Legacy of Nursing
Nursing History: North Valley Hospital and Extended Care
Compiled January 2026 by Karen Schimpf RN
This is a compiled history of nursing in Tonasket and at North Valley Hospital (NVH) and Extended Care. I began my career at NVH in 1974, and at the time, I was unfamiliar with the history of the town, the hospital, or the nurses I worked alongside. Over the years, I was privileged to know many of the early nurses, work with them, and eventually care for some of them in the Nursing Home before they passed. I retired in 2011, and this record is organized by facility to help track the legacy of those who served our community.
Early Healthcare and the Pioneer Era
For many years, country doctors made home visits, nursing as well as treating the sick and injured. Sometimes they had offices or small hospitals in small towns, often staffed by their wives who also acted as nurses. One example was Dr. Stuart Holmes and his wife, Edith, who helped her husband run the office and clinic. Some women were midwives who made house calls and delivered babies under difficult conditions. Supplies included linen, carbolic acid, sweet oil, and cornstarch. Linen was sterilized by putting it on a shovel and heating it over a fire; scorched linen was considered more healing for a baby's navel. While what nurses do has changed significantly, they continue to provide needed care, master the latest skills, and utilize important management skills.
Auntie Put and the Putnam House
In 1913, Frank Putnam moved his printing business from Conconully to Tonasket and started the newspaper The Tonasket Times. He and his wife, Fanny, built their home—the Putnam House—on the hill in Tonasket. This house later became the home of Neil Helburg. Fanny Putnam, known as Auntie Put, delivered many babies, made house calls, and did practical nursing. She passed in 1971. A former owner mentioned she nursed patients in her home and that the house was used as an unofficial hospital; it even featured a dumb waiter.
The First Hospital in Tonasket
The Schweikert House, built in 1914, became the first hospital or maternity home in Tonasket. It was opened by Mervyn Hayden, a nurse, and Edna McComb, a midwife. Other area midwives included Mrs. W.J. Bandtman and Mrs. McCabe from the Siwash area. Nellie Brattain was a nurse there, and Dr. Bevis moved in by 1924, overseeing 12 beds.
Mrs. Melvin Laurie was asked to take charge of nursing and helped with surgery as an anesthetist. During the Depression, from 1930 to 1932, nurses took over the finances of the hospital. In 1931, Dr. Bevis hired Ruth Stalder and Leta Barker, who eventually leased the hospital until it closed when they married. It reopened in 1935 with Margaret Casey and Marie Yates. These young graduates rotated 24-hour stretches, assisted with surgery, gave anesthesia, purchased supplies, and prepared weekend meals. The hospital closed again in 1936. Ruth Stalder later became Ruth Lewis, and Margaret Casey became Margaret Pheasant; I worked with both starting in 1974.
St. Martin’s Hospital and the Sisters
St. Martin’s Hospital was dedicated on August 25, 1938. The staff was comprised of Sisters, including Mother Bonaventura and Sisters Jucunda and Birgitta, who initially stayed in the Travelers Inn (formerly the Schweikert House). By September 1938, the full nursing and administrative staff was complete.
The new St. Martin’s Hospital was dedicated on May 12, 1952, and the original building became the Nursing Home in March 1953. While civilian nurse names from this era are scarce, the Sisters were instrumental in training local women to become nurse aides. In 1972, Public Hospital District #4 was formed, and the Sisters departed.
North Valley Hospital and Nursing Home (1974–2011)
I arrived in 1974 from Harborview. I started working days and evenings with Margaret Pheasant, Maggie Gilreath, Eleanor Gausman, Midge Williams, Dorothy Catlin, Wanda Moffit, Linda Sylvester, Madge Brandt, Dicky Burberry, Myrt Forrest, and Pat Smith. Nan Parr Sherman, Janice Higby, and Bertha Clark worked nights.
Rural nursing was often either way too busy or not busy at all. We worked the ER, surgery, watched cardiac monitors, and delivered babies when doctors could not get there. The first floor was medical and home to permanent residents like Arthur Lund, while the second floor was surgical with a nursery and two operating rooms. Pharmacy was in a closet, and we calculated all doses and mixed IVs manually. The night shift covered both the hospital and the 70-bed nursing home.
Notable Staff:
Hospital Staff:
Margaret Mitchell was the DNS who hired me; she lived in the hospital basement and rode her bike around town.
Carol Patterson May was my first patient at NVH.
Rolly Morrison was the first Vietnam veteran I could talk to about being a veteran myself.
Barbera Perry, DNS, had hospital nurses orient to the nursing home, which is how I eventually moved there.
Bertha Clark, Marcy Frank, and John Frank also served during this time.
Nursing Home Staff:
Helen McDaniel was the hospital DNS in the late 70s.
Jenny Luhn was the administrator and a great marketer for the facility.
Dixie Brown and Kathy Tomlinson started shortly after I did; Dixie eventually became DNS.
Judy Gladden started as an aide and eventually administered the nursing home years later.
Cindy Lawson, LPN.
Nurse Aides (NACs) included Florence Stalder, Carol Vincent, Ruth, Helen Krustangel, Frances Otis, and Kate Vance. Kate was over 80 when she retired and continued to "check on" the staff even after she became a resident.
Carmen Beeman and Wanda Kitterman started as NACs and became LPNs.
Evolution of the Nursing Home
By the 1980s, the original nursing home building was outdated and unsafe, with inadequate fire escapes and access issues. In 1986, after a massive community effort, we moved into a new building (now North Valley Extended Care).
The New Team:
Peggy Operud became DNS after Jennie Luhn.
Bernice Hailey, Karen Mosley, and Ellen Glen.
Becky McDaniel served as DNS for 13 years.
Other key members included Donna Prior, Joy Keeling, Susan Swartzel, Kris Kauffeld, Abby Thorndike, Phyllis Greenwalt, Marcia Naillon, and Sandy Vaughn.
Challenges, Changing Times, and MEMORIES
Mr. Gustafson: A tall resident who fell and hit his head; we were panicked because his "eye" appeared rolled back, only to discover he had a prosthetic eye not mentioned in his records.
Winter Travel: Before good snow tires, we used chains to get up Siwash after evening shifts.
Community Ties: It was an honor to care for people we knew, such as Ruth Lewis and Dr. Holmes.
DRGs: In the late 80s, new regulations meant a 93-year-old patient was sent back to us just 3 hours after surgery, which forced us to adapt our staffing quickly.
Lily: A resident who lived to 100 and once escaped to the middle of the highway, hitting staff with her cane while yelling for help before peacefully passing soon after.
Evolution of Records: Charting changed from short, poetic shift logs in the 80s to the very detailed, technical records required today due to liability and computers.
Clinical Milestones: I helped dispose of the last cocaine used at the hospital in 1974. Forceps were still used for deliveries in 1975, and many of us served as midwives when needed.
Surveys: These annual events have always been anxiety-inducing, though surveyors have become more communicative over the decades
Our shift logs even had a culture of their own; they started in the 80s as lighthearted poetry before evolving into official, technical records. While technology and regulations have advanced, the core of nursing at NVH has always been the people—both those providing the care and the community members we serve.