KCON dedicates World War II nurse's uniform

To celebrate National Nurses Week, the Kirkhof College of Nursing dedicated a World War II nurse's uniform May 8 in the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences.

The Army Nurse Corps uniform showcases a mid-length navy cape and a dress blazer complete with insignia. It will be housed at CHS. The uniform was donated by the family of Virginia M. Gottshall, a registered nurse from Toledo, Ohio, who was assigned to a military hospital in France in 1944.

Gottshall’s family contacted Martha Pituch, emeritus professor of nursing at the University of Toledo, looking for a home for the uniform. Pituch said she immediately thought of Yvette Petti, KCON associate dean for graduate programs. Pituch served as Petti’s nursing professor and mentor.

Nursing students gave presentations prior to the dedication on historical nurses who had military ties. Joy Washburn, associate professor of nursing, said it was an important class exercise as “we are constantly reminded that nurses stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before them.”