"Yes, exactly, Jonah." He agreed, "I am only assisting on this case, Nurse Armentrout, and I can't tell you how grateful we are to have you, hopefully, you plan to join us on staff when the hospital opens, as good nursing will certainly be needed."

"I am very flattered by your offer, Dr Boone, but I am, of course, fully committed to my agreement with Mrs Wigfall until such time as her son if fully recovered and no longer in need of my services." This was the very correct answer to that question.

Danforth munched a cookie, one of the things he was grateful Mrs. Armentrout was around, then asked, "Where is your experience with nursing, Miss Armentrout? Kalispell is fortunate to have you."

She turned to face him. Unlike the neat and quite dapper Dr Boone, Dr Danforth had cookie crumbs all down his vest front. How very unpleasing. Still, she answered respectfully.

"Apart from private employment, I was lucky enough to join the staff of the Presbyterian Hospital of Philadelphia, founded by a wonderful man, the Reverend Dr. Ephraim D. Saunders, in memory of his late son who died in the War, when it was first opened six years ago. I spent three happy years there. We had 45 beds on opening."

She had turned her attention back to the more mature medic by now. "May I ask the scale of your Hospital, Dr Boone? I assume that a man of experience such as yourself will be acting as Medical Director?"

@[Bongo] 

Flip 

"Well, no that would not be the arrangement, Jonah here is the Medical Director, I will be his Chief Of Staff, and we have a surgeon coming, Dr. Angelique Laurant who will round out our staff at the opening," He said with a smile, it was obvious she thought the more experienced man would be at the top, and that may well have been a possibility except he left to take over his friends practice in Columbia Falls.

"You see, Dr. Danforth and I worked together here until I was called to Columbia Falls to assume a dear friend's practice after his sudden death." I have just returned to Kalispell to help out." He added to his explanation of the situation. Besides, that would be the last thing he wanted to be was the Medical Director. "As for the scale, two floors. In fact, I have no idea how many beds we will have, though we discussed two wards if that's any help."

"Well, no that would not be the arrangement, Jonah here is the Medical Director, I will be his Chief Of Staff, and we have a surgeon coming, Dr. Angelique Laurant who will round out our staff at the opening," He said with a smile.

“A woman?” Nurse Armentrout’s voice was a mixture of surprise and, it had to be admitted, slight distaste. She herself was surprised at her own reaction. In theory she see no reason why a woman couldn’t become a doctor or a surgeon, and she had the greatest admiration for pioneers like  Elizabeth Blackwell, who against much opposition, had become the first woman in the United States to receive an M.D. degree as recently as 1849.

And yet… she was rather like a 1960s women’s libber discovering that the pilot of a jumbo jet she was flying on wasn’t a man; Her fine ideals were betrayed by an underlying and subconscious gender bias. Doctors took command, they made the life and death decisions, she as a nurse always put herself very much under the direction of the male doctor, the MAN. It was ingrained, this fundamental sexism, into the very society she had been born into and raised up in.

"You see, Dr. Danforth and I worked together here until I was called to Columbia Falls to assume a dear friend's practice after his sudden death." He added to his explanation of the situation. "As for the scale, two floors. In fact, I have no idea how many beds we will have, though we discussed two wards if that's any help."

“I was just curious” she assured him, respectfully.

"We're starting off with fifty beds, thirty of those will be wards, and the remainder private or isolation rooms."  It was modest in size by big-city standards, but this was country, and sparsely populated at that!  "There's room to add on in the future, but we want to get it up and running," he explained. 

“That sounds manageable with a small but properly trained staff” she gave her opinion. So many well-meaning charitable institutions took on untrained young women as nurses and paid the price; they either couldn’t stand the work, or their lack of expertise and discipline led to patients suffering, or even dying, needlessly.  

"And there are plans for an orphanage, as well...that shouldn't take as long to build, but getting the hospital going is our priority, and it's getting close."

“I should imagine that if the hospital is properly run, there should be less need of the orphanage” Miss Armentrout, responded, primly.

He sipped his coffee.  "And I'm considering giving the house here over as boarding for nurses and staff."

Adelheid looked about.

“You will not keep a separate practice then, Doctor Danforth?” she asked. She knew of many specialists and general practitioners back east who kept their lucrative private practices and did pro bono work for charitable hospitals on the side. She supposed that if the darkly handsome medico was marrying this rich Miss Steelgrave, rich enough to play lady bountiful and endow hospitals and orphanages left, right and centre, then he would not need the former source of income.

"A boarding house, now that does make good use of the house." Josiah agreed. I mean, there is the Wigfalls Boarding House, but it is the only one in town at this point. I don't see it as competition, not at all, it would simply mean more rooms available, even if it is just for hospital staff."

And that made sense. It was a good plan if Jonah was going to do that if that is what he would do. He thought to ask his colleague what he planned to do about the future Misses Danforth if his home became a boarding house, move to the hotel? But then again, maybe they would build a house, that was a real possibility, But there was no need to discuss this in front of Nurse Armentrout.

"A boarding house, now that does make good use of the house." Josiah agreed. "I mean, there is the Wigfalls Boarding House, but it is the only one in town at this point. I don't see it as competition, not at all, it would simply mean more rooms available, even if it is just for hospital staff."

"Mrs Wigfall seems to have little difficulty filling her rooms. Still, I will certainly not mention you plans to her." Miss Armentrout assured them. She felt that pang she always felt when she was away from her duty too long. 

"I had better return to my patient. Good morning Doctor Boone, Cousin Polly" she said by way of farewell, but before leaving, had one more question for Jonah "When should we expect your next house call, Doctor Danforth?"

Bongo 

Wayfarer 

Josiah smiled, watching the nurse leave the room. He sort of shook his head and said, "Not what I would have expected, but I have a feeling this one is all business and would be a great asset, peculiar as she might be. She has that air of professionalism that might conflict with our nonchalant attitude from time to time, but she'll adjust."

Josiah Boone could recognize talent, no matter the packaging. And the Armentrout woman had it, and hopefully, she would be able to train nurses to be half as good as she was. Or close enough to be proficient at their job.

"This evening, one of us will come by."  Jonah smiled and nodded.  "I'm sure the young man is in excellent hands."

"Thank you Doctor, that is most complimentary." The spotty faced Angel of Mercy actually managed a brittle tight-lipped smile. Oh, how she longed to brush those cookie crumbs off his vest - they vexed her something terrible. 

"Don't you be a stranger!"  Polly swept the girl into a huge hug.

If Adelheid had been a little flustered by her cousin's jolly propensity for cuddles before, it was magnified a hundredfold by her doing it in front of two doctors! She bore it like a trooper, though, as she did actually like her cousin very much even after just one visit with her.

Polly handed her a basket filled with bread, cookies and preserves.  "I'm so glad you're here, and I'll make sure family knows you're in good hands!"

"Oh, no, really Cousin, I.... oh, well thank you. You have been very welcoming, I do appreciate it." the plain, thin young woman said. She might have been a little stiff and formal in her manner, but she really meant it.

Adelheid left the surgery and made her way back to the Wigfall's place in contemplative mood. Tomorrow she would meet another new and very pleasant acquaintance, a Miss Mundee. More and more she would start to feel that she might wish to stay on in this funny little town, even after her patient had healed sufficiently for his family to nurse him. 

Her attitude to Hector was strictly professional, she wouldn't pump the boy for information, but it was quite handy that he was as inveterate a gossip as his mother: she was looking forward to hearing what he had to say about the venerable Doctor Boone... and the crumby Doctor Danforth...

[OOC: my part in this thread is over, but feel free to carry on if you wish! And thanks, I've really enjoyed it! - Javia