Evolution of the University of St. Francis

Transcript of video (dated June, 2005):

Sr. Loretta Wagner

I’m Sr. Loretta Wagner. I’m an RN as of 1942. I was appointed to the College of St. Francis as a resident nurse in 1945 to 54. Then one year out for infirmary service at the Motherhouse. I returned in 55 late into 60. I was there 11 years.

I served under Sr. Charles Zievernik in 1945, she is deceased and Sr. Edwardine her associate, she also is deceased. I succeeded Sr. Ramona Snyder, who was there from 42 to 49, no that is an error I was thinking of something else. Ok, when I was there, then I was on with Sr. Tharla, Dean of Students from 45 to 62. Her Associate was Sr. DeSales Jaeger in 1949 to 52. She is a resident here now and retired. Ok, that’s the background.

I initiated an 8 bed infirmary care for the students. We did in-home nursing. We did there totally they didn’t have to go the hospital. I had medications, we didn’t give IV’s but they didn’t in that day give it too much. So I had other, giving fluids to them. I also initiated the files on the students.

Each student had a file in my office. Then I had a pharmacy, where the nurse, where they came 3 times a day for office hours, in the morning 9 to 12, in the afternoon, & then in the evening I made rounds on the floors that everybody was OK. Then, we took care of emergencies in between as they came to the hospital and so forth.

We worked with the family doctors. Dr. Arthur Fahner, who is deceased now, took over the MD service. They worked hand and hand with family and also with the family doctors. We, you know, told them what we were doing. In fact we had a girl a month there with pneumonia and she became very and she went home and everything’s fine.

I also taught in the Education department giving Health Education like personal hygiene, health subjects, whatever

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the girls wanted to work up. We had, I did that quite a long time. That was that then. I said about the files and the students and working with family doctors.

Well, my work was interrupted at times because Mother General called me to the Motherhouse to go out for emergency services for the Sisters, like surgery, something special that may have came Mayos or something and Sr. Tharla took over. But I had the classification of everything she would have to do in a book, in a special file for emergencies on certain things that would come up to her. We got along well that way. She was very conscientious, you know.

I enjoyed the students because I could participate in everything they did. I had to laugh because I had a lot of fun with them. Of course I wasn’t that much older then they were. So I enjoyed their music, I enjoyed their dances. We had to supervise the dances and we had a wonderful time. They were very cooperative and they loved learning. They would ask questions and they felt very free with me to talk, you know. So I had a wonderful 10 or 11 years there.