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1930s: The Great Depression

Throughout the 1930s, WSGNA focused on fundraising to support members affected by unemployment during the Great Depression, advocated for better nursing hours, and established a special fund for sick and exhausted nurses.

This story appears in We’ve had your back since 1908.

History banner 1930s

In 1930, WSGNA districts concentrated their efforts on fundraising projects to support members on relief due to the growing problem of unemployment during the Great Depression. WSGNA also fought for better hours for nurses and a special fund was established for sick and worn-out nurses.

  • 28 classroom
    Left and above left: Students at Tacoma General Hospital School of Nursing. (ca 1930s)
  • 28 tacoma general
    Left and above left: Students at Tacoma General Hospital School of Nursing. (ca 1930s)
1930-1939 timeline

A news brief in the February 1933 edition of The Bulletin said 110 nursing schools nationwide had closed. By March 1938, nurses were back in demand; The Bulletin had an article on the great need for psychiatric nurses and nurses in general.

In 1932, before employer-provided health insurance was common, a WSGNA-sponsored insurance program called the “Nurses Protective Policy” was launched. The program was designed to protect the earning ability of nurses during illness and accidents.

In 1933, WSGNA secured an amendment to the Nurse Practice Act, which called for appointing a supervisor of nursing schools to ensure nursing education quality.

In 1934, the American Nurses Association and WSGNA adopted eight-hour work-day resolutions.

In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act into law, requiring employers to pay overtime to employees working more than 40 hours a week.

In 1936, a scholarship was established as a memorial to May S. Loomis, the first president of WSNA to provide loans to nurses for education. Today, the Washington State Nursing Foundation grants scholarships to qualified nursing students in schools throughout Washington state.

In 1938, WSNA’s board approved the first General Duty Nurse Standards of Employment.

In 1939, the WSGNA Legislative Committee was tasked with studying the possibility of licensing practical nurses.

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Convention at Port Angeles

The Bulletin, June 1937

28 convention

The 1937 annual convention, held in Port Angeles May 20th to 22nd, was a very successful convention from every angle even the sun shone upon our proceedings.

The members of District No. 12, W. S. G. N. A., are to be congratulated upon their development of such a strong community spirit behind their preparation for and carrying out of their plans for the convention activities and program. The banquet program was very unique, as they used their Indian background and setting throughout.

There were 172 registrations; the program was carried out as planned, with one exception. Judge Millard, of Olympia, who was to have spoken to us on Friday afternoon on “Nature's First Law,” was called on the bench, so could not be with us. We were sincerely sorry.

It was a rare privilege for all who were able to attend the convention to listen to Miss Annie Goodrich, Dean Emeritus of Yale School of Nursing, in the varied subjects which her addresses covered. She was most liberal with her time and strength, and one realized that she was giving us from her store of knowledge gained through many years of experience in the field of nursing.

The educational programs on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning were the high lights of the convention; with Dean Annie Goodrich, Dr. L. Powers, health officer, Port Angeles, and Mrs. Loretta Slater, Child Welfare Division, American Legion, and then on Friday morning Miss Goodrich in “Modern Trends of Nursing Education,” followed by Dean Uhl of the University of Washington on “Modern Trends of General Education.”

The next convention, or the 1938 convention, is to be at Everett, Washington.

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Leadership

Executive Secretary

  • 1924-1938 Cora Gillespie
  • 1938-1941 Glee Martin

President

  • 1928-1930 Cecile Tracy Spry
  • 1930-1932 May S. Loomis
  • 1932-1934 Margaret Mary Cassidy
  • 1934-1936 Anna R. Moore
  • 1936-1938 Edna Mason
  • 1938-1942 Anne E. Radford
28 Anna R Moore
Anna R. Moore

President Anna R. Moore, RN, was a leader in public health nursing, serving as Chief of the Division of Nursing, Washington State Department of Health for fifteen years.