Friday, January 25, 2019

Emily Elizabeth Parsons-an Exceptional Nurse in history


Emily Elizabeth Parsons (1824-1880)

Theophilus Parsons was a staunch Lincoln supporter. He initially opposed his 37- year- old daughter's desire to become a nurse. Emily Parsons' multiple handicaps (blind in one eye, partially deaf and unable to stand for prolonged periods of time) did not obstruct her resolve. 

She enrolled in nursing school at Massachusetts General Hospital at the outbreak of the American Civil War.

Later, she was appointed head of nursing on a riverboat at Vicksburg during the siege of the city. 

In 1863, after recovering from malaria, she became the nursing supervisor of a 2,500 bed field hospital in St. Louis, one of the most important posts given a woman during the Civil War.

Read more about this exceptional nurse at:
https://www.civilwarwomenblog.com/emily-parsons/

https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Purpose-Blind-Abridged-Annotated/dp/1519059132

https://www.amazon.com/Medicine-Treasury-Literature-Ann-Carmichael/dp/0883639912/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1548431860&sr=1-1&keywords=medicine+a+treasure+of+art+and+literature+Carmichael

Cheers!

Donna

Sunday, January 13, 2019

EnChroma glasses may help color blind nurses



Over the years, questions have been asked about accommodations for nurses who are colorblind. 
EnChroma glasses may be the answer. This is part of the company's "colorful" story.  

"It all started in 2002, in Santa Cruz, California during an Ultimate Frisbee game. Don McPherson, serial inventor and Ultimate Frisbee enthusiast with a PhD in glass science, wore a pair of specialty eyewear he invented to protect surgeons performing laser surgery. A teammate, having forgotten his sunglasses and noting Don’s stylish frames, tried them on."
“Dude! I can see the cones!” he called out in amazement. As it turns out, his friend was severely colorblind and couldn’t see the bright orange cones marking the game boundaries until that moment.This serendipitous event piqued his curiosity and sparked an idea that would eventually improve the lives of thousands."
"Dr. McPherson soon applied for a grant from the National Institutes of Health to design new lens technology for color blindness and partnered with Andrew Schmeder, a UC Berkeley-trained mathematician who helped crack the code behind the accidental discovery. The duo spent years perfecting the lens technology to create EnChroma, stylish optical grade glasses that reveal color as it is meant to be seen—pure, vibrant, and true to life."
"EnChroma, Inc., founded in 2010, is proudly based in Berkeley, California. Today, EnChroma offers a complete collection of high performance eyewear that combine the latest in color perception neuroscience and lens innovation to enhance vision for colorblind people around the world." 
For more information and testimonials, visit EnChroma at: https://enchroma.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sbd7uzD-ec&feature=youtu.be

Cheers!

Donna