Legacy and Lasting Impact

Plorence Nightingale was far more than a compassionate nurse She was a reformer, statistician, administrator, and relentless critic of systems that allowed people to die unnecessarily Her work in the Crimean War made her a legend But what she did afterwards changed hospitals, armies, and the entire profession of nursing She was one of the most important characters in the creation of the modern medical system that we know today Learn more about Florence Nightingale on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily This episode is sponsored by Quinince Several months ago, I moved into a new apartment and I've been buying new furniture as of late. And one of the other things I've been doing is shopping at Quintince for all my home decorating needs From soft bedding and washable rugs to curtains, towels, decor, and pieces that make a room feel more finished, Quintince has become one of those places I trust when I want my home to feel a little more comfortable and put things together without overpaying. Everything at Quintince is priced fifty to eighty percent less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middleman So you're paying for exceptional quality, not brand markup And of course, it's not just home furnishings. Quinince has become a trusted favorite for everything from travel gear to clothing to everyday essentials In addition to fixing up your home, you can make your summer wardrobe easier. Go to quQints d. com slash daily for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty five day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's QuInCE dot com slash daily for free shipping and three hundred and sixty five day returns. Qince d. com slash daily This episode is sponsored by Mint Mobile. There are things in life that you do not want to be transparent, like your swimsuit or your search history. But when it comes to your wireless bill, transparency is everything. That's why MintMobile's wireless plans have no gimmicks and no gches. Just high speed data and reliable coverage on the TMobile five G network. And right now, all plans areteen dollars a month, even the unlimited plan It works on your current phone, your current phone number, and you can keep all of your contacts. That's why I recommend MintMobile. To get your new wireless plan for just fifteen bucks a month, go to mintmobile dot com slash Eed. That's mintmobile dot com slash ed. Cut your wireless bill to fifteen bucks a month at mintmobile dot com slash eded. That's it. there's no catch. forty five dollars upfront payment required equivalent to fifteen dollarars a month, new customers on first three month plan only Speeds slower above forty gigabyte on unlimited plan. addditional taxes fees and restrictions apply, Cemint moobile for details Born in Florence, Italy on may twelfth, eighteen twenty, Florence Nightingale was the daughter of wealthy, well connected British parents, William Edward and Francis Nightingale She was born at the Vila Colombaya, the family's hunting lodge near Florence Italy, which inspired her name The Nightingales returned to England in eighteen twenty one and Florence was raised in the family's country homes. She was raised in a privileged and deeply religious household which fostered her strong connection to God. Her father, who firmly believed in women's education, personally managed the schooling of Florence and her sister, Partheno, a practice that was highly unusual for the era. Through his extensive tutelage, she achieved fluency in several languages, studied history, philosophy, literature, mathematics, and statistics From a young age, Nightingale was active in philanthropy. In her youth, she would go to the village near her house to care for the poor and the ill, demonstrating her early humanitarian instincts. In eighteen thirty seven, when she was just sixteen years old, she experienced a life changing moment Nightingale claimed to have received a call from God while at her home in Embley Park She said that God told her her purpose in life was to devote herself to helping others And she felt that the best way to help others was through nursing and told her family that she believed the profession was her divine purpose Nightingale's family was opposed to her working as a nurse The profession was viewed as inappropriate for a woman of her standing. As the family was upper class, Florence was expected to be part of high society. Her mother and sister were especially opposed to the decision, as women of their status were expected to become wives or mothers In early nineteenth century Britain, nursing was not yet a respectable profession Hospitals were often dirty, overcrowded, and dangerous Nurses were commonly viewed as poorly trained, low status workers, sometimes associated with alcoholism or moral disrepute Despite her family's opposition, Nightingale persisted and worked hard to educate herself about the science and practice of nursing so she would be prepared. She declined multiple marriage proposals and never had children, as she felt they would affect her ability to be a nurse In eighteen forty four, she enrolled as a student at the Kaiser Weer the Diiakoni Hospital outside Dusldorf, Germany, where she completed multiple courses over the following years During her time as a student, Nightingale learned important skills such as patient observation and hospital organization, skills which became incredibly useful in her later work. By eighteen fifty three, Nightingale returned to London and began working at the Middlesex Hospital for ailing governnesses Her work there was so impressive that she was promoted to superintendent within the first year. During her tenure as superintendent, the hospital faced a severe outbreak of cholera. Nightingale observed that the facility's unsanitary environment facilitated the rapid transmission of the disease. In response, she dedicated herself to enhancing the hospital's cleanliness, which ultimately played a crucial role in reducing patient mortality rates. Mangale undoubtedly changed the lives of her patients at Middlesex Hospital, but a new tragedy was about to change her legacy in nursing forever. In eighteen fifty three, the Crimean War broke out as Russia attempted to expand its territory in the Middle East. Britain, France, Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire all opposed this expansion and formed a coalition to wage war on the Russians The Crimean War is a topic I've covered in a previous episode Most of the war was fought on the Crimean Peninsula. Although most battles took place there, British troops were based near Constantinople, then part of the Ottoman Empire The base served as a typical military base, which meant that it included a hospital Its location also meant that the conditions of the wounded soldiers and the care they received could be reported on by the media The London Times published a piece by William Howard Russell reporting on the conditions and treatment that wounded soldiers received at the hospital The report was scathing as Russell claimed that the soldiers were treated with ineffective medical care He also said that the practitioners lacked the most basic supplies and that the team itself was incompetent The report outraged the British public, which demanded that the situation of wounded soldiers be improved Enter Florence Nightingale Nightle had previously met Sidney Herbert, the Secretary of State for War in the British Parliament. The two met in eighteen forty seven when Herbert was on his honeymoon They became fast friends and he became an advocate for Nightingale's work Herbert had written a letter requesting that Nightingale lead a group of nurses to serve at the base Coincidentally, Nightingale had already written to Herbert's wife, asking if she could lead her own private expedition to the region This was a drastic measure, as no female nurses had been assigned to the hospitals in Crimea. This was largely due to the poor reputation of female nurses, but the situation in Crimea had now forced the army's hand Nightingale agreed to assemble a group of nurses and go to Crimea to tend to the wounded and sick soldiers. Her team consisted of thirty eight women and left for the base on october twenty first, eighteen fifty four They arrived at Barrack Hospital on november fifth to a cold welcome The medical officers already placed at the hospital were not thrilled about the incoming nurses and treated them with indifference. Nightingale and her team were not pleased with the conditions either When they arrived, they found overworked staff, hygiene being completely neglected, many patients with horrific infections, and no equipment for processing food and medicine in short supply The hospital was basically a cess pool as it literally sat on top of one, which meant the patient's drinking water was contaminated. Many patients sat in their own excremment in the hallway where bugs and rodents scurried by Supplies like bandages and soap were scarce Looking at the hospital statistics, Nightingale found that for every thousand wounded soldiers, six hundred were dying from transferble infectious diseases like cholera and typhoid, which could have been prevented with proper hygiene practices. Knowing the issue was poor hygene Nighting Gale quickly went to work Janer team used hundreds of scrub brushes and asked patients who are not seriously injured to help scrub the hospital clean She also spent significant time caring for her patients She was known to wander the hospital hallways at night, carrying a lamp and making her rounds from patient to patient. The soldiers were moved by her compassion and gave her the nicknames The Lady withith the Lamp and the Angel of Crimea Nightingale's work was so effective that the hospital's death rate fell from about forty two point seven percent to two point two percent, a reduction nearly ninety five percent relative to the original death rate Nightingail's work extended beyond impving patients's health. She also enhanced the quality of their hospital stay For starters, she created what was known as the Inalid's Kitchen. It ensured that patients with special dietary needs were fed food that they could actually eat She also ensured laundry was done so her patients had clean clothes She also cared for the soldier's psychological needs Understanding the family was important, she helped write letters to soldiers' relatives and provided recreational and educational activities to keep their minds occupied Neightingale left in eighteen fifty six after the war ended. When she returned to England, she was surprised to find herself given a hero's welcome and the most famous woman in Britain other than the Qeen Nightingale was considered very humble and did not do her work for notoriety, so this was very unexpected She was rewarded by Queen Victoria, who presented her with a brooch that became known as the Nightingale Jewel She published her findings in a book titled Notes on Matters Affecting the Health efficiency and Hospital Administration of the British Army. The report was eight hundred and thirty pages long and discussed her experience in the hospital while proposing reforms for other military hospitals to adopt The book ultimately led to the complete restructuring of how the British military took care of wounded soldiers They established a rooyal commommission on the health of the Army in eighteen fifty seven, primarily based on Florence Nightingale's work The commission worked by hiring some of the leading statisticians of the time to analyze the Amy mortality rate. Their findings showed that sixteen thousand of the eighteen thousand deaths from the Crimean War were from diseases that could have been prevented While the data was useful, it was really Florence Nightingale who translated it into a consumable document that the general public could understand Nightingale created what is now known as the Nightingale Rose diagram This diagram was a polar area diagram, meaning it used circular data visualization with segments radiating from a central point By using the diagram, Nighting Gale was able to prove that her nurse's work decreased patient mortality by directly comparing data before and after her team's arrival The chart's simplicity made it easy to read and understand Her work led to Nightingale becoming the first female member of the Royal Statistical Society Despite her success, Nightingale was not done with nursing. She decided to use her fame and fortune to further her cause and practices In eighteen sixty, she funded the creation of Staint Thomas's Hospital in London. As part of her funding, she was able to create the Nightingale Training School for nurses The program started with just fifteen training nurses, but expanded over the next few decades, spreading its ideas of nursing worldwide Nightingale's impact on the field of nursing is undeniable. While she was alive, she became a public figure who was admired by almost everyone People wrote songs, plays, and poetries in her honor. She became an inspiration Many young women from both upper and lower classes became interested in nursing, wanting to be like Florence Nightingale. Her impact meant that nursing was no longer frowned upon among the wealthy and even became considered an honorable profession Unfortunately for Nightingale, while working in the Crimean War, she contracted an illness known as Crimean fever and was never able to fully recover. At the age of thirty eight, she became entirely confined to her bed at home, a condition that persisted for the remainder of her long life Yet, despite these physical limitations, Nightingale remained dedicated to advancing health carere and worked persistently from her bed to benefit her patients Despite her condition, Nightingale also helped improve nursing conditions in other countries and aided the US Civil War effort, where she was consulted on managing field hospitals and served as an authority on Indian public sanitation issues Nightingale died on august thirteenth, nineteen ten at her home in London at the age of ninety. Her funeral was quiet and modest despite the demand for a public service Florence Nightingale became a legend because of the Crimean War, but her true legacy was built in the decades that followed She took the horror that she had witnessed in military hospitals and turned it into a lifelong campaign for sanitation, professional nursing, hospital reform, and evidence based public health She was not merely the lady with the lamp She was a woman who used discipline, data, persistence, and her moral force to change how the sick and wounded were cared for In doing so, she helped create modern nursing and prove that compassion, when paired with science and organization It save lives onn an enormous scale The executive producer of Everything Everywhere, Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Okin and Cameron Keefer. Research and writing for this episode was provided by Anne, Olivia Ash