North Carolina Nursing History

Edith Redwine, a 1904 graduate of St. Peters Hospital School of Nursing in Charlotte, NC,  was one of the first 5 nurses to take the licensing examination in NC. She was the first inspector of nursing schools in NC, served on the NC Board of Nursing Examiners, held many offices in the NC League of Nursing Education and was active in all of the nursing organizations and activities of her day.

Edith W. Redwine was born in Union County in 1877. She was a 1904 graduate of St. Peter’s Hospital School of Nursing in Charlotte, NC. Redwine was in the group of the first five nurses in North Carolina to pass the licensing examination and become a Registered Nurse. Soon after graduation she became the Nursing Superintendent of Mission Hospital, and then of the Biltmore Hospital in Asheville, NC. In 1917, the North Carolina Board of Nursing Examiners hired Redwine as the inspector of Nursing Schools. In this capacity, she conducted the first survey of nursing schools in the state. She visited all 74 in operation at the time, and wrote a report that has become the basis for the accreditation standards still used today. In 1923, Redwine became the first full time nursing faculty member in North Carolina at Watts Hospital School of Nursing in Durham, NC. She was the founder and President of the North Carolina League for Nursing Education, and a member of the North Carolina Board of Nursing Examiners for many years. In 1918, Redwine was appointed by Governor Bickett to a Special Committee to organize the North Carolina Hospital Association.  Redwine was a member of and held many offices in the North Carolina State Nurses’ Association (NCSNA), including that of vice president. She was chairman of practically all the standing committees of the NCSNA, and took an active part in its affairs. She was also a member of several other organizations such as the St. Peter’s Alumni association, American Nurses’ Association, and the American Red Cross Nursing service. Redwine wrote several articles about nursing education, and nursing administration that were published in prestigious journals. Redwine was on the nursing faculty at Grace Hospital School of Nursing in Banner Elk, NC. During that time she died suddenly of a heart attack in 1939. She was laid to rest in the family plot in Monroe, North Carolina.