Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy
Fort Bayard celebrates 150th anniversary
Fort Bayard celebrates 150th anniversary
Fort Bayard partygoers listen to Nancy Owen-Lewis talk about her book "Chasing the Cure in New Mexico".
Fort Bayard celebrates 150th anniversary
Patsy Miller, long-time nursing supervisor at the old Fort Bayard Medical Center talks about the change from VA to the state oversight.
Fort Bayard celebrates 150th anniversary
Cecilia Bell receives a photo taken by Greg Rolfe from Linda Lopez.
Fort Bayard celebrates 150th anniversary
The birthday cake, donated by Albertson's.
Fort Bayard celebrates 150th anniversary
Bell and Owen-Lewis pose for a photo.
On Saturday morning, the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society held a birthday party for the Fort Bayard National Landmark. The actual date of the beginning of Fort Bayard was Aug. 20, 1866.
The first presenter was Nancy Owen Lewis, talking about her book Chasing the Cure in New Mexico, which covers the history of treatment of tuberculosis in the state. Fort Bayard held an important place in that history with its sanitariums and care for those with tuberculosis or consumption, as it was called.
Lewis is an anthropologist from Santa Fe, and said she works at the School for Advanced Research. "In 2007, I was researching for the state Centennial and found out our director's wife came to New Mexico for her health. She had tuberculosis. That intrigued me to look more into TB and how the state helped in the care of the patients with the disease."
Linda Lopez presented to Cecilia Bell a black-and-white photo taken at Fort Bayard by Greg Rolfe.
Patsy Miller talked about the transfer of the hospital from the U.S. Veterans Administration to the state of New Mexico.
She said. when FBMC was under the VA, it had doctors, nurses and attendants. Specialists would come from El Paso, Texas, or Denver, Colorado, if needed.
"I worked in the operating room and in supply," Miller said. "When streptomycin came along, and I would come in with the syringe, the patients would say: 'Roll over; drop your drawers; it's target practice.'"
"We heard on the short wave radio that the V.A. hospital at Fort Bayard was going to be closed," Miller said. "I was transferred to Vancouver, Washington, but my family was here and I wasn't leaving. So I was asked to start up the nursing program at the hospital under the state."
She said the hospital had only one telephone. "I had to interview people. For a nurse's aid, the pay was $191 a month. They would apply, find out the pay and tell me: 'Welfare will pay me $200 to stay home.'"
The hospital got the nurses who didn't transfer. "They came to work at the same hospital. We got patients from the state facility in Las Vegas, who were not mental cases."
To transfer them, they took many trips by airplane to move about 250 patients. "The plane we brought them Grant County on was called the 'Enchilada Crew' by its Natuional Guard pilots and crew."
She said Fort Bayard had only 1 doctor with the state. With the V.A., they had X-Ray and a lab, but not with the state. "Local doctors helped."
In 1966, Fort Stanton got notice that its tuberculosis facility was closing. "They sent them here. We got their staff and patients. It was hard to teach them to follow the rules."
She introduced Cecilia Parra, who was in the audience. Parra worked with the V.A. as secretary to the manager.
Miller now serves as a volunteer at Gila Regional Medical Center, and has been in that position since 1994.
Dr. John Bell continued the story. "She worked at the nursing director at Fort Bayard Medical Center for 27 years. She was tough as the supervisor, but care was excellent."
Cecilia Bell presented a "medicine cup" and a flower arrangement to each of the speakers.