In Gratitude: The Visiting Nurse Association
Sometimes it is easy to forget that health care was geographically and financially out of reach for many before the great wars. During the early 20th century, large numbers of emigrated craftsmen and landscapers were employed on the North Shore as New World gardens and palaces took over the region. Unfortunately, impoverished and unsanitary settlements appeared as well.
Inspired by home health organizations already in place in Sea Cliff and Glen Cove, the Visiting Nurse Association of Oyster Bay-Glen Cove provided care, clothing and food to those greatest in need. For 98 years, nurses and doctors served the Oyster Bay community with compassion and devotion, saving a countless number of families and lives in the process.
It was 1916, and tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the United States. For children 5 and under, the mortality rate, exclusive of stillbirths, was just over 25 percent (Mortality Statistics 1913, G.P.O.). For more than two years, a nurse named Edna Copeland had been making house calls for the sick and elderly in Sea Cliff. This inspired prominent citizens to create the Glen Cove District Nurse Association. Seeing a similar need for the citizens of Oyster Bay, 43 nurses met at Town Hall on July 5, 1916 to select temporary trustees and create by-laws for the newly created Oyster Bay Visiting Nurses Association.
In the beginning, the OBVNA focused their efforts on home health care, health education and “Little Mother’s Leagues,” but in 1923 they purchased the house at 193 South St. as their new centralized location. This large home was converted into offices, examination rooms and a few residential spaces for nurses to rent; creating a way to efficiently distribute food and basic necessities, offer mothers “well-baby” classes, and provide weekly baths for children—often the only one they would receive each week. Fees were adjusted according to the ability to pay, and fundraising fell to the trustees, many of which were members of Oyster Bay’s most prominent families. The outreach expanded to include distribution of milk, clothing, toys and books for children.
In 1969, a decision was made to combine the Glen Cove and Oyster Bay organizations and to continue using the house on South Street. In 1973 the Visiting Nurse Association of Oyster Bay-Glen Cove became a part of the Visiting Nurse Service of the North Shore. Eventually, the Visiting Nurse Association of Long Island was formed and in 2011, the Oyster Bay-Glen Cove chapter dissolved. Now, with new ownership and some recent renovations, the landmarked house at 193 South St. will have a new purpose and will remain as a reminder of the kindness and generosity of our community.
Nicole Menchise is the librarian/archivist at the Oyster Bay Historical Society. Her degrees include studies in geography, cartography and history at the University of Memphis and library science at Long Island University, where she also received the Advanced Certificate in Archives and Records Management. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the North Shore Historical Museum located in the recently restored Glen Cove Justice’s Courthouse.
