Vol. 7 No. 2
HOUSE CALL
A quarterly publication of the
M edical H eritage C enter
Winter 2004
at The Ohio State University
Profiles in Excellence
This month’s profile in excellence features Lillian Bernhagen, RN, MA, who pioneered efforts to add sexual
education to school curriculums in Ohio.
Bernhagen recently completed an oral history with Carol Robinson and the interview has been added to
the Friends of Nursing History Oral History Collection at the Medical Heritage Center.
If you would like to nominate a subject for this column or would like to contribute to this feature, please
contact Judith Wiener at wiener.3@osu.edu or (614)292-9273.
Profiles in Nursing Excellence: Lillian Bernhagen
by Carol H. Robinson, RN, MS
Human sexuality curriculum
brochures created by Bernhagen
Lillian Flickinger Bernhagen sees her greatest contribution as a nurse, educator and pioneer in human sexuality curriculum development and education for children in public schools, at both the elementary and high school
levels. Lillian wrote the curriculum based on her many conversations with
children and their parents at a time (1950’s) when there was no formal focus
on health education in general or human sexuality in particular. As an outgrowth of this interest, Lillian became chairperson of the American School
Health Association Medical Education Committee and, later, chairperson of
the American Medical Association Medical Education Committee for
Schools and College Health. Lillian wrote material and drew teaching aids
(overhead diagrams) which were published as transparencies with the accompanying Teacher’s Guide Book, Sex Education: Understanding Growth
and Social Development. These were distributed nationally for use in school
health education courses. She spoke widely on the topic of health and served
as a consultant to school groups and health professionals throughout the
country.
Lillian Bernhagen was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 1, 1916. She grew up in northern Ohio, the
daughter of Norman Flickinger, a Methodist minister, and Bertha Rogers Flickinger. She attended Ohio
Wesleyan University for two and one half years before transferring to Ohio State University, where she
graduated in 1940 from the College of Education with a Bachelor of Science degree in education and a
diploma in nursing. Moving to Houston in September, 1940, after her marriage to Ralph Bernhagen, she
(Continued on page 2)
Bernhagen (continued from Page one)
held a joint appointment as assistant director of nursing at Jefferson Davis Hospital and director of the
school of nursing, where she was a member of the nursing faculty along with her hospital administrative
duties.
Lillian and her husband returned to Columbus in the spring of 1941, where they remained for the rest of their
lives. They had three children: a son, Ralph, who died several days following birth, and two daughters, Janet
and Penelope.
Lillian held a variety of teaching and volunteer positions in the 1940’s, including president of the OSU
School of Nursing Alumni Association. Here, she set out to and succeeded in raising the attendance at
alumni meetings from an average of six graduates per meeting to seventy per meeting. She spearheaded
the formation of “Night Out,” a talent show given by nursing and medical students and medical house staff
“to strengthen the connection between the College of Medicine and the School of Nursing.”
In 1951, when her daughters were entering elementary school, Lillian accepted a school nurse position with
the Worthington school system. It was here that she pioneered her health and human sexuality curriculum,
developing teaching aids, and publishing What a Miracle You Are-Boys and What a Miracle You AreGirls. She used these pioneering booklets in her human sexuality classes and made them available, through
her publisher, to schools throughout the country. She remained in the Worthington schools for twenty five
years, retiring in 1976 as Director of Health Services.
Following retirement at age sixty, Lillian served for five years as a special consultant for the State Department of Health and Department of Education. In this capacity she traveled throughout Ohio, leading workshops to “teach teachers how to teach about sexually transmitted diseases.” She also led the movement to
require school nurses to have a bachelor of science degree, which she recommended be in education, “so
the nurses would understand what teachers did and therefore be better able to work with them.” Currently, at
age 87, Lillian continues to hold certification as a national health education specialist.
Recent Donations
The Medical Heritage Center thanks those listed for their recent support:
Carol Bradford Day: Photograph of the 1896 Starling Medical College Class ! Tim and Sharon Gillis: Two
Medical Diplomas ! Ralph D. Lach, MD: Two portable EKG Machines ! Ronald Stuckey, PhD: Book Collection ! Mr. and Mrs. John Turkopp: Medical Instruments ! Mrs. Gloria Warren: Lithograph (in memory of
Barbara Van Brimmer)
Monetary Donations:
William W. Davis, MD (in memory of Robert Kendall, Dr. Thomas Schaffer, and Barbara Van Brimmer and
book support) ! Robert J. Duran, MD (in name Dr. George Paulson, Dr. Thomas Schaffer, and Barbara
Van Brimmer) ! Jerry T. Guy, MD (in honor of Earl Metz) ! Julia Metzger (for Metzger Endowment Fund and
to fund the oral history of her father, Dr. Paul Metzger) ! Drs. George and Ruth Paulson ! Dr. John and Mrs.
Carol Robinson (for Friends of Nursing) ! St. Francis and St. Anthony Nurses Alumni Association (in memory
of Barbara Van Brimmer)
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MHC Oral History Programs
The Medical Heritage Center not only collects the history of Central Ohio
but actively seeks to add to the community’s historical record through its
oral history program.
Since 1997, the Medical Heritage Center has recorded the oral histories
of over 50 Central Ohio medical community leaders, including Charles
Pavey, MD, William Saunders, MD, and Bertha Bouroncle, MD. The
Friends of Nursing History program has also started a concerted effort to
capture the history of nursing leaders such as Grayce Sills, RN, Ph.D. and
Lillian Bernhagen, RN.
Community medical leaders such
as the late Dr. Charles Pavey have
contributed oral histories to the
MHC Oral History Program
All oral histories are available to researchers at the Medical Heritage Center during our regular hours of Monday through Friday 1-5 p.m. and by
appointment. One can also visit the Medical Heritage Center’s website: http://library.med.ohio-state.edu/
heritage/ to access and search the center’s oral history collection.
If you would like to add to the Medical Heritage Center oral history program by scheduling your own oral
history session, please contact Judith Wiener at 614-292-9273. Monetary donations are also accepted to
support the purchase of materials to make the long term preservation of oral histories possible and to
provide transcription services.
Mark Your Calendars: MHC Upcomming Events
The Medical Heritage Center is happy to announce its Spring Lecture Calendar. Please call Judith Wiener
for additional information at (614) 292-9273.
Annual James V. Warren Endowed Lecture
The Medical Heritage Center will welcome Olga Jonasson on April 29, 2004. The
lecture will begin at 4:40 and will be followed by a reception. Jonasson will focus her
lecture on the history of women in medicine.
The annual Warren Lecture is supported by the James V. Warren Memorial Endowment.
Olga Jonasson, MD
Nursing History Lecture
A Medical Heritage Center Nursing Lecture is scheduled for May 11, 2004 at 4:30pm
at the Medical Heritage Center. Mary Ann Burnam, Ph.D, RN, professor of nursing,
Otterbein College, will discuss the life of nurse and social reformer Lavinia L. Dock
(1858-1956).
Mary Ann Burnam,
Ph.D, RN
.
Dock, a graduate of Bellevue Training School for Nurses in1886, and a pioneer in
public health nursing, was the subject of Burnam’s doctoral dissertation. A reception
will precede the lecture. The event is co-sponsored by the MHC Friends of Nursing
History with additional support from the Ohio State University College of Nursing Alumni
Society.
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Grant Fund in the Last Stretch to Success!
The MHC continues to seek your support for the book tentatively titled Health Care and Medical Education
Comes to Columbus and Franklin County. The book is a collaboration begun by Barbara Van Brimmer
and Dr. Charles Wooley. Dr. Wooley will complete the publication, assisted by the staff and collections of
the Medical Heritage Center.
We have received $18,135 in matching funds and only need $1,865 to meet the Columbus Medical Association Foundation’s challenge grant. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to this project,
please indicate in a letter or on the check that the donation is for the Medical Heritage Center Fund. Make
your check payable to the “Columbus Medical Association Foundation” and mail to:
The Columbus Medical Association Foundation
Attn: Weldon Milbourne
431 East Broad Street, Suite 300
Columbus OH 43216
HOUSE
CALL
For subscription information contact:
e-mail: medhist@osu.edu, telephone: 614-292-9273
fax: 614-292-9919, http://library.med.ohio-state.edu/heritage
©2003 Medical Heritage Center. All rights reserved
Reprints with permission.
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