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Duke Hospital, InterGom
Her Heart and Life
Supt^^
Cotnex
The courtesy and friendliness with
which patients and visitors are re
ceived at Duke Hospital has long been
a source of pride to all of us. This
is all the more remarkable when you
consider the number of people in
volved in a hospital our size.
The Hospital Auxiliary has added
greatly to our atmosi)here of person
al warmth in the last few years and
has opened our eyes to the possibili
ties of developing a more general at
titude of personal interest in the
convenience and comfort of visitors.
It seems to me that we need some
medium for recognizing staff and em
ployees who go out of their way to
make people feel welcome and at home
here. At the same time we need to
s])end more time thinking about how
to promote continuous friendly and
helpful attitudes among all of our
employees.
AVe are organizing a representative
committee to work on these two ob
jectives, but the committee will be
grateful for any and all suggestions
for a “Courtesy Citation” program
which would be fair to everyone, as
well as ideas on how best to start a
“Welcome to Duke Hospital” cam-
])aign.
Maybe we should start with a sug
gestion contest!—what do you think?
Centered in the
Wherever you meet Miss Henrietta
Fagan—whether at her desk in the
Minot reception room, one of the
wards or a downtown store—you can
be sure she’s doing something to help
somebody.
That “something” could be a long
distance ])hone call to a patient’s min
ister, visiting a mother who has lost
a child or shopj)ing for things a pa
tient needs or gifts Miss Fagan buys
herself.
Or a hundred other ways in which
Miss Fagan, as secretary to Dr. Rus
sell Dicks, Hos])ital chaj)lain, heli)s
l)atients and visitors. Her work—to
her it is an avocation, not simply a
job—takes her all over the Hospital
or, as she put it in an interview,
“wherever 1 feel people need to be
cheered. ’ ’ Her work as the chaplain’s
contact in the Hospital is entirely
non-denominational, she emphasized.
One of the original Hospital em
ployees, Miss Fagan came to Duke in
May, 1930. She is a graduate of the
Woman’s College of the University
of North CaroUna at Greensboro and
a Norfolk business college, and is a
native of Edenton.
“Mr. Winston, the first superin
tendent, asked me to come to work
at Duke, and 1 started before the Hos
pital was entirely organized,” she
said. After doing seeretai'ial work
“for as many as four or five doctors
at ouce” Miss Fagan had charge of
the dictaj)hone room and also taught
the girls medical terms. The four or
five girls who worked under her were
frequently called to substitute for
vacationing and ill employees, and
eventually the central dictaphone
room was disbanded for the indi
vidual secretary system, she recalled.
About 15 years ago. Prof. F. S.
Aldridge was ai)poiuted to the chaj)-
lain’s j)ost, and Miss Fagan began her
present work, continuing after Prof.
Aldridge’s death and Dr. Dick’s ap-
|)ointmeut.
At her desk Miss Fagan keeps a list
of patients for the ministers of Dur
ham and also contacts clergymen
Hospital
here and from out of town upon a
patient’s recpiest. In addition to
doing errands for patients and visi
tors, she forwards mail for discharged
patients, distributes religious pam
phlets and books and maintains a small
library which was donated some years
ago by a patient. At Easter and other
holidays, patients who need cheering
up are apt to find small favors which
the thoughtful woman has purchased.
No clockwatcher, iMiss Fagan may
find herself on a late bus going to her
home on Gloria Avenue, but she also
finds time to busy herself with her
own church work for St. Philip’s
Ei)iscoj)al Church.
One of the most tangible results of
lier work for Duke is evident in the
many letters of appreciation she re
ceives from people she’s met—and
helped in some way.
Those letters have come from state
officials, from cabinet officers, from
ward patients. Tliey speak best for
Miss Pagan’s own attitude for her
“heart and life are centered in the
hospital. ”
* # *
Tillie Hollenian Mosley (Mrs.
Vince), Class of ’34, of Charleston,
S. C., has been named Charleston’s
Woman of the Year. In addition to
her many social and civic contribu
tions, Tillie finds time to mother her
brood of five adopted children. Con
gratulations, Tillie and Vince! Vince,
’37, is professor of medicine at the
Medical College of South Carolina.
* * *
E. S. Rai')er recently was guest
speaker for a meeting of the Durham
('hapter of the North Carolina Secre
taries Association. Tlie rules for de
veloping courtesy, featured this
month in InterCom were from his
speach, which will be reprinted in the
Secretaries national magazine.
* # #
Koss Porter was a guest of the
Tennessee Hos])itals Association May
19-20, where he gave two talks on the
subjects, “Taipei-Formosa” and
“What the Woman’s Auxiliary
Means to My Hospital.”
The InterCom is published bi
monthly by Duke Hospital and
the Duke IIosi)ital Women’s
Auxiliary.
Mrs. H. Shelton Smith
Mrs. Watt Eagle
Mrs. Alan Manchester
Mrs. Eugene Stead
Miss Nina Waite
]\Irs. Earl Porter, Chairman
J. M. Pyne
Elon Clark
Richard Pindewald
L. E. Swanson
Wendell Weisend, Advisor