Mary Eliza Mahoney

1
Mary Eliza Mahoney

• By Yesenia Nunez

2
Who was She?

• Born in Boston on May 7, 1845
• She was the first African-American professional
  nurse.
• Her parents moved from North Carolina, a slave
  state to Massachusetts, a free state.
• Children were not permitted to attend schools
  with whites until 1855, and domestic service was
  the only way for a negro woman to make a living.

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Growing up

• She was the oldest of three children and when she
  was 18 she began working at the New England
  Hospital for Women and Children.
• For 15 years she worked as a cook, janitor,
  washerwoman and an unofficial nurses assistant

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Beginning school

• In 1878 when she was 33 years old, Mahoney began
  nurses training at the New England Hospital.
• The nursing program was established by Dr. Marie
  Zakrewska, one of the first women doctors in the
  United States.
• The courses were very difficult and the schedule
  was strenuous.

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Cont.

• When Mahoney began the program it consisted of
  forty students, only four completed the program.
• The sixteen month program consisted of working on
  the medical maternity, and surgical wards, and
  private duty in patients homes.
• On August 1, 1879, she received her nursing
  diploma, becoming the first African American
  graduate nurse.

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After Graduation

• She registered with the Nurses Directory in
  Boston and became a private care nurse.
• For thirty years she served as a distinguished,
  effective private nurse and traveled to many
  Eastern Seaboard states to work.
• She insisted that nurses be treated as
  professionals and not be required to perform
  household chores in addition to their regular
  duties.

7
Contributions

• In 1896 became one of the first African American
  members of the predominantly white American
  Nurses Association (ANA)
• Since black nurses werent given the same
  opportunities as white nurses,in 1908, Mary
  co-founded the National Association of Colored
  Graduate Nurses.(NACGN)

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Cont.

• She was made a lifetime member of the NACGN in
  1911 and served as the chaplain.
• From 1911 to 1912 she also served as director of
  the Howard Orphan Asylum for Black Children in
  Long Island, NY for nearly a decade.
• Also participated in woman suffrage and in 1921,
  she was one of the first women in line to vote
  after ratification of the 19th amendment.

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What was her legacy?

• Because of her success the directors at her
  school allowed two black nurses per year to be
  admitted so in a way she was a pioneer and role
  model for African American nurses.
• She showed other African Americans who wanted to
  care for the sick that training was available to
  them.
• Because she was never married, she treated her
  patients like family .

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Cont.

• Mahoney inspired both nurses and patients with
  her calm, quiet efficiency and untiring
  compassion.
• In 1923 she was diagnosed as having breast
  cancer, she died Jan. 4, 1926. In 1936 the NACGN
  established the Mary Mahoney Medal in her honor.
  In 1976 she was inducted into the Nursing Hall of
  Fame.