Reference no: EM133821526

Question

In 1854, during the Crimean War, the Secretary of War sent a letter to Florence asking her to organize several nurses to see the sick soldiers in Crimea. She and 38 other nurses from a variety of religions responded and ended up at a British base hospital in Constantinople. Horrified was an understatement as the building sat on top of a large cesspool which would be seen to contaminate all the waters available, including the hospital building itself. The soldiers were forced to lie in their own waste on stretchers that would expand the hospital halls, the rodents, and insects making unwanted company. Supplies were limited and continued to dwindle as the number of injured grew. Typhoid and cholera would claim their lives as clean water was rationed and in small supply. Florence enlisted not only her nurses but also the patients who were able to scrub the hospital clean, top to bottom, every crack and crevice. With improving conditions, the nurses were able to raise morale by helping the soldiers by sending their earned wages back home to their families, reading them letters that they had received, helping them write letters back, and more.