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Nurses Week: Betty Kelly Gaffney

5/9/2022

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Betty Kelly (later Gaffney) was training as a nurse at Bellevue when she contracted tuberculosis. She was sent to Trudeau Sanatorium in 1947, first staying at Ludington Infirmary and then at Schiff Cottage. She left in 1949; she suffered a relapse and was treated with a lobectomy and thoracoplasty at home and recovered. Once she had fully regained her health, she went on to serve as a school nurse until she retired at age 84.

We are sad to share that Betty passed away in January of this year. We were honored to meet her when she came to visit the Sanatorium campus in August of 2021--the first time in 72 years. We are so happy to have met her and heard her story. Betty and her family donated photographs and her nursing cape and hat to the collection so that we can continue to share her memory. Betty's cap from Bellevue is one of the nursing artifacts on display this week in honor of nurses throughout Saranac Lake history.

Learn more about Betty on our wiki.

[Photograph of Betty Kelly on the steps of Baker Chapel, c. 1947. Photograph of Betty Gaffney standing in front of Baker Chapel, August 2021. Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2022.9.6. Gift in memory of Betty Kelly Gaffney.]
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Historic Saranac Lake at the Saranac Laboratory Museum
​89 Church Street, Suite 2, Saranac Lake, New York 12983
​(518) 891-4606 - mail@historicsaranaclake.org ​
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Historic Saranac Lake is funded in part by:
  • the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature;
  • a Humanities New York SHARP Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal American Rescue Plan Act;
  • an Essex County Arts Council Cultural Assistance Program Grant supported by the Essex County Board of Supervisors.
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​© 2021 Historic Saranac Lake. All Rights Reserved. Historic photographs courtesy of the Adirondack Room, Saranac Lake Free Library, unless otherwise noted. Copy and reuse restrictions apply. ​
  • Visit
  • Events
  • About
    • Visit
    • Historic Saranac Lake
    • The Museum
    • Trudeau Building
    • PRESS Room
    • History Matters Blog
  • Research
    • Collections
    • Oral History Project
    • Local Wiki
    • Resources
    • HISTORY MATTERS Blog
  • Projects
    • Trudeau Building
    • Architectural Preservation
    • Collections
    • The Bartok Cabin
    • Oral History Project
    • Cure Porch on Wheels
    • School Outreach
    • Special Exhibits >
      • Pandemic Perspectives
  • Support Us
  • Contact
  • Museum Store