Katharine A. Goldsmith R.N.

Katharine A. Goldsmith R.N.. . , Nurse , Educator , Christian , September 22, 1923 - January 28, 2006

Katharine Goldsmith was familiar to many in this area as the drug room nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital when it was located on 12th Avenue. In April 1956, she coordinated the first licensed practical nursing program for the Booker T. Washington Vocational School for black students at the U.S. Navy Hospital, Pensacola, FL. This was the first program of its kind conducted in a military setting. This program set a precedent for non-federal educational programs with the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery for the U.S. Navy. The program she developed served as a model for several other agencies and schools.

In 1964, she joined the staff at Pensacola Junior College (which later became Pensacola State College) as an instructor. As the coordinator of clinical instruction, she served as liaison to all area hospitals and was the lead teacher at the Navy Hospital. In 1976, she was elected President of the Florida Nurses Association of District One. She was the first black to be so honored. In 1983, District One set another precedent by presenting Mrs. Goldsmith the "Nurse of the Year” award and in 1985 the “Nurse Educator of the Year” award.

In April of 2005, she was awarded the "Outstanding Christian Female” award by the School of Religious Studies, headquartered in Little Rock, AK, [sic] where they recognized the services that she rendered as a nurse, nurse educator and also her involvement in the community and the church. She was a member of the Gateway Church of Christ. During her lifetime, she garnered many more "Firsts".