Valerija Raulinaitis

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Valerija Raulinaitis
A smiling white woman with a bouffant blond hairstyle, wearing glasses and a dark top
Valerija B. Raulinaitis, from a 1970 publication
Born
Valerija Birute Berzinskas

March 5, 1915
Riga
DiedFebruary 26, 2004 (aged 88)
California
Occupation(s)Physician, hospital administrator

Valerija Birute Raulinaitis (March 5, 1915 – February 26, 2004) was a Lithuanian-American physician. In 1971, she became the first woman appointed to head a Veterans Administration (VA) hospital.

Early life and education[edit]

Valerija Birute Berzinskas was born in Riga and raised in Lithuania,[1] the daughter of Victor Berzinskas and Maria Narkeviciute. She earned her medical degree at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas.[2][3][4] In the United States, she pursued further training in psychiatry at the Downey Veterans Administration Hospital in Chicago.

Career[edit]

Raulinaitis practiced medicine in Lithuania from 1938 to 1944, until she fled Lithuania with her husband and daughter. She worked as a doctor in a displaced persons camp in Germany from 1944 to 1949, then moved to the United States.[2]

In the United States, Raulinaitis was a laboratory technician and pediatrician at Harper Hospital in Detroit,[1] and as a psychiatrist at Woodward State Hospital in Iowa.[3] She became a psychiatrist at the Downey VA Hospital in 1957, and in 1960 became head of the women's neuropsychiatric program at Downey. She became chief of staff at Downey in 1962,[5] the first woman to hold that role at an American VA hospital.[6][7]

In 1971, Raulinaitis was appointed director of the Pittsburgh (Leech Farm Road) VA hospital,[8] becoming the first woman to head a VA hospital.[2][9][10] In 1973, she became director of the American Lake Veterans Hospital in Tacoma, Washington.[3]

Five women and President Richard Nixon seated in an informal circle in front of a fireplace
President Richard Nixon meeting with Vicki Keller, Jayne Baker Spain, Barbara Franklin, Sallyanne Payton, and Valerija Raulinaitis in 1971

Honors[edit]

Raulinaitis was one of the six recipients of the Federal Woman's Award in 1970,[11][12] and attended a reception with the other recipients in the Oval Office in 1971.[13] Also in 1970, she was elected as a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

Publications[edit]

  • "Therapeutic Democracy: Group Process as a Corrective Emotional Experience" (1965, with Keith K. Hoover and Fred E. Spaner)[14]

Personal life[edit]

Valerija Berzinskas married American-born economist Viktoras Raulinaitis. They had a daughter, Ruta, born in 1943.[7] The retired to California together. Her husband died in 1986, and she died in 2004, at the age of 88.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Bushnell, Henry (1963-12-05). "Psychaitrist is Guided by Common Sense". Chicago Tribune. p. 128. Retrieved 2023-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c "1st women VA director in U.S.: 'knew struggles of war years'". Republican and Herald. 1971-11-06. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c "Woman heads VA hospital here". The News Tribune. 1973-09-18. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Dr. Raulinaitis is AAUW speaker". The News Tribune. 1974-05-13. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Honor Women in VA Work". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL. November 16, 1963. p. 13. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Appointments". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 182 (5): 62. 1962-11-03. doi:10.1001/jama.1962.03050440114048. ISSN 0098-7484.
  7. ^ a b Kleiman, Carol (1971-03-07). "Look Who's the Chief of Staff". Chicago Tribune. p. 130. Retrieved 2023-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Heimbuecher, Ruth (April 27, 1973). "Music Performs Some 'Small Miracles'". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, PA. p. 33. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ Engels, Mary (November 8, 1971). "President's Talent Scout Taps Women for Top Jobs". Daily News. New York, NY. p. 122. Retrieved October 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ "Nixon Names 4 Women to Top Positions". Press Democrat. April 30, 1971. p. 14. Retrieved April 22, 2023 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  11. ^ Jones, Dorothy B. (April–June 1970). "The Tenth Annual Federal Woman's Award". Civil Service Journal. 10: 25.
  12. ^ "Federal Woman's Award Winners Cry Discrimination". Times-Advocate. 1970-03-06. p. 18. Retrieved 2023-04-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Raulinaitis, Valerija B." Richard Nixon Museum and Library. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  14. ^ Hoover, Keith K.; Raulinaitis, V.B.; Spaner, Fred E. (January 1965). "Therapeutic Democracy: Group Process as a Corrective Emotional Experience". International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 11 (1): 26–31. doi:10.1177/002076406501100104. ISSN 0020-7640. PMID 14283561. S2CID 44743344.
  15. ^ US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration. "VA.gov | Veterans Affairs". Women Veterans Health Care. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
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