Historical Note: After graduating from Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing in New York City, Emily Loveridge traveled to Portland, Oregon, in 1890 to establish the first school of nursing in the Northwest. The Good Samaritan School of Nursing opened on June 1, 1890, with six students (three of whom were employed by the Good Samaritan Hospital) and graduated 12 students in the first class of 1892. In those days, the hospital was a wooden building housing 50 beds made of straw. It lacked electricity and instead utilized candles and gas lamps. At the time, Portland had a population of 70,000 and the Good Samaritan Hospital was surrounded by several blocks of unoccupied fields.

As superintendent of the hospital, Emily Loveridge facilitated the progression of the hospital and nursing school over the years. In her memoir, she documents the exciting introduction of new technology such as an elevator and X-ray machine, the move from a wooden building to a brick building, and the tremendous changes that took place within the nursing field. When Loveridge retired in 1930, she had successfully overseen the growth of the Good Samaritan Hospital from a small, struggling endeavor to a respected and well-known institution. She set a precedent for work ethic and compassion among the nursing community in the Northwest that is still visible today in the Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing.

Through the decades, the Good Samaritan School of Nursing worked through the Great Depression, aided in World War II efforts, and traversed the turbulent 1960s and 70s with significant increases in student rights and personal freedoms. Through these years, notable directors have included Hazel Hinds and Lloydena Grimes. In 1985, the Good Samaritan School of Nursing transitioned from an independent Diploma School to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree offered by Linfield College. The legacy left by Emily Loveridge, subsequent directors, professors, and more than 4,000 nursing students became Linfield-Good Samaritan School of Nursing. Since then, the Linfield Nursing campus has become one of the top nursing schools in the Northwest, partnering with the Legacy Health System to create more opportunities for students. Today, the nursing campus is across the street from Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, where students complete their degrees.

Content Description: The collection includes a diverse array of information about the Good Samaritan Hospital and the Good Samaritan School of Nursing. In total, it contains four series: Documents 1911-2003, Photographs 1870s-2000s, Historical Items and Media 1985, and Books 1937-1940.

Series 1 features written work by Emily Loveridge, including personal correspondence with friends and family, as well as professional correspondences with colleagues in the medical field. One of the most striking pieces is the copy of a memoir written by Emily Loveridge entitled As I Remember. This memoir is a personal remembrance of the Good Samaritan School of Nursing from 1890 through the early 1900s. Through this memoir she relays challenges she faced, stories of courage and perseverance, stories about memorable patients and employees, and her own commentary on a lifetime spent serving others. The series also contains issues of The Daily Bulletin of the American Hospital Association, yearbooks, pamphlets about the hospital, alumni materials, scrapbooks, and articles about the medical field, among many other documents.

Series 2 contains photographs from throughout the years. It includes photos of the Good Samaritan Hospital and the Good Samaritan School of Nursing from the 1870s through the 2000s, photos of Emily Loveridge and family, employees, students, physicians, nurses, alumni, and captures the admittance of minorities and males. Series 2 also features a photo essay of Joanne Nelson (M.D.), the first female Chief Resident in 1980. These photos document the expansion of health services, technological advances in medicine, and the larger societal changes that affected nursing education.

Series 3 contains printer’s blocks, as well as a DVD featuring the closing ceremony of the Good Samaritan School of Nursing and the transition to the Linfield College-Good Samaritan School of Nursing. The collection also contains two framed certificates to Emily Loveridge, one designating her as a Registered Nurse in the State of Oregon (1911) and the other designating her as a licensed Anesthetist in the State of Oregon (1914).

Series 4 contains classic textbooks used in the education of nurses at the Good Samaritan School of Nursing from 1937-1940.