Places: Elizabeth General Hospital School of Nursing

In an effort to solve a host of problems facing the community, groups of people, led by the Ladies' Aid Society, organized themselves and took steps to fund a Training School For Nurses at Elizabeth General Hospital and Dispensary.

Almost in parallel with the formation of hospitals, the leaders in the community faced the prospect of creating a hospital and needing to staff it with a whole host of people to fill new jobs. Not only were nurses needed, but everyone else whose jobs were necessary to support the nurses as the doctors treated patients and prescribed various treatment plans also had to be staffed.

While today we know how complex and intricate a hospital is to operate, the hospital also had to take into consideration post-discharge care in the home for many patients.

Initially, the grassroots effort involved finding a home to use as a school. A home was found at 13 Spring St. and the work of creating a functional school of nursing commenced. In 1891, the School was officially formed.

Students who were enrolled in the school were also sent out into the community to do home care, and the monies charged were used to defray the cost of their training. There were also "graduate nurses" who were either upperclassmen or graduates of the school who either taught at the school, or boarded there, or both. It is not clear whether or not the nurses were housed at 13 Spring St., but doctors from Elizabeth General came to deliver lectures on various nursing topics and expand their base of knowledge.

Since the original Elizabeth General Hospital and Dispensary was located in a home on Jaques St., these initial facilities were all within short walking distance of each other.

As time passed, a new Elizabeth General Hospital and Dispensary was constructed in 1894 on the corner of E. Jersey St. and Reid St. The numbers of students increased and graduates were encouraged to work in the hospital.

In any expansion, other support operations expand along with them, so the nurse's School moved from 13 Spring St. to the Baremore Mansion. NOTE: The Baremore Mansion was located on the corner of E. Jersey St. and Spring St. (now known as Rt. 1&9), on the northwest corner. It was later torn down and a Synagogue was built. It is presently the home of a Salvation Army facility.

In the early 1900's a home on Reid St. became the new home for the School of Nursing. It remained on Reid St. as a later home was built and subsequently replaced by a larger building.

In 1947 the School affiliated with Union College, which provided needed classroom experience for nursing students. In the early 1970’s, the School and College established a cooperative program that granted students a diploma in nursing and an Associate in Science degree (AS), a first in the nation. The program proved so popular that the school started an evening and weekend program of study, again a first in the nation.

At the heart of all of these endeavors was a desire to care for the injured and sick, whether it be in a hospital or in the home. Over time, Elizabeth General's School of Nursing became one of the leading nursing schools in the state, with graduates achieving many great things and contributing to the reputation that the school has earned that lasts to this day.

Early graduates like Arabella Creech, Grace Wilday and Katharine Zierdt had amazing and accomplished lives and careers. Other graduates went on to have illustrious careers at Elizabeth General and other leading hospitals and medical centers in New Jersey and nationwide.

Meeting The Community's Needs
Through the years, Elizabeth General became Elizabeth General Medical Center and then Trinitas Hospital, Trinitas Regional Medical Center and RWJ/Barnabas Trinitas School of Nursing, but two things have remained constant. First, hundreds (if not thousands) of students have become licensed nurses who have helped Elizabeth and communities elsewhere by providing excellent, compassionate care. Second, almost exclusively in the early years and predominant to this day, countless numbers of women have used nursing as a rewarding and important career path.

Excellence Then And Now
From the outset, the Elizabeth General School of Nursing was designed to equip students with the finest training possible. The curriculum was rigorous, and the training involved working both inside and outside the hospital to gain a well-rounded education.

Today, the school is recognized as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League For Nursing. The school has maintained this designation since 2008.

The number of graduates who pass the NCLEX exam has consistently been among the highest in the state, and compares favorably on the national level.

This information was last reviewed or updated on December 15, 2025. Adjustments may be made to this page as new information is added, making this a continual work in progress.