Nora Spencer Hamner
Born(1895-01-06)January 6, 1895
Buckingham County, Virginia, U.S.
DiedNovember 17, 1971(1971-11-17) (aged 76)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Cemetery
Richmond, Virginia
Alma materMemorial Hospital Training School
OccupationPublic health nurse
RelativesEarl Hamner (nephew)

Nora Spencer Hamner (January 6, 1895 – November 17, 1971) was an American public health nurse known for her work fighting tuberculosis in Virginia. She is known as the first public health nurse trained in Virginia.[1]

Early life and education

Nora Spencer Hamner was born on January 6, 1895, in Buckingham County, Virginia, to Susan (née Henry) and Walter Clifton Hamner.[2][3][4] She graduated from Schuyler High School in Schuyler, Virginia in 1906.[2] She graduated from the Memorial Hospital Training School in Richmond in 1914.[2][5]

Career

Hamner was a nurse and supervisor at the Memorial Hospital from 1913 to 1914.[2] She was a public health nurse in Darlington County, South Carolina from 1914 to 1917.[2] She then traveled as a field nurse across southwest Virginia to assist towns across 47 counties with developing clinics to diagnose tuberculosis.[2]

She served as the executive secretary of the Richmond Tuberculosis Association from 1919 to March 31, 1962.[1][2] In that role, she gave talks and worked with groups, including the Virginia General Assembly.[2] She also played a large part of developing rehabilitation programs at the Pine Camp Tuberculosis Hospital.[2]

Hamner helped recruit nurses in Virginia during World War II.[2] She also helped recruit nurses during the polio epidemics of the 1940s and 1950s.[2] She was a member of the Virginia Red Cross for 35 years.[1]

Hamner was the first woman to serve on the Medical College of Virginia Board of Visitors and its executive committee.[2] She also served on the board of trustees of the Medical College of Virginia Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University.[1][2] She was one of the founders of the Virginia Council on Health and Medical Care.[1]

Personal life

Hamner lived in Richmond and had a summer cottage with a wildflower sanctuary near the Blue Ridge Parkway.[1][2] She was a specialist on wildflowers and an avid gardener.[1] Hamner was a nationally accredited flower show judge.[2]

She was the aunt of Earl Hamner.[6]

Death

Hamner died on November 17, 1971, in Richmond.[2][4] She is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Legacy and awards

Awards presented to Hamner:

  • 1942 - Richmond Professional Institute presented the first Nancy Vance Pin Award to Hamner for her work as a public health nurse[1][2]
  • 1951 - Hamner received the first honorary degree presented to a woman by the Medical College of Virginia, a Master of Science in nursing[1][2][7]
  • Douglas Southall Freedom Award from the Virginia Tuberculosis Association[1][2]

The Virginia Tuberculosis Association established the Nora Spencer Hamner Award. It is still presented by the American Lung Association of Virginia.[2] The Medical College of Virginia Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University helped raise funds for the Mahoney-Hamner Nursing Alumni Lectureship. It was named for Anne F. Mahoney and Hamner.[2][5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 McCluskey, Judy (March 30, 1962). "Hats Stayed On, But Accent Of Future Will Be Uniforms". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 26. Retrieved May 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Nora Spencer Hamner". Virginia Commonwealth University. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Hamner". Richmond Times-Dispatch. February 6, 1963. p. 24. Retrieved May 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "Walter Clifton Hamner and Susan Henry (Spencer) Hamner Family". scottsvillemuseum.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Terkeltaub, Jennifer (September 28, 2009). "VCU School of Nursing announces inaugural Lecture Series". Virginia Commonwealth University. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  6. ↑ Person, James E. (2005). Earl Hamner. p. 116.
  7. ↑ Virginia Medical Monthly. Medical Society of Virginia. 1951. p. 163 – via archive.org.
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