After she had finished nurses' training at New York Hospital, Ms. Lillian Wald attended medical school at Woman's Medical College. On an assignment to provide medical care to the residents of the Lower East Side of New York City, she became aware of the lack of health care there and the dismal conditions in which the people lived. She left medical school and with her partner, Mary Brewster founded the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service. Later this grew into the Visiting Nurse Servi ce (VNS) of New York City.
She and Ms. Brewster lived at the settlement and provided nursing care for their neighbors. Ms. Wald not only cared for members of the community in their homes; she also held classes to instruct the newly arrived immigrant w omen in home nursing, childcare, cooking and sewing. She was also concerned with the needs of the children and organized Boy's and Girl's Clubs to meet their recreation needs. Ms. Walds efforts on behalf of children, led to school nurses and the New York City Bureau of Child Hygiene.
Like Florence Nightingale, Lillian Wald's administrative and organizational skills coupled with superior intelligence and the ability to influence people, served her well in sharing her vision of caring with others and elevating the status of nursing in the process. Lavinia Dock worked for a time at the Settlement House under the leadership of Ms. Wald.