The Alumnae Association of the Training School for Nurses of the Garfield Memorial Hospital of Washington, D.C., was organized on 15 Nov. 1896 and operated for 111 years until its final meeting on 28 Apr. 2007. The stated purpose of the organization was the mutual benefit of members, their improvement in professional work, and the establishment of a fund for sick nurses. Garfield Memorial Hospital (GMH), the first general hospital in Washington, was founded in 1882 as a permanent memorial to President Garfield who was assassinated in 1881. The school was founded in 1889 by Sophia French Palmer and the first class graduated in 1891. The first graduate of the school, Margaret A. Mullen, was founding member of the association. In September of 1896 Palmer invited delegates from GMH and eleven other schools to New York to form the Association of the Nursing School Alumnae Groups. This later became the American Nurses Association (ANA). In 1958 GMH was replaced by Washington Hospital Center (WHC).
From the description of Alumnae Association of the Training School for Nurses of the Garfield Memorial Hospital of Washington, D.C., records, 1896-2007. (Historical Society of Washington, Dc). WorldCat record id: 262933403
