SAVANNA MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER
"She wanted the word "nurse" to mean something." Betty Philbrook, great-niece
Before adhesive bandages and antibiotics...
Before nurses were considered respected professionals...
Before most women had careers outside the home or could vote...
Before paved roads, airplane travel and telephones were common...
Helen Scott Hay became one of the most honored and decorated American nurses in the world during the first half of the 20th century. Her death in 1932 was mourned across Europe where she established modern nursing training schools.
The entire nursing profession has been elevated and made more valuable because of her life" Hattie Jean Robinson, classmate from Illinois Training School for Nurses
"It is as true of Miss Hay as Florence Nightingale, that her influence will carry on through generations of nurses" Clara Noyes, National Director, American Red Cross
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 Helen Scott Hay, famous Red Cross nurse, was born near Lanark in this county. She was a graduate of Savanna High School, Northwestern University in Evanston, and the Illinois Training School for Nurses in Chicago, where she was later Superintendent. Before World War I she established a school of nursing in Bulgaria. At the outbreak of war she became Director of American Red Cross Nursing Personnel and was assigned to the Balkans. After America entered the war, she served in Washington. In 1920 s |  In a time when a woman's role was to stay home, Helen Scott Hay traveled the world helping create a profession called nursing. |
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 "She was always a leader and had a wonderful influence for good among her companions." Savanna (Illinois) High School 1886 |  "Her energy and unfailing optimism spread to all about her." Major General Robert J. patterson, Surgeon General, U.S. Army Miss Hay, the " American Florence Nightingale" will be in charge of the American nurses on board the U.S. Red Cross Mercy Ship, 1914 |
 Director of Red Cross Nursing Personnel at the outbreak of WWI |