Ozzy's Girls

The Story of the Gusty Women Who Built A Healthcare Empire

During a momentous time in nursing in the middle of the 20^th Century, students attending the St. Vincent School of Nursing lived, worked, studied and even prayed under the guidance of Harriett Osborn, the first nurse in Oregon to receive a bachelor’s degree. As the Director of Education for the school, which became affiliated with the University of Portland, Harriett professionalized nursing, demanding perfection and patient-centered education. She ultimately produced the best nurses for three decades.

The students shared laughter, tears, frustrations and fears, creating a unique, lifelong bond. Proclaiming themselves “Ozzy’s Girls,” these women—along with the nuns who built and operated the first permanent hospital in Oregon—struggling against all odds: a pandemic, low funds, floods, wars, rampant disease and more.  

Ozzy’s Girls, told through the eyes of Dee Rennie, provides a glimpse of what it was like to train as a nurse during this golden era, and how these resilient women grew a simple hospital into a thriving medical center—all while being at the forefront of an explosion of medical advances. 

Their goal was simple: To serve others.