Call Number:

MC 219

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing

Extent:

1.16 linear feet (1 lf of annual reports)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Walter Lear collection, Barbara Bates Center for The Study of The History of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1944-1963 (inclusive)

Creator:

Lear, Walter J. (Walter Jay), 1923-2010

Form:

Printed ephemera

Abstract:

This collection contains pamphlets, reports, and other printed materials concerning nursing education in the mid-20th century. Also included is a postcard depicting an early visiting nurse automobile. In addition, there are a series of City of Philadelphia Annual Reports from the Bureau of Hospitals.

Walter Lear (1923-2010) was a physician and activist.

Born in Brooklyn, New York City, he received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1943. He earned a medical degree from Long Island College of Medicine and a master's in hospital administration from Columbia University in 1948. After several years at the U.S. Public Health Service, in 1964 Lear became Philadelphia's deputy city health commissioner. In 1971, he was appointed state regional health commissioner. He later served as executive director of Philadelphia General Hospital.

Lear is well-known for his LGBT activism. He came out as gay in 1975 and may have been the first openly gay public officer in Philadelphia. He helped found the Gay and Lesbian Community Center (the William Way Center) and the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force. He was also a passionate advocate for health care reform, and founded the Institute of Social Medicine and Community Health to study the history of health care advocacy and promote progressive health policy. He also founded the Maternity Care Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

Lear died in 2010 at age 87.

The following items were separated and cataloged as part of the Center book collection:

1. Austin, Anne L. The Woolsey Sisters of New York: A Family’s Involvement in the Civil War and a New Profession (1860-1900). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1971. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for Promoting Useful Knowledge, Vol. 85. Paper, 189 pp.

2. Brown, Esther Lucile. Nursing for the Future: A Report Prepared for the National Nursing Council. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1948. Cloth, 198 pp.

3. Committee on the Function of Nursing. A Program for the Nursing Profession. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1950. Cloth, 108 pp.

4. Community Service Society of New York, Department of Public Affairs and Institute of Welfare Research. Serving the Maternity Patient through Family-Centered Public Health Nursing: Report of an Experimental Demonstration. New York: Community Service Society of New York, Department of Public Affairs. April 1962. By Ann W. Shyne, Aline F. LeMat and Leonard S. Kogan. Soft-cover, mimeographed typescript, 212 pages + appendices.

5. Community Service Society of New York. Health Welfare and Social Organization in Chinatown, New York City: A Report Prepared for Chinatown Public Health Nursing Demonstration of the Department of Public Affairs. New York: Community Service Society of New York, Department of Public Affairs, August 1962. By Stuart H. Cattell. Soft-cover, mimeographed typescript, 136 pp. + appendices.

6. Deming, Dorothy. The Practical Nurse. New York: The Commonwealth Fund, 1947. Cloth, 370 pp.

7. Epstein, Charlotte. Effective Interaction in Contemporary Nursing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1974. Cloth, 174 pp. Inscribed on title page: “Dear Walter, Hope you find this useful/Best wishes/Charlotte.”

8. Gelinas, Agnes. Nursing and Nursing Education. New York: The Commonwealth Fund, 1946. Cloth, 72 pp.

9. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Public Health Service. Toward Quality in Nursing: Needs and Goals. Report of the Surgeon General’s Consultant Group on Nursing. Public Health Service Publication No. 992. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, February 1963. U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1963. Paper, 73 pp.