Flora Jo Bergstron, RN Papers

Flora Jo Bergstrom, RN was born on January 6, 1900 in St. Louis, MO. Living in New York City at the start of World War I in 1915, she was appointed the Captain of the Infantry for the National Women's League of Self Defense (later called the Women's Military Reserve). After the US joined the War in the fall of 1917, she went to work at the Bethlehem Steel Company in Bethlehem, PA as a file clerk and timekeeper. After the war, she returned to New York. In 1919, she developed osteomyelitis, a crippling disease, in her left leg. Although she suffered with her illness her entire life, she was able at times to walk with cane/crutches, even dance and ice skate. It was while she was a patient at the New York Hospital that she developed an interest in nursing. She was admitted to the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1924, graduating in 1927. She worked as a Nursery Supervisor and Assistant Floor Supervisor at the Lying- In Hospital in 1927. From 1928-1932, she was an Assistant Director of Nursing at the Lying-In Hospital. After the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center was organized in 1932, she became the first Librarian of the Lydia E. Anderson Library for the Cornell University-New York Hospital School of Nursing. She retired from that position in September 1, 1949 because of her illness.

She was the Faculty Advisor for the Blue Plaidette and also worked on the Blue Plaid, Pulse and Alumnae News publications.

During her spare time, she enjoyed sending clippings and writing to various celebrities including Jimmy Stewart. She enjoyed the circus, rodeo, theater, and photography as evidence of her papers.

She died on June 6, 1988.