The March spotlight feature for New York Heritage Digital Collections is the The Rochester Homeopathic Genesee Hospital School of Nursing Collection from the Rochester Medical Museum and Archives.

The School of Nursing opened December 1, 1889 as the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital Training School. The first graduating class consisted of three students. The school was a leader in the effort to establish professional criteria for the training and registering of nurses. This effort culminated in the New York State Nurse Practice Act of 1903. Miss Ida Jane Anderson, a member of the class of 1902, holds the distinction of being the first registered nurse in New York State.

The last class was graduated in June 1978. Many of the other 2,063 graduates of the school went on to distinguished careers in nursing, and in nursing education, and today carry on the school's traditions as memebers of of the Genesee Hospital Alumni Association.

This collection is held by the Rochester Medical Museum and Archives, a repository of medical archives chronicling the history of Healthcare in Rochester. In addition to the spotlight collection described here, the museum also includes the Baker-Cederberg Museum and Archives of the Rochester General Hospital, The Genesee Hospital Archives, and the Myers Community Hospital and Newark-Wayne Community Hospital, Behavioral Health Network ( Rochester Mental Health Center) Collections plus several tenant collections including: The New York State and Genesee Dietetic Associations and the Emergency Medical Services Collection. Collectively, these archival collections represent the vast array of Rochester’s Healthcare -- some nineteen collections in all.

The Rochester Medical Museum and Archives is a member of the Rochester Regional Library Council (RRLC)