Martha Henry, R .N.

MEMBER IN THE SPOTLIGHT Most people getting ready to retire simply notify the personnel department, spend a few days breaking in their replacement, enjoy the inevitable super-pleasan tness of everybody from the elevator man on the nightshift to the Chief of Medicine, struggle through the usual good-by parties and the special dinner, deliver a few emotion-choked farewell words, accept whatever gift of appreciation from the staff, and bravely march off into the fading sunset through a curtain of genuine tears. Fortunate- l y for everyone involved, this process usually takes about two weeks, and that’s it. But when someone like Martha Henry retires after 42 years of service as a nurse, what remains behind? What is the story of her accomplish- ment in those 42 years?

Upon graduation from St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey, Martha journeyed to Suffern, New York, to relieve an Operating Room nurse who was taking a two-week vacation. That was in 1927. From then until now, years passed filled with the routine work

diet of an operating room nurse, but nourished, too, by the energies and appetites of a pioneer.

Martha Henry had two mottoes: 1. There must be a better way. 2. There is no problem that cannot be solved. With those ideas firmly in mind, she began first by setting up a laboratory near the operating room, and in the absence of a full-time technician, by learning to do the blood counts and urinalyses which she then performed routinely on all her pre-operative patients.

That should have been enough to earn Martha her niche at Good Samaritan Hospi- tal, but this was just a beginning of her accomplishments. There was an X-Ray room nearby, and she learned how to take emergen- c y films. She was then called to help in that area when the technician was not available.

Early in her career, she recognized the need for pre-operative visits and made certain that she saw each patient on the schedule.

When the hospital needed extensions

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Martha Henry and her retirement “gift” from Good Samaritan Hospital which came complete with a year’s supply of gas.

and other improvements, Martha utilized some of her off-duty time knocking on doors throughout the community, lecturing to local organizations and becoming instrumental in keeping Good Samaritan in business. These were the Depression years. Money was spent only for the necessities of life. Good Samari- tan was one of those necessities. But the early years were slow and hard. The Depression had almost killed hopes for a much-needed, larger and improved operating suite, yet Martha continued to plan new facilities.

At this time, she began to feel the impact of management and took a course in Operating Room Management. By the time the new operating room was ready, she, too, was ready to supervise it and help plan and formulate its future. Good Samaritan became one of the first hospitals in the area to feature central supply rooms. It set new standards for all ward procedures under surgical control.

By the time the hospital had a 100-bed capacity, the Operating Room Suite had long since been readied to handle the additional case load. When the laboratory had to be moved away from the Operating Suite, Martha, working closely with architects and builders, became one of the key planners in setting up a super-efficient post-operative area. This same indispensable, practical knowledge was put to use in the construction of a seven- room surgical suite at Good Samaritan.

The more deeply she became involved in

professional responsibilities, the more she began to realize the importance of continuing education and training for the operating room nurse. Lacking an advanced degree herself, Martha attended night courses at a New York university. She became an early crusader, campaigning for additional education for nurses and other medical personnel. She started an in-service educational program for the operating room and added a well-supplied research and reference library. She encour- aged her personnel to work towards self- improvement and to study to keep abreast of new developments. Disapproving of the utili- zation of OR nurses for other services, she promoted the idea that “free time” should be used for study purposes.

During the course of her career, she devoted much of her time to the American Nurses’ Association and later, to AORN activities. These organizations became vehi- cles for accomplishing the goal Martha Henry herself had been working toward-elevating operating rooms nurses to the status of recog- nized professionals.

To improve salaries and benefits for the pro- fessional nursing staff, she worked closely with her hospital’s administrative staff. Economic security for the nurse has also been a prime interest of Martha’s throughout her career.

Now, in her retirement, she plans to enjoy such things as painting in oils, traveling and keeping contacts with her old friends. Further, she will probably continue her efforts to im- prove the future of operating room nurses.

No finer tribute can be paid to Martha Henry than a plaque dedicated in 1967 in her honor.

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