Cannon, Ida (1877–1960)
Cannon, Ida (1877–1960)
American social worker. Name variations: Ida M. Cannon or Ida Maud Cannon. Born Ida Maud Cannon, June 9, 1877, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; died July 7, 1960, in Watertown, MA; dau. of Colbert Hanchett Cannon and Sarah Wilma (Denio) Cannon (schoolteacher); sister of Walter Bradford Cannon (physiologist); graduate of City and County Hospital Training School for Nursing, 1898; attended University of Minnesota and Boston School of Social Workers.
Pioneer in medical social work, who encouraged study of the impact of environmental factors on disease, began career as a visiting nurse for St. Paul Associated Charities, St. Paul, MN (1903–06); worked at experimental medical social work department at MA General Hospital (MGH, 1906–07), becoming head worker (1908); served as chief of MGH social service (1915–45), overseeing formal incorporation of department into hospital (1919); created and directed specialized program for medical social work at Boston School for Social Workers (1912–25); wrote Social Work in Hospitals: A Contribution to Progressive Medicine (1913) and On the Social Frontier of Medicine: Pioneering in Medical Social Service (1952); taught at Boston College School of Social Work (1937–45); helped found American Association of Hospital Social Workers (1918) and was its 2nd president (1920). Received Lemuel Shattuck Award for distinguished service in public health from MA Public Health Association.