March 30, 2007

In memoriam: Ada Plumer, RN

Ada Plumer, RN, a former MGH intravenous (IV) therapy nurse and co-founder of the National Intravenous Therapy Association, now the Infusion Nurses Society, died March 18.

Plumer received her nursing degree from the MGH, where she had a 40-year career. The MGH was the first hospital to allow a nurse to administer IV therapies, and Plumer was the first IV nurse at the hospital. She also developed the MGH's first IV team.

Plumer authored Principles and Practice of Intravenous Therapy, widely considered by many to be the authoritative work in the field. Currently in its seventh edition, the text is still used in the teaching of infusion nursing in the United States and around the world. In 1973, she and Marguerite Knight, RN, of Johns Hopkins Hospital, established the National Intravenous Therapy Association to recognize the implications of IV therapy for the patient and the need for continuing education and the exchange of professional information.