Nora Spencer Hamner (January 6, 1895 – November 17, 1971) was an American public health nurse known for her work fighting tuberculosis in Virginia. She is known as the first public health nurse trained in Virginia.[1]
Hamner was a nurse and supervisor at the Memorial Hospital from 1913 to 1914.[2] She was a public health nurse in Darlington County, South Carolina from 1914 to 1917.[2] She then traveled as a field nurse across southwest Virginia to assist towns across 47 counties with developing clinics to diagnose tuberculosis.[2]
She served as the executive secretary of the Richmond Tuberculosis Association from 1919 to March 31, 1962.[1][2] In that role, she gave talks and worked with groups, including the Virginia General Assembly.[2] She also played a large part of developing rehabilitation programs at the Pine Camp Tuberculosis Hospital.[2]
Hamner helped recruit nurses in Virginia during World War II.[2] She also helped recruit nurses during the polio epidemics of the 1940s and 1950s.[2] She was a member of the Virginia Red Cross for 35 years.[1]
Hamner was the first woman to serve on the Medical College of Virginia Board of Visitors and its executive committee.[2] She also served on the board of trustees of the Medical College of Virginia Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University.[1][2] She was one of the founders of the Virginia Council on Health and Medical Care.[1]
Personal life
Hamner lived in Richmond and had a summer cottage with a wildflower sanctuary near the Blue Ridge Parkway.[1][2] She was a specialist on wildflowers and an avid gardener.[1] Hamner was a nationally accredited flower show judge.[2]
1942 - Richmond Professional Institute presented the first Nancy Vance Pin Award to Hamner for her work as a public health nurse[1][2]
1951 - Hamner received the first honorary degree presented to a woman by the Medical College of Virginia, a Master of Science in nursing[1][2][7]
Douglas Southall Freedom Award from the Virginia Tuberculosis Association[1][2]
The Virginia Tuberculosis Association established the Nora Spencer Hamner Award. It is still presented by the American Lung Association of Virginia.[2] The Medical College of Virginia Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University helped raise funds for the Mahoney-Hamner Nursing Alumni Lectureship. It was named for Anne F. Mahoney and Hamner.[2][5]