BY KAREN BOSSICK

Marie Osborn broke the glass ceiling of male-dominated medicine when she founded an emergency clinic in Stanley.

It was an ambitious—and arduous—undertaking as Idaho’s first nurse practitioner covered 6,000 square miles of the rugged Sawtooth-Salmon River country on call 24/7.

Now Osborn, who directed the Stanley clinic and ambulance service from 1972 to 1999, has co-authored a book tracing the development of rural medicine and emergency services. And she and her son, John Osborn, a physician, conservationist and historian now living in Seattle, will discuss “Moving Mountains: Creating the Nurse Practitioner and Rural EMS” at 5:30 p.m. tonight--Thursday, Oct. 30--at Ketchum’s Community Library.

The book, released from Idaho-based Caxton Press in January, is full of stories and images of Marie’s time in Stanley, including conflicts with professional boards, legislatures, the insurance industry and bitter Idaho winters--all at significant personal cost.

The Osborns will be joined tonight by Dr. Bryan Stone, a Wood River Valley physician from 1974 to 1993 who delivered hundreds of babies in the area and who worked closely wit Marie Osborn as her physician mentor for nearly 20 years.

“Marie’s story tells us so much about the origin of nurse practitioners, but also helps us understand contemporary rural medicine issues,” said Martha Williams, the Library’s director of programs and education. “Programs for nurse practitioners were just beginning in the late 1960s, and today there are more than 430,000 nationwide. It’s amazing that Marie was working in Idaho – in Stanley! – so early in this history.”

Williams added that the library has heard from many people who remember both Osborn and Stone.

“(We’ve heard) Of Marie taking care of patients after snowmobile accidents in the 1970s, from colleagues in Challis who’ve commented on Marie’s professionalism, of Marie stitching up dogs caught in barbed-wire fence and humans after mountain biking accidents. So many people remember their work fondly, and we’re excited to be a part of bringing them back to the area after so many years.”

To see the presentation in person, reserve your seat at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/15106619. The program will be livestreamed at https://vimeo.com/event/5327451 and available to watch later on the Library’s Event Archive.