GVNA

Sunday, February 05, 2012  


History

 

The Genesee Valley Nurses Association (GVNA) was incorporated in 1919 and today includes the seven county geographic area of  Allegany,  Livingston,  Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates.
The name was chosen for the breathtaking beauty of the Genesee Valley and the territory through which the Genesee River flows.
GVNA, which is designated as District #2 , is one of 19 constituent districts of the New York State Nurses Association. Today, there are about 12,000 registered professional nurses (RNs) living throughout the district.

The roots of GVNA can be traced to the Monroe County Association of Nurses, Inc., which was established in l900 in Rochester, NY.  Thirty RNs from the Rochester School of Nursing established this group and became charter members. The newly developed association's aims included:
  • advancement of the standards of nursing
  • furtherance of the efficient care of the sick
  • furtherance of cordial relations among association members and other nurses  throughout the state
  • acquiring and maintaining a club house for nurses.
The club house, which was eventually deeded to GVNA, was located at 34 South Goodman Street in Rochester. The house provided refuge for nurses coming to the city who had no place to stay and is distinguished as being used by the first editorial staff of the American Journal of Nursing, whose editor-in-chief, Sophia Palmer, RN, was from Rochester.

Currently the GVNA office is located at the historic Rochester Academy of Medicine, 1441 East Avenue, Rochester, N.Y., 14610.

GVNA has long been a visible force in the community and at the state and national level. The historic Armstrong Bill of 1902, which placed all schools of nursing under the University of New York, was authored in Rochester and was used as a model for developing health and education law in other states. GVNA was the first to establish organized Sections for Private Duty Nurses and for Student Nurses. GVNA also has a long history of supporting nursing education. In 1929 the Association contributed $3000 to establish a Department of Nursing Education at the University of Rochester and has offered many refresher and continuing education courses for nurses over the years.

Sources: Dorothy Blewitt, RN, Past Executive Director of GVNA; Linda Derleth-Glathar, RN, GVNA Historian; The Foundation of the New York State Nurses Association. (1993). Records of a proud profession: A guide to records on nursing in New York State.

Additional History can be found here: GVNA 1891-2000
Genesee Valley Nurses Association
History

Questions or comments about the site should be sent to webmaster@gvna.us

GVNA

To contact us:
Genesee Valley Nurses Association
P.O.Box 22908
Rochester, NY 14692

Email: gvna@gvna.us

See the Leadership Directory and Chapter Committees sections for other contacts.

Questions or comments about the site should be forwarded to Kathryn at
Last update Wednesday, April 27, 2011

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