The rich history of two of Utah's healthcare institutions will be highlighted in a scholarly publication.

Barbara Mandleco, from the College of Nursing and co-author Karma Miller, will be published in the Utah Historical Quarterly this fall.

The research presented in the magazine will focus on the rich history of two important children's hospitals in the state of Utah: Primary Children's Hospital and Shriner's Hospital

The project began in 2000 when several faculty members of the College of Nursing were asked to be part of the planning committee for the American Association for the History of Nursing yearly conference held in Salt Lake City in 2002.

"After the Charles Redd Center for Western History granted us $2,000 to prepare a presentation, Miller and I decided we would share a little bit of Utah's rich culture in the conference," Mandleco said.

The research presented in the conference was so valuable that Kent Powell, editor of the quarterly publication, decided to include the article in the Fall 2008 edition of the magazine.

"The article's purpose is to describe the development of two hospitals founded during the early part of the 20th century in Salt Lake City, Utah," Mandleco said. "The results of our research indicate that both institutions have a similar focus on children's health and the majority of staff members of both hospitals were strong, dedicated women leaders."

The research, conducted by Mandleco and Miller, both RNs, includes official institutions' publications, daily local newspaper articles, archival photographs and interviews that describe the origins of both hospitals in the early 20th century.

"Karma and I interviewed physicians, nurses and former medical directors from both hospitals about their experiences," Mandleco said. "This was an interesting experience since neither hospital had archives. We had to rely on people's stories and experiences and old newspaper articles."

Mandleco added the research conducted was difficult since all of the founders, directors and early staff members are dead. The Deseret News archives from the early 1920s were helpful since they contained information of the people involved in the founding of Primary Children's Hospital and Shriner's Hospital, she said.

"It would be valuable for people to know about the history of these two Utah hospitals," Miller said. "Utah has always been committed to health care."

Miller added the research will broaden the scope of the Utah Historical Quarterly magazine.

According to the Utah State History Web page, "Many people from ancient to recent have touched Utah's history."

The Utah Department of Community and Culture, in charge of the quarterly publication works "to preserve knowledge and resources for future generations," according to the Web page.

Copyright Brigham Young University 18 Sep 2008