M.E.S.A. (Museum Enrichment Series for All): “10,000 Grip Cases in Lynn: The 1918 Pandemic”

As we mark the first anniversary of the COVID- 19 Pandemic, Dr. Barbara Poremba will take a look back at the 1918 Pandemic. What have we learned? And has our behavior towards disease really changed in the 100 years between the two pandemics?

Dr. Barbara Poremba is Professor Emeritus of Nursing at Salem State University. Currently she is working as adjunct clinical faculty and as Covid vaccinator on the Medical Reserve Corps. She holds a Doctorate of Education and a Bachelor of Nursing from UMass Amherst, a Master of Public Health from Harvard, a Master of Community Health Nursing from Boston University and an Adult Nurse Practitioner Certificate from UMass Medical Center in Worcester, MA.

Her research as a nurse historian includes:

• The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918
• Boston’s Coconut Grove Fire of 1942
• The Halifax Explosion of 1917
• The United States Cadet Nurse Corps WWII

Dr. Poremba is also the Founder and Director of the Friends of Cadet Nurses, an advocacy group for passing legislation to grant the USCNC with Honorary Veteran Status and other ways of memorializing their contributions to the success of WWII. As part of our March MESA, she will discuss her research, “10,000 Grip Cases in Lynn: the 1918 Pandemic”.

This program will be virtual via Zoom. Registration is required. The program will also be live streamed via Facebook Live.

This program is generously funded by the Lynn Cultural Council.

Join us the second Wednesday at noon for M.E.S.A. (Museum Enrichment Series for All)! Covering a variety of topics such as wellness, genealogy, and current events, hear from local experts, community members, Museum staff, and more during this monthly lecture series.