Biography

The Iowa Nurses Association was organized in 1904. In 1918 the Association divided the state into ten districts. The Fifth District was comprised of Tama, Benton, Linn, Poweshiek, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, and Cedar counties. Ella McDannel, an alumna of St. Luke Hospital in Cedar Rapids, called a meeting on January 8, 1918, preparatory to organizing the district. Registered nurses from the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area responded enthusiastically and a committee was formed to draw up a constitution and bylaws. These were approved and adopted on January 25, 1918. The first president of the Fifth District was Bessie Milliard.

The purpose of the Fifth District of the Iowa Nurses Association is to "foster high standards of nursing practice, promote the professional and educational advancement of nurses, and promote the welfare of nurses to the end that all people shall have better nursing care." Functions and activities of the district organization include establishment of continuing education opportunities for nurses, informational programs addressing legislative issues significant to nursing, promotion of high ethical and professional standards for nurses, and representation in state and national nursing associations. Sponsorship of Nurses Week and other activities provide opportunities for social contact between professional and student nurses. In 1990 the membership reached 370 members. Upon the request of the Fifth District an annual Nursing Week was declared in Cedar Rapids by Mayor Lee Clancey in 2000. The Fifth District of the Iowa Nurses Association dissolved in June 2001 when the INA was restructured from 13 districts to 5 regions.

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