The University of Iowa Libraries

Martha Eimen was born September 10, 1912 in Otera County, Colorado, moving with her family two years later to Iowa. Upon graduation from Wellman, Iowa High School, Eimen attended the Mercy School of Nursing in Iowa City. She received her B.S. in nursing from Goshen College, Indiana in 1944. Eimen worked for the Public Health Service and the United Nations from 1944 to 1948, spending most of that time in Italy and the Middle East. Returning to school, she received a master of arts degree in public health nursing from the University of Iowa in 1958. She served in part-time positions in nursing administration at the University of Iowa and its Student Health Service and at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City until her retirement in 1970.

Martha Eimen died on July 13, 1997 in Iowa City, Iowa.

The Martha Eimen papers date from 1945 to [1995] and measure 2.5 linear inches. Two photograph albums, purchased in Egypt and Palestine, and artifacts (sandals purchased in Syria)1945, reflect Eimen's time spent working as a nurse with the United Nations in Italy and the Middle East, 1945-1948. One album contains photographs, all taken by Eimen, of the people and working animals of Palestine, the interior and exterior architecture of Bethlehem and Jerusalem, and the nurses' living quarters at Nuselrat Camp in Palestine.

A second photograph album depicts a tour of Africa with co-workers, workers at a United Nations camp in the desert, a Greek hospital camp, nurses at the American University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, and tours of Damascus and Cairo. Several photographs portray a camp of tents where Eimen worked in the Sinai Desert. Others were taken on tours of Italy and France. Two loose photographs have been placed in a folder.

In a handwritten two-page autobiographical sketch, Eimen describes her educational background, discusses the album material, and explains her continuing education and work after 1948.

Alternate Extent Statement: Photographs in Box 1
Artifacts in Box 2

Access: The papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 302) were donated by Martha Eimen in 1995.

Preferred Citation: Martha Eimen papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:	Iowa Women's Archives
Address:	100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:	319-335-5068
Curator:	Kären Mason
Email:	lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:	http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Personal Names:
Eimen, Martha, 1912-1997

Corporate Names:
United Nations
Mercy School of Nursing (Iowa City, Iowa)
University of Iowa. College of Nursing

Dates:
1940-1949
20th century

Topics:
Women in medicine

Occupations:
Nurses
Nurse administrators

Geographic Names:
Egypt
Palestine
Syria
Middle East
Italy
Lebanon

Genre/Form of Materials:
Archives
Photograph albums
Cultural artifacts
Photographs
Personal papers

Browse:
Nurses and Nursing Education
Peace and Pacifism