Her pioneering activities were crucial to the growth of professional nursing in the US.
Studying at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, soon after graduation in 1880 she served for 9 years as the superintendent of the nurse's training program there. She was then director of nursing at Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, New York from 1892-1921.
In the Spanish American War she organized nurses for the military. Through her actions the Army Nurse Corps was established and nurses were later given officer rank. She helped design the uniform for US army nurses. During World War I, France awarded her the Medaille de l'Hygiene Publique (Medal of honor for Public Health).
The wealthy J. Kennedy Tod of Greenwich, Connecticut built a cottage for her on his estate Innis Arden.
With Amy E. Pope she wrote a textbook: Practical Nursing. Maxwell Hall (1928-1984) at Presbyterian Hospital was named for her. She is one of the few women buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Columbia University awarded her an honorary master of arts.
