Summary information
| Repository: | South Peace Regional Archives |
| Title: | Tangent Municipal Nursing Society fonds |
| Reference code: | 0321 |
| Date: | 1948-1971 (date of creation) |
| Physical description: | 10 cm textual records |
| Dates of creation, revision and deletion: | Processed by Mary Nutting, August 2008 Added to new database Sept. 2023 – TD |
Administrative history / Biographical sketch
In 1934, the Alberta Minister of Health approved an application to form a district nursing area in the Tangent-Eaglesham area. The nurse would be stationed at Tangent, but the nursing area would include Eaglesham, Watino, Rahab, and any other areas who could reach her. Five representatives were elected to act as a Nurse-Home Committee, and they were responsible “to provide a well constructed house consisting of an office, waiting room and living quarters for the nurse.” The community was also to provide furnishings for the Nurse’s cottage, an adequate supply of water, and maintenance to the building.
Funds for all of this were raised by holding bingos, picnics, raffles and card games. Home-made ice cream was sold after Sunday Mass when funds were low. The nurse was paid, in part, by the fees she charged for services rendered, but often she accepted eggs, milk, wild meat, garden produce, or firewood as payment. When a home visit by the nurse was required, the patient’s family was responsible for her transportation.
In 1948, the Tangent Municipal Nurse’s Home Home Committee was incorporated to look after the facility, and on April 1, 1950 there was an agreement between the Minister of Municipal Affairs and the Minister of Health to provide a Municipal Nursing Service in part of Improvement District No. 132. Although the society continued to be the owner of the Nurse’s Home, responsible for any building and maintenance, an agreement with I.D. No. 132 financed the Home with a monthly rental fee.
In 1958, a new nurses’ residence was built in the Village of Eaglesham, after a mail-in ballot established Eaglesham as the favoured location of the service. The legal description was Plan 2937 HW, Blk 1, Lot 13, on the SW 30-78-25-W5. A loan was taken out to build the home, financed by the monthly rental fee of $650.00 from the I.D. When the loan was paid off in 1961, the contribution from the I.D. was lowered to $100.00 per month.
At the time there was a serious shortage of nurses in the province of Alberta, especially those qualified for “emergency nursing” and willing to work alone in the rural parts of the province, so the Nurse’s Home in Eaglesham was often vacant. In 1962, the Grande Prairie Health Unit took over responsibility for public health, and the cottage was used by their nurses and dentists for regular clinics. It was also used by doctors based at the Spirit River Hospital who would visit the area periodically.
It was the policy of the Alberta government to close down municipal nursing services in districts where road conditions improved to the point that hospital and medical care were more easily accessible, and on November 30, 1967, the Minister of Health closed the Tangent Municipal Nurse’s Home. The Society was dissolved in 1971.
Custodial history
The records were donated to the South Peace Regional Archives by Nick Poohkay in 2007.
Scope and content
The fonds consists of legal documents, executive records, financial records and correspondence, dating mainly from the building of the Nurse’s Home in Eaglesham in 1958, but with a few legal documents and financial records dating back to the creation of the society in 1948. Although the Society was formed under the name of the “Tangent Municipal Nurse’s Home Committee”, this name and the name “Tangent Municipal Nursing Service” appear to be used interchangeably throughout the records.
Notes
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title of fonds based on contents
Access points
- Textual record (documentary form)
- Health care (subject)
Table of contents
0321.01, Legal Documents, 1948-1963
0321.02, Executive records, 1958-1971
0321.03, Financial records, 1948-1971
0321.04, Correspondence, 1957-1971
Series descriptions
| Series 0321.01: Legal Documents
Date: 1948-1963 (date of creation) Scope and content: The series consists of the original application to form a Tangent Municipal Nurse’s Home Committee in 1948, the original by-laws, the result of a society vote to move the Nurses’ Home from Tangent to Eaglesham in 1958, and signed agreements between the Society and Improvement District No. 132 that they will agree to pay a monthly rent to support the Nursing Service. Physical description: 0.5 cm textual records Access points: • Textual record (documentary form |
| Series 0321.02: Executive records
Date: 1958-1971 (date of creation) Scope and content: The series consists of minutes of executive meetings from 1959-1963, financial statements, and annual meeting minutes and reports from the time the Nurse’s Home was moved to Eaglesham in 1958 until the society was no longer active, in 1971. Physical description: 1 cm textual records Access points: • Textual record (documentary form) |
| Series 0321.03: Financial records
Date: 1948-1971 (date of creation) Scope and content: The series consists of a cash book covering the years from 1948 to 1962, a journal sheet for 1962-1967, bank statements and returned cheques for 1958-1971, and invoices detailing expenses on the Nurse’s Home from 1958 to 1971. Physical description: 5.5 cm textual records Access points: • Textual record (documentary form) |
| Series 0321.04: Correspondence
Date: 1957-1971 (date of creation) Scope and content: The series consists of correspondence regarding the maintenance and operation of the Nurse’s Home in Eaglesham, mainly from the Alberta Department of Public Health. Physical description: 3 cm textual records Access points: • Textual record (documentary form) |