• Home
  • Tip of the Week
  • Breaking News
  • Member Spotlight
• Who We Are
  • NCNWR Regions
  • Leadership/Board
  • Member Sites
  • Corporate Members
• Join Us
  • Membership Levels
  • Membership Application
  • Downloadable Brochure
• Conference
  • Upcoming Conference
  • First Time?
  • Registration
  • Photos
• News
  • Press Releases
  • From the Board
  • From the Regions
• Contact Us
• Member Login

• News
• Press Releases
• From the Board
• From the Regions


NCNWR 16th Annual Conference 
SEPTEMBER 21-24, 2010
FIND OUT MORE>

News

Enlightened Charity The Holistic Nursing Care, Education, and Advices Concerning the Sick

May 22, 2009
Region 4

Enlightened Charity The Holistic Nursing Care, Education, and Advices Concerning the Sick of Sister Matilda Coskery, D.C. (1799-1870) Emmitsburg, Maryland

Throughout history nurses have been innovators in health reform by creating safe and accessible health care for people. The book, Enlightened Charity, portrays the works of American Sisters of Charity nurses of the 19th century who sustained a centuries-old holistic healing tradition of their French predecessors, the Daughters of Charity, in caring for the poor, sick, and mentally ill. Sister Betty Ann McNeil, D.C. and Martha Mathews Libster, Ph.D., RN give us an intimate portrait of Sister-Nurse Matilda Coskery, D.C., whose nursing career spanned 39 years.

"It has been a journey of discovery to learn about the significance of the contributions of the Sisters and Daughters of Charity in establishing nursing in North America and nurturing its growth and development," remarked Sister Betty Ann McNeil, D.C., Archivist. "Sister Matilda Coskery has been heretofore little known yet her Advices Concerning the Sick may be considered a landmark in nursing education." Sister Betty Ann is planning a publication of the complete and annotated Civil War Annals of the Daughters of Charity. The book will include Sister Matilda’s accounts of Civil War nursing at Antietam, Frederick (Maryland); Gettysburg (Pennsylvania); Harpers Ferry and Winchester (Virginia).

Sister Matilda Coskery, Daughter of Charity, became a prominent nurse and a pioneer in Catholic psychiatric nursing care at Mount Hope in Baltimore, Maryland. Throughout her 40 years of nursing, Sister Matilda also ministered in Detroit, Richmond, Natchez, Rochester, Wilmington, and Emmitsburg.

What people are saying about Enlightened Charity:

• "Enlightened Charity is a model for nursing. It contributes significantly to our understanding of nursing and some of its true 19th century heroines." -- Sister Carol Keehan, President/CEO Catholic Health Association
• "Enlightened Charity is an intriguing, convincing, and ground-breaking history. This portrayal of the life and nursing of Sister Matilda is a work of art." -- Dr. Sylvia Rinker, President, American Association for the History of Nursing

Book purchases may be made at: http://www.setonshrine.org in the online Gift Shop or by visiting http://www.enlightenedcharity.comm  

Contact Information: Mary Staub 301.447.7124 / mstaub@doc.org