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Ruth B. Washburn Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0630

Dates

  • 1970, 1971, 2017

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of the items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement

Biographical / Historical

Ruth B. Washburn (b. 1951), of Erie, Pennsylvania, served in the United States Navy WAVES and the Navy from 1970-1990. Ruth B. Washburn was born 22 October 1951 in Erie, Pennsylvania. After graduating from General McLane High School in 1969, she began a nurses training program in Cleveland, Ohio, but due to personal issues, she failed her first semester and returned to Pennsylvania. With the help of her father, who worked at a county home providing care for those that couldn't care for themselves, Washburn learned of a nighttime nurse's aide position. Because she had been in nursing school, the county home waived the nursing assistant requirements, and in January 1970, Washburn began working nights, where she changed beds, assisted with bathing patients, and administered medications.

Washburn began visiting military recruiters, and in 1970 she enlisted in the United States Navy. She was sworn in in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and then sent to United States Naval Training Center, Bainbridge, Maryland for basic training. In July 1970, Washburn began Hospital Corpsman training at Naval Station Great Lakes, in Chicago, Illinois, and was then assigned to St. Albans Naval Hospital in Queens, New York, where she assisted with the long-term care of patients who had returned from Vietnam.

In 1973, Washburn was sent to the Naval Medical Institute at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, for sixteen months of clinical laboratory technician training, and in 1974 she was assigned to National Naval Medical Center. In 1976, Washburn was assigned to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico for an eighteen-month tour, and in 1978, she was assigned to Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Florida.

In 1981, Washburn received orders to United States Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan. She also had the opportunity to go aboard the USS Jason, a repair ship, and travel to Subic Bay in the Philippines. In 1984, Washburn was assigned to U.S. Naval Hospital Oakland, California, where she was tasked with testing new laboratory equipment. After a few years, due to a heavy workload, Washburn decided to transition into Preventative Medicine, and spent a year in training.

In 1988, she transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and began working as a preventative medicine technician. In 1990, Washburn retired from the United States Navy, and returned to Pennsylvania to care for her elderly parents. After their deaths, she returned to North Carolina in September 2001.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (2 Folders)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Condition Description

The condition is good.

Offensive Language Statement

The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.

Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processed by Victoria Hinshaw.

Title
Ruth B. Washburn Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Victoria Hinshaw
Date
2022 November
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
P.O. Box 26170
320 College Ave.
Greensboro NC 27402-6170 US
336-334-5246