St. Elizabeth's Hospital School of Nursing was established in 1895, at the request of the hospital physicians for an onsite training school. The hospital and school were originally located in Blackstone Square in Boston’s South End neighborhood. In 1912 St. Elizabeth’s outgrew its space and moved to Brighton, where it continued to expand with several substantial new additions to the campus between 1925 and 1986. The School of Nursing was accredited by the Massachusetts State Board of Registration in Nursing in 1910. The school offered a three-year diploma program that focused on home, hospital, and community health options to provide complete care "physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually." It also created relationships with local educational and health institutions. Clinical residency was offered in St. Elizabeth's Hospital, but by 1985 also at Bournewood Hospital, Franciscan Children's Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, St. John of God Hospital, and through collaboration with Boston-area community healthcare providers. St. Elizabeth's began to host Boston College graduate nursing students completing their clinical practice in 1960. In 1977 the School of Nursing established a partnership with Regis College that allowed St. Elizabeth's nursing students to simultaneously earn credits towards a bachelor’s degree. The School of Nursing curriculum shifted in 1994 from its original three-year model to a two-year program. The school graduated its last class in May of 2000.

Sources:

St. Elizabeth’s Hospital School of Nursing ninetieth anniversary program, 1986 April 16, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital School of Nursing collection, MS.2000.018B, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Elizabeth Cecilia Fagan, commonly known as Helen, was born on Christmas Day in 1929. After growing up in Newton, Massachusetts, she attended St. Elizabeth’s Hospital School of Nursing, where she received her RN in 1950. She later attended Boston College’s School of Nursing, where she received her BS in Nursing as a part of the class of 1958. She was director of the St. Elizabeth’s Hospital School of Nursing from 1977 until 2000. When the school closed she served as president of the school’s alumni association. She died on August 30, 2011, at 81 years of age.