediately noticed as being o f different color from the m ajority. In the close daily contacts in her work in the hospital wards and corridors tnere was someone, however, who did notice Mrs. Ellis color — and objected. Objected to working beside a Black person in this professional capacity. Relates M rs. Ellis: “ 1 did not mind being moved when 1 was told o f my reassignment. The new ward I was given was in Pediatrics and 1 loved working with children. They asked me if I wanted to know the name o f the person who had objected to my presence. 1 didn’ t really want to know and I declined to hear the in formation. I felt that it would be easier for me to never know the iden tity o f this person. “ During my thirty years at Good Samaritan, since that first early ex perience, 1 have not felt segregated or singled out because o f my color. 1 have spent several years in Pediatrics, and have enjoyed my ex perience on Medical-Surgical duty. Most o f all, 1 guess 1 enjoyed the time I spent at W ilcox M em orial (the Maternity Section o f the hospital). “ Although I have been Charge Nurse and Assistant Head Nurse many times in my career, I am not fond o f the administrative positions. I like bedside patient care and am always happiest giving this care and attention to my patients.” A t an awards banquet, an annual affair at Good Samaritan, M rs. Ellis, as honored guest, was given a com memorative pin set with diamonds in recognition o f her highly esteemed work and faithfulness. In retirement, M rs. Ellis gives much o f her time to the St. Vincent de Paul Child Development Center. And — you guessed it — she also volunteers in the Patient Adm itting Department at Good Samaritan Hospital. “ I would like to be sure that every Black girl or boy who has an interest in the field o f nursing knows that there is money now available for their education and training i f they can qualify. The University o f Oregon Health Sciences Center can tell them how and where to apply. Nursing has been a wonderful and satisfying career for me and I ’ m sure that for a young person the future here could be exciting and rewarding.” © 797« F am ily A lb u m N orth w est S am aritan!" The suggestion did not fall on deaf ears. Mrs. Ellis did her part. She ap plied. The hospital did its part. The hospital accepted the application and very soon Audrey received her assignment on the hospital floor. Mrs. Ellis, a slender, attractive person o f quiet, reserved demeanor, happens, also, to be o f rather light complexion in her fam ily. In public Come Today! h o m e fu r n is h in g s Full Size 30" Economy Range RED-HOT STOVE BUY Don't mi»» this large capacity oven valuel Designed with you in mind and feature*: infinite heat surface unit control», tilt-lock Col- rod »urface unit», recessed cook top with no-drip edge and large •forage draw er below. 198 tASY THAIS we give you more r a r a M ITIÍS home furnishings 234-9351 30th and S.E. Division Shop 9 to 9 Tuesday thru Friday Saturday 9 to 6 (Not Open Sunday or M onday) „•t «'■.< ESI years in this environment. In 1943, Mrs. Ellis joined other members o f her fam ily who came to the Far West — first to C alifornia and then to Portland. By chance, Mrs. Ella Trout, Audrey’ s mother who had joined the fam ily exodus from the midwest, became ill in Portland. The family sought a physician and found Dr. U nthank. He placed Mrs. T ro ut in Good Samaritan Hospital. Mrs. Ellis picked up the thread of her reminiscence saying that she had Audrey Elli» In-concertjazz, rock, country blues and pop. Today's music M O N D A Y S 8 P .M . O reg o n E d u c a tio n a l an d P u b lic B ro ad castin g S ervice * K O A P -T V 10 This ed mede poeeibte by thte etetlon k The Corporetlon for Public Broedceettng HOW TO KEEP DOWN WITH THE JONESES. Most people who want to save energy feel they re faced with a di lemma. They re fed up with paying inflated utility hills. 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