Waverly Staff

What made Waverly the premiere TB hospital in the country was it’s highly skilled staff of nurses and Doctors. The best in the world were here to help those afflicted with TB.

They were a group of very dedicated people. They had to stay on the premises because TB was such a contagious disease. These people actually risked their lives in the efforts to save the lives of tuberculosis patients.

The doctor in charge of Waverly Hills at the time of the highest TB outbreak was Dr. Oscar O. Miller. Dr. Miller was originally from Sidney Australia. He moved to Louisville in 1907 to attend Louisville Medical College. Upon graduation, Dr. Miller was named Physician in Charge of the Hazelwood Sanatorium. In 1918 he was appointed as the Medical Director of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium and remained there until 1931.

Dr. Miller is the fourth person from the left in the back row of the photo to the right.

As well as caring for the patients, the staff also had to live on the grounds of Waverly Hills. They were not allowed to return to the general public on a regular basis as not to spread the disease. TB was highly contagious and was an air-borne illness.

The nurses dormitory building was one of the finest looking buildings that sat off by itself back at the far end of the property. The photo to the left shows the Nurses Dorm building in the background. Primarily, you see the windows and exterior of the sanatorium cafeteria. But, if you look really closely at the background, you’ll see a portion of the nurses dorm. building in the upper lefthand corner of the photo.

Historical Photos