The Howard Association of New Orleans--precursor to district nursing

Although philanthropist William Rathbone is generally recognized as the founder of district nursing (in Liverpool, England, in 1859), the Howard Association of New Orleans actually began to use a pattern of district nursing 26 years earlier as a response to yellow fever epidemics. Concepts brought forth by the association included dividing the city into districts; teaching preventive measures; using community members to locate those needing assistance; and caring for the sick in their homes, utilizing nurses when the need arose.