In Memory of Rachel Rotkovitch

Rachel Rotkovitch

East Providence, RI- Rachel Rotkovich, 96, passed away peacefully at home, on September 8, surrounded by her loving daughters, Alona Rotkovich (RI) and Irit Librot (Norwich).

Rachel was a remarkable woman ahead of her time.  Born in Poland, as a young woman she traveled to Palestine where she took a job as a hotel maid in Tiberius.  One of her duties was the therapeutic bathing of a rheumatoid guest that she performed so well that she was encouraged to pursue nursing- a profession previously unknown to her.  Quickly learning English from a Polish-English dictionary, Rachel entered the nursing program at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon.  Upon graduation, she joined the staff of the prestigious 500-bed King Fouad Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt, and within six months, at the age of 26, became the “Matron” or Director of Nursing, appearing and dining frequently at the side of King Faeouk and other dignitaries.  In 1945, she traveled to the United States and received her BS in nursing from Washington Missionary College (currently Columbia Union College/Washington Adventist University) in 1947.  With the newly forms Sate of Israel in 1948, Rachel enlisted there as the Director of Nursing at an army hospital.  There she was reunited with her childhood sweetheart, Ajzik.  Their wedding was the first between two soldiers in Israel.  Rachel’s dedication to enhancing the nursing profession took her back to the United States in the 1960s, where she earned a Master’s in Nursing Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University.  She then worked as director of nursing at Long Island Jewish Hospital, as vice president of nursing at Yale New Haven Hospital, and as a consultant to the US Surgeon General for eight years in the 1980s.  With her determined efforts at bold innovation, Rachel helped to change an entrenched and resistant health-care delivery system in the United States.  She pioneered the profession nursing model- one nurse responsible for the total care of the patient, eliminating the disjointed team approach.  She eliminated the white starched uniforms and created Unit Service Management, which clearly defined nursing and non-nursing tasks and permitted nurses to spend more time with their patients.  This new model vastly improved the quality of nursing care while reducing budget costs.  Rachel’s contributions to the nursing profession are commemorated in the Nursing Hall of Fame at Teacher’s College, Columbia University.  Her exciting and epoch memoirs will be published shortly for all to read.

Rachel is survived by her loving daughters, their husbands Paul Beaudette and Steve Librot, and her grandchildren whom she adored, Adam, Benjamin, Jesse, Hannah, Aaron, David, and Abigail.  A memorial service will be held at the Sugarman-Sinai Memorial Chapel, Providence, RI on September 18.