Stop by UConn Health’s academic lobby this month and you’ll find a tribute to the professional nursing organization Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc. and the role Black registered nurses have had, and continue to have, in advancing health care.
It’s the work of Desiree A. Mahon, a nurse who serves as UConn Health’s safe patient handling coordinator.
“I want people to see the importance of Black registered nurses for Black History Month, and our contribution to the nursing profession, not just in the state of Connecticut, but nationally,” Mahon says. “I want to bring visibility to the mission of our sorority.”
Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc. was founded Oct. 16, 1932, by Aliene C. Ewell and 11 other visionary RNs at the Freedmen’s Hospital School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., which today is Howard University Hospital.
“The majority of professional organizations at that time did not permit Black nurses to join, and it was the vision of our founders to provide an opportunity to support Black nurses and inspire others to join the profession,” Mahon says.
The Connecticut chapter, known as the Chi Chapter Inc. of Hartford, goes back to 1959 and does community service primarily in the Hartford area, providing health care promotion, disease prevention education, and literacy awareness in neighborhood schools. Mahon is one of eight members of the Connecticut chapter and serves as its president.
“We’re trying to reclaim a lot of our past members,” Mahon says. “A lot of them have gone on to be nursing leaders and educators in the state. And we’re also trying to recruit new members. We want to attract and support nurses of all backgrounds. There are mentorship, scholarship and networking opportunities available to help them advance their professional nursing careers. Most importantly we want to be a representation of the community we serve.”
The display is a tribute to the sorority’s origins and its founding members, as well as the founding members of the Connecticut chapter. Notable members represented in Mahon’s display include Eliza Mahoney, the first Black nurse; Estelle Osborne, the first Black nurse to earn a master’s degree in nursing; Dr. Betty Smith Williams, the first African American nurse to graduate from UCLA; Hazel Johnson Brown, the first Black woman to become a U.S. Army general; Dr. Lauranne Sams, founder of the Black Nurses Association; Barbara Nichols, who in 1979 became the first Black president of the American Nurses Association; and Dr. Ernest Grant, who recently served two terms as president of the American Nurses Association.
A founding member and first president of the Chi Chapter Inc. of Hartford was Sallie Ann McDuffie, who was a UConn Health registered nurse from 1968 to 1979.
The exhibit also includes photos, news clippings, proclamations, publications and other historic artifacts associated with Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc., including a sorority jacket and graduation stole.
“Desiree doing the work to showcase her Chi Eta Phi display for Black History Month is just one example of how she goes above and beyond in the work she does as a professional nurse here at UConn Health,” says Amy Zipf, nursing professional and development specialist, who works with Mahon in the Department of Professional Practice and Clinical Excellence.
Nanette Pink, nurse manager the UConn John Dempsey Hospital orthopedics and surgery floor, was Mahon’s classmate in the UConn School of Nursing’s Master of Science nurse leadership program and later was her manager when she first joined UConn Health.
“Desiree’s passion for the nursing profession is palpable and she demonstrates it in the way she participates and supports our UConn Health mission and values,” Pink says. “Desiree actively participates in advancing health equity, advocacy, service, education, and leadership.”
Mahon’s exhibit will be on display in the UConn Health Bookstore case, located on the ground floor of the academic lobby just past the building entrance, through the end of February. She encourages anyone who is interested in learning more about Chi Chapter Inc. of Hartford to email info@chichapter59.org.
