Mary Fields Hall (October 14, 1934 – July 21, 2022) was the Director of the

Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-female until 1965. Pre-19 ...

from 1987 to 1991. She was the first U. S. military nurse to command a hospital. She became the commanding officer at Naval Hospital, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in July 1983, and later commanded Naval Hospital, Long Beach, California.

Early life

Mary Fields Hall was born in 1934 in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. She earned a nursing diploma from Episcopal Hospital School of Nursing,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, in 1955.

Navy Nurse Corps career

She joined the

in 1959. While in the

Nurse Corps Most professional militaries employ specialised military nurses or nursing sisters. They are often organised as a distinct nursing corps. Florence Nightingale formed the first nucleus of a recognised Nursing Service for the British Army during the ...

, she earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from the

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in 1966 and a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in nursing service administration from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in 1973. She became the commanding officer at Naval Hospital, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in July 1983, and later commanded Naval Hospital, Long Beach, California. She became director of the

in 1987, and was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral (lower half). She served concurrently as deputy commander for Personnel Management, Naval Medical Command.

References

External links

Nurses and the U.S. Navy -- Overview and Special Image Selection
Naval Historical Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Mary Fields 1934 births 2022 deaths American nurses American women nurses Military personnel from Pennsylvania Boston University alumni University System of Maryland alumni Female admirals of the United States Navy United States Navy rear admirals (lower half)

Early life

Navy Nurse Corps career

See also

References

Further reading

External links