Esther V. Zocher (later Freese) was a 1922 graduate of the Bethesda Hospital School for Nurses in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Esther Zocher Freese archival collection, which provides insight into nursing education during the 1920′s in Cincinnati, is now available for research at the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions.

According to an annual catalog found in the collection, the Bethesda Hospital Training School for Nurses was organized in 1914 and required students to study for 3 years.[1] Esther V. Zocher (later Freese) graduated from the school in 1922. A great group of photographs that document nurses and nursing during Freese’s time at the school are found in this small collection.

Another notable part of the collection is material from the Bethesda Hospital alumnae association. As a member of the alumnae association, Freese received correspondence and publications relating to the organization and the school. For example, the collection contains a 1924 version of the “Constitution and By-Laws of the Alumnae Association of the Bethesda Hospital School for Nurses.” At the time, annual dues were only $7.00, which included membership to the District Association No. 8 of the Ohio State Association of Graduate Nurses and to the American Nurses Association.[2]

For more information, check out the Esther Zocher Freese archival collection finding aid. Please contact the Winkler Center by email at chhp@uc.edu or call (513) 558-5120 if you would like to stop by to see the collection.

Photo of the Nurses’ parlor. (This photograph is located in box 1, folder 8 of this collection.)

References
[1] Fourth Annual Catalogue of the Bethesda Hospital Training School for Nurses (1918), page 13. Located in Box 1, Folder 5 (Bethesda Hospital School for Nurses Publications, 1916-1939).
[2] Constitution and By-Laws of the Alumnae Association of the Bethesda Hospital School for Nurses (1924), page 2. Located in Box 1, Folder 7 (Bethesda Hospital School for Nurses Alumnae Association Publications, 1924-1939).