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Baehr, George
NA0025 · Person · 1887-1978

George Baehr was born in 1887 and graduated from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons at the age of 21. He began a rotating internship at The Mount Sinai Hospital in 1908, studied pathology and experimental pharmacology in Europe, and then returned to Mount Sinai. He maintained an affiliation with the Hospital until his death in 1978. In his early years, he had an appointment as Associate Pathologist in charge of General Pathology, as well as clinician on the ward staff. He eventually headed the First Medical Service of the Hospital, all while maintaining a busy private practice.
Dr. Baehr made significant research contributions in the areas of collagen disease, hematology, and the adrenal complications of heart disease. He also was a pioneer in public health, organizing the first group health plan in New York, and in 1947 he established the Health Insurance Plan of New York (HIP) at the request of his friend and patient, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. Baehr served on many government boards and committees at the local, state, and federal levels, including the New York City Board of Hospitals for 25 years and the State Public Health Council for more than 35 years. In 1945, the Surgeon General appointed him to the first NIH Scientific Advisory Board.
Baehr served in both world wars. In World War I, at the age of 30, he was the Commander of Base Hospital No.3, the Mount Sinai based hospital unit that was established in France. During their few months of active service abroad, the unit admitted over 9,000 patients, including over 1,000 a day at times. During World War II, Baehr was Chief Medical Officer of the U.S. Office of Civil Defense.
Baehr retired from active service at Mount Sinai in 1951. After this, he was on Consultant status, and remained actively involved with the Hospital, helping Mount Sinai to establish a medical school in the 1960s and 70s. George Baehr received many honors and awards during his lifetime. He died in 1978 at the age of 91.

Barker, Sylvia M., 1914-
NA0029 · Person · 1914-2014

Sylvia M. Barker, MA, RN, CNNA lived from 1914-2014 and died a few months short of her 100th birthday. She was a graduate of The Mount Sinai Hospital School of Nursing, Class of 1936 and spent almost her entire career at Mount Sinai. As a clinical nurse, Sylvia Barker spent many years in the area of pediatric nursing. She then moved to nursing administration, with special expertise in the areas of risk management and labor relations. She was well known for her work with many professional organizations and her commitment to advancing the profession of nursing.

Sylvia M. Barker was born September 11, 1914 in upstate Schuylersville, New York and came to New York City in 1933 to attend nursing school at The Mount Sinai Hospital. She stayed on at the Hospital after graduation, serving on the wards and then as an Instructor of the Nursing of Children and then Nursing Arts in the School. During this time she received her Bachelor of Science degree from Teacher's College, Columbia University (1947). She married briefly and moved to Chicago in 1948, returning to New York in 1950 when she enrolled full-time at Teacher's College for a Masters in Nursing Education. In 1951, with her new degree in hand, she re-joined the Mount Sinai staff as the Supervisor in Pediatrics and remained in that role until 1966 when she joined the Nursing Administration as the Assistant Director, Inservice Education. In 1972 she was made Associate Director of Nursing as well as the Acting Director of Nursing for an interim period while a new Director was recruited. Gail Kuhn, RN, arrived at Mount Sinai in September 1972, and Miss Barker worked closely with her for the next 22 years.

Over the years Sylvia Barker honed her skills -- and reputation -- as a dedicated nurse administrator always working to make nurses, and the profession of nursing, better. She, along with Dr. Gail Kuhn Weissman, spent many hours at the labor negotiating table - a rarity for a woman in the early 1970s -- and many additional hours overseeing the policies, procedures, and documentation that undergird the modern practice of nursing in a large hospital. She had a keen eye for detail and was very organized. These personality traits played a role in her developing an interest and expertise in the area of bylaw writing. As a member of many organizations - professional, personal and church-related -- she was often responsible for ensuring that the organizational details were correct.

A career as long and distinguished as Sylvia Barker's is often rewarded with honors and awards. Such was the case for her. She received the Jane Delano Distinguished Service Award from District 13, the New York State Nurses Association (1982); the Distinguished Membership Award from the American Nurses Association (1998); the first annual Distinguished Alumnae Award (1990) and the Crystal Apple award from The Mount Sinai Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association (1991). In 1994 she received the R. Louise McManus Medal for Nursing Service and then in 2008, the R. Louise McManus Award for Distinguished Service to Nursing, both from Teacher's College, Columbia University.

Sylvia Barker officially retired from The Mount Sinai Hospital in 1986. She assumed the title of Consultant for the next eight years and cut back her hours to only three days each week. This allowed her long weekends to travel and time to spend on her professional and personal interests. She had always been actively involved with the Methodist Church and in particular with the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew. She sat on many boards and committees and was committed to the Church's guiding principle of “justice and reconciliation for all persons regardless of age, race, economic or marital status, gender or sexual orientation.”

After her second official retirement in 1994, Sylvia continued with her many interests. This included sending many of her personal archives to the Foundation of the New York State Nurses Association Inc. in Guilderland, NY starting in 1993. She also wrote three volumes of memoirs, starting in 2001, called S.M.B.: A Memoir. These joined a volume on the history of nursing at The Mount Sinai Hospital, The Sinai Nurse, written with Margery Lewis, RN, and published on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Hospital in 2002. After a serious fall in 2010, she was confined to her home, and was well cared for there by her friends, and supported by her community. Sylvia M. Barker died March 15, 2014.

Bass, Murray
NA0034 · Person · 1882-1962

Dr. Murray Bass was on the staff of Mount Sinai's Department of Pediatrics for many years and served as Director of the Department from 1942-1948.

Becker, Ruth M.
NA0037 · Person

Ruth Salzman Becker was a graduate of the Class of 1945 of The Mount Sinai Hospital School of Nursing.