One of the Most Important Nurses in History Came From New Mexico

If you live in New Mexico & you're in the medical field, you might be familiar with the name Martha K Schwebach. In US history, some of the most famous nurses in history include names like Mary Breckenridge, Clara Burton or Anna Caroline Maxwell. But in the modern age, Martha Schwebach is one name to definitely know when talking about famous nurses. If you're NOT familiar with Martha, without her, the world of nursing in New Mexico (and the entire United States) wouldn't be the same.

Who was Martha K Schwebach & what were some of her contributions to nursing?

While Martha was born in Kansas, Martha Keene Schwebach became the United States' first family nurse practitioner while she was part of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. The program was designed to help improve the healthcare that was given to citizens who lived in rural areas across the nations; areas that perhaps didn't have access to the highest quality healthcare as the bigger cities would recieve.

Martha would open up her first clinic in Moriarty, New Mexico (now called the Duke City Primary Care) & she would continue to help the citizens of New Mexico (and anyone who visited her clinics) until she retired in 2006.

Martha's work would even get the attention of President Gerald Ford in 1974. That same year she was honored to become one of the Ten Outstanding Young Women of America. Another huge award Martha received was back in 2023; she was given a Nurse Legend Award from The New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence when she was 84 years old.

We know Martha's list of accomplishments far reach than what was mentioned here; and in honor of her hard work & dedication to helping others, we owe her, and every hard working nurse out there our thanks.

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