Submitted by Jennifer Crooks, Saint Martin’s University intern to ThurstonTalk
Illnesses and injuries are always a problem at any school. Saint Martin’s University has been no exception. Founded in 1895 in what is now Lacey, Saint Martin’s College became a university in 2005. As the only private Benedictine school of higher education west of the Rockies it has served the South Puget Sound area for over a hundred years.
When Saint Martin’s first started, any medical care had to be done at St. Peter Hospital. Since many students boarded in crowded dormitories, it became evident after a smallpox epidemic in 1911 that there was a need at Saint Martin’s for a separate building to house and care for the sick and injured. A small infirmary was constructed by monks and hired hands below and just to the west of the main hill next to the music building. It consisted of three private rooms, a four-bed ward, a kitchen, a dispensary and quarters for the infirmarian. The infirmarian provided basic medical assistance while a doctor was available on call. As Father John Scott noted in This Place Called Saint Martin’s, “sometimes elderly campus workers, who had become part of the monastery’s extended family circle, were housed for longer or shorter periods in the campus infirmary.”
The infirmary was also used as a guest facility when needed but its primary purpose was to care for the sick. Infirmarians changed over the years, notable ones being Father Clement Regimbal (who served for 17 years) and Father David Prebula. They were aided by nurses including Edna Grubb (the mother of Saint Martin’s Father Valerian), Caroline Hendricks, Lucille LaPalm and lastly Kathleen Wolfe.
In 1961, the infirmary was relocated to the first floor of the Lynch Development Center (then known as Saint Placid’s Hall and now the site of the counseling center). The old infirmary was burned as a firefighting exercise in 1967. However, with the increased availability of health services in the community and the closing of the Saint Martin’s High School in 1974, the infirmary was shut down in 1976. Still, a series of abbey nurses fulfilled the need to care for the sick within the monastery. Currently Brother Edmund Ebbers holds this position.
But the need for student healthcare at Saint Martin’s University did not go away. In fall 2008, the Student Health Center was established at the request of ASSMU (Associated Students of Saint Martin’s University). Dr. Jon Peterson served as medical director from Fall 2008 to April 2012 when he was replaced by Jamie Nixon, PA-C. The Student Health Center staff offers care for acute and chronic medical problems for students through scheduled appointments and walk-ins. Housed in a suite-style former dorm room in Burton Residence Hall, they usually see between four to fourteen people a day.
Also, Saint Martin’s University has offered a nursing program for a short part of its history. It was first considered in 1984 and the Board of Trustees approved the program in 1985. Classes for an RN-to-BSN program designed for associate degree nurses to earn a bachelor’s degree, started in January 1986, beginning with five students. The program became a department in the fall. By 1988, this department had three full-time and two part-time faculty members.
The program’s holistic nursing philosophy centered on community focused care. Classes emphasized both health and a community role such as Family Assessment and Intervention and Intercultural Communication. The library added many nursing journals as well as books to its collection. Resources were also added to Old Main’s computer center (established in 1982.)
The program quickly grew in scope and outreach. It offered clinical rotations at many locations such as the Thurston County Health Department, North Thurston School District, and Providence Saint Peter Hospital. The first two students graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Spring 1989.
In January 1991 an off-campus program at Providence Hospital in Centralia was set up to serve the rural nurses. A Master’s in Nursing program was approved in 1995 and classes opened for the 1996-1997 school year. An agreement of cooperation was signed by Grays Harbor College and Saint Martin’s College nursing program which took effect in September 1997.
Unfortunately, interest in the nursing program at Saint Martin’s waned. With declining enrollment and increased costs, the administration believed it could no longer afford the program. In June 1996, the Board of Trustees made a tough decision to terminate the nursing program after two more years to allow students to complete their degrees. No new nursing students would be admitted.
Changes in the health care environment caused the current administration to reconsider the need for a nursing program. Saint Martin’s initiated a new RN-to-BSN nursing program in the fall of 2012. Saint Martin’s has agreements with South Puget Sound Community College and five other community colleges for students to have dual admission at the community college and Saint Martin’s. In its first 15 years, the original nursing program at St. Martin’s graduated 120 students. With the growing need for bachelor’s educated nurses, the school is certain to graduate many more.
Special Thanks to Father Gerard Kirsch O.S.B., Father Peter Tynan O.S.B., Louise Kaplan and Jamie Nixon.
Further Reading:
Scott, John C. This Place Called Saint Martin’s, 1895-1995: A Centennial History of Saint Martin’s College and Abbey, Lacey, Washington. (Virginia Beach, VA: Donning Co. Publishers, 1996).
Between the Years, 1894-1945 (Lacey, WA: Saint Martin’s College, 1945.)
