The Crimean War.  No, not the one being fought right now between the Ukraine and Russia.  We’re going back some 200 years.   Just like now,  back then Russia attacked the allied forces of Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire.

Florence Nightingale ministered to all those wounded soldiers.  Yes, I’m sure much of what we learned was exaggerated.  But, Ms. Nightingale certainly started the profession of nursing.  Critical health care professionals back then- and, certainly,  in today’s pandemic-threatened society.

Having trained some 38 women volunteers (among them 15 Catholic nuns), Ms. Nightingale and they set out for the Ottoman Empire.  Where they ministered to the British soldiers in the  Balaklava region of Crimea.  What they found were deplorable conditions.

Severe overcrowding, shoddy management, inadequate food supplies, and filthy quarters were rampant.  Which meant the wounded were subject to a plethora of infectious diseases- typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and typhus.  What Nightingale termed the “Kingdom of Hell”.

It was because of Nightingale’s complaints that the British delivered a prefabricated hospital for the wounded.  It was due to Nightingale’s efforts that the mortality rate for these soldiers dropped from 40% to a more manageable level.

Ms. Nightingale not only ministered to the sick- she was diligent at spreading knowledge. Whether she was aiming to help those with limited literacy skills- or her presentation of statistical data (in what we now call infographics, Coxcombs,  and pie charts).

Right before the start of our Civil War, Nightingale instituted the Training School for Nurses; by 1862, she expanded the program to include midwifery.

Besides instituting the practice of nursing, Nightingale recognized that sanitary conditions were critical to help the wounded survive- and be cured.

That’s why her birthday is the culmination for Nurse’s Week.

Kudos to those who have followed in her footsteps.

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