Rachel Louise Falls (1911-1966) from Wakefield, Ohio, entered the Grant Hospital School of Nursing on September 14, 1931. She graduated in June 1934, among a class of 29 graduates. Falls married Kenneth E. Waugaman. As a practicing nurse she was employed at the Ohio State School for the Deaf, Metropolitan Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio and the hospital for employees at the Ford Motor Company in Brook Park, Ohio. When she died in 1966, she was the head nurse at Ford.
Grant Hospital and the Grant Hospital School of Nursing were founded in 1900 in Columbus, Ohio, by Dr. James F. Baldwin. Dr. Baldwin, a nationally known surgeon, participated in graduation ceremonies for nursing students and presented pins to Grant Hospital School of Nursing graduates for the last time in 1935. He became ill later that year and passed away in January 1936. In 1937 the Grant Hospital Nurses Home located at 391 E. Town Street was named Baldwin Hall in his honor. The first African American students were enrolled in the school in the 1950s and the first male students in 1972.
The Rachel L. Falls Waugaman Papers (0.25 linear feet) contains materials related to her time as a student and alumna of the Grant Hospital School of Nursing. Materials were found in a scrapbook that belonged to Rachel Louise Falls. Birth documents include a description of clothing and articles needed for a home birth or items for patients to bring to the hospital for delivery. Additionally, there are examples of blank birth certificates from Grant Hospital and the State of Ohio. School of Nursing alumnae items include a memory book and tickets to events. The letter to Rachel Louise Falls is from Helen J. Green and appears to be a letter of introduction or perhaps a short resume. News paper clippings document the death of Grant Hospital founder Dr. James F. Baldwin, Dr. Andre Crotti becoming the head of Grant Hospital, a nurse’s engagement, an article about nurses’ training and a tribute to “Mother Beltz” who oversaw the Grant Hospital Nurses Home. Photographs are individual and group portraits of men and women. The women are pictured in nursing uniforms and most people are unidentified. There is a photograph of Dr. Baldwin.
Materials in this collection have been arranged by format and filed in alphabetical order by folder title.
The collection is open to the public and is available for viewing in the Medical Heritage Center. Materials do not circulate and must be used in the supervised reading room. Restrictions, including copyright, may exist and some materials may be too fragile to photocopy or digitize. The MHC charges for duplication services, which must be performed by staff.
[Identification of item], Rachel L. Falls Waugaman Papers, SPEC.202318.WAUGAMAN, Medical Heritage Center, Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University.