Review article

https://doi.org/10.11608/sgnj.26.3.2

The development of nursing in Karlovac in the period from the founding of the city to the first half of the 20th century

Snježana Mirilović orcid.org/0000-0002-4518-1162 ; General hospital Karlovac, A. Štampar 3, 47 000 Karlovac, Croatia
Blaženka Pavlić ; Opća bolnica Karlovac, A. Štampara 3, 47 000 Karlovac, Hrvatska
Karolina Vižintin ; Opća bolnica Karlovac, A. Štampara 3, 47 000 Karlovac, Hrvatska
Afrodita Gavrilidis ; Opća bolnica Karlovac, A. Štampara 3, 47 000 Karlovac, Hrvatska

Abstract

Introduction: The history of care for the sick and people in need in Karlovac is linked to the founding of the city. Hospitals were first built inside the fortress, and from 1779 onwards out-side the fortress. The staff working in the hospitals included trained doctors who, over time, got professionally educated. Their names are mentioned in the earliest records of hospitals. The work of the people who helped doctors and cared for the patients is poorly described and we do not find any information regarding the first educated nurses who worked in Karlovac. The authors of this paper tried to reconstruct the beginnings of nursing in Karlovac and find the names of the first nurses and information about their education, scope and/or place of work.
Methods: The starting point for this work were documents stored in the archives of the Kar-lovac General Hospital, archives and collections of the Croatian State Archives (HDA) and the State Archives in Karlovac (DAKA). We also used documents stored in the archives of the School of Nursing Mlinarska, Society of Sisters of Charity St. Vinko Paulski in Zagreb, and the Sisters of Mercy of St. Cross in Đakovo. In addition to these sources, previously published papers were also used.
Results: A review of the found historical material until the 19th century does not reveal the names or titles of the people who cared for the sick. There are records of the names and sur-names of doctors and patients, but the support staff is presumed to have been hastily trained women. The nuns who came to work in the Town Public Hospital at the end of the 19th centu-ry are mentioned as the first educated staff. The nuns also worked as part of the Red Cross and handy hospitals together with the citizens of Karlovac. By reviewing the archives, the names of the sisters who worked in Karlovac, as well as their scope of work and place of work, are found. The people first mentioned in the records are midwives Ana Lamprecht and Sofia Piljuga, but there is no data on their education. Based on the reviewed historical materi-al, Perpetua Kovačić was the first nun employed in Karlovac and educated in the School for Nurses in Zagreb.
Conclusion: The entire nursing work in the hospitals in Karlovac mostly did nuns. They cared for the sick, prepared food, arranged the environment, and carried out hygiene in the hospital. The work was demanding and accompanied by difficult working conditions. The analysis of the historical material reveals many names of people who cared for the sick in Karlovac. Further research and analysis of historical material might lead to additional or new information and possible different conclusions. The data on the people who cared for the patients in the Town Public Hospital in the period from its establishment until the arrival of the first nuns remains unknown.

Keywords

history of nursing; Karlovac; Society of Sisters of Charity of St. Vinko Paulski; Merciful Sisters of St. Križ

Hrčak ID:

267906

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/267906

Publication date:

22.12.2021.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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