# 1190 PB - 1961 4c Nursing
National Hospital Day
Matthew O. Foley, the managing editor of Hospital Management, conceived National Hospital Day. He saw it as a national healthcare event that could promote trust in America’s hospitals in the wake of the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 that claimed more than 600,000 American lives. Because many people had died in hospitals, people started to fear them, but Foley wanted to help regain their trust.
Also celebrated during National Hospital Week is International Nurses Day. This day is also held on May 12 in honor of Florence Nightingale. A Nurses Day was first suggested in 1953. The US first celebrated Nurses Week in October 1954 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s mission to Crimea. In 1974, the International Council of Nurses established May 12 as International Nurses Day, while the US also celebrates National Nurses Week from May 6 to May 12.
Click here to view a flyer for the 1921 National Hospital Day in New Orleans.
Click here for more stamps honoring the medical field.
National Hospital Day
Matthew O. Foley, the managing editor of Hospital Management, conceived National Hospital Day. He saw it as a national healthcare event that could promote trust in America’s hospitals in the wake of the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 that claimed more than 600,000 American lives. Because many people had died in hospitals, people started to fear them, but Foley wanted to help regain their trust.
Also celebrated during National Hospital Week is International Nurses Day. This day is also held on May 12 in honor of Florence Nightingale. A Nurses Day was first suggested in 1953. The US first celebrated Nurses Week in October 1954 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s mission to Crimea. In 1974, the International Council of Nurses established May 12 as International Nurses Day, while the US also celebrates National Nurses Week from May 6 to May 12.
Click here to view a flyer for the 1921 National Hospital Day in New Orleans.
Click here for more stamps honoring the medical field.