Esther Hasson

Esther Voorhees Hasson ( born September 20, 1867 in Baltimore, Maryland, † March 8, 1942 in Washington DC ) was the first superintendent of the United States Navy Nurse Corps. Before and after their service in the Navy Nurse Corps, she was a nurse in the U.S. Army.

Career

Esther Voorhees Hasson was trained as a nurse at the Connecticut Training School for Nurses in New Haven, Connecticut, graduating in 1897. In June 1898 she was contractually obligated during the Spanish- American War by the U.S. Army as a nurse and served on the hospital ship Relief, and the Philippines. 1901 she left the army and worked from 1905 to 1907 in Panama.

When the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps was established, Hasson made ​​on 18 August 1908 their oath of office as the first superintendent of the corps. Under her leadership, a further 19 nurses were recruited and prepared for service in the Navy. In January 1911, when Hasson took her farewell, the number had grown to 81. Her successor as superintendent was Lenah Higbee.

In June 1917, Hasson was a nurse's reserve of the U.S. Navy and made after the entry of the United States into World War II service in Europe. She was Chief Nurse of two army bases. In June 1919, she finally went into retirement.

Duties as superintendent

The first superintendent of the United States Navy Nurse Corps, it was Esther Hasson's task to undertake qualified nursing staff and ensure the training of nurses recorded. Added to this was the organizational management of the Corps. The first 19 nurses that they selected from 33 applicants, were known as the " Sacred Twenty".