Tiny cripples and the sunshine of life: 15 years of children's nursing at Vancouver Island's Queen Alexandra Solarium 1927-1942.
The establishment of children's hospitals became one of the most important legacies of the child-saving movement in the early 20th century. As children's hospitals became more focused on acute and curable illnesses, facilities were developed to provide care and support for "crippled" or "incurable" children. The Queen Alexandra Solarium provided long-term care for crippled children in Western Canada and was developed to augment the acute care services of the British Columbia Children's Hospital. The staff of the solarium provided "healing by nature's method"-rest, fresh air and sunshine, nutritious food, and gentle nursing care-in the calming beachside location of Saanich Inlet on Vancouver Island. Examination of available hospital documentation from the years 1927 through 1942 shows that nurses played a key, yet silent role, in the extended care of chronically ill children.
Marcellus
Lenora
L
Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Canada.
D001955:British Columbia; D002648:Child; D006370:Heliotherapy / Q000266:history* / Q000451:nursing; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000266:history* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods