The intense work on the Commission was now over, but Florence was to continue studying, planning and pressing for army medical reform for the next thirty years.
People now began to demand that she apply her knowledge to civilian hospitals, which she found to be “just as bad or worse” than military hospitals. In 1859 she published a book called Notes on Hospitals. It showed the world why people feared to be taken into hospitals and how matters could be remedied.
Florence set forth the then revolutionary theory that simply by improving the construction and physical maintenance, hospital deaths could be greatly reduced. More windows, better ventilation, improved drainage, less cramped conditions, and regular scrubbing of the floors, walls and bed frames were basic measures that every hospital could take.
Florence soon became an expert on the building of hospitals and all over the world hospitals were established according to her specifications. She wrote hundreds and hundreds of letters from her sofa in London inquiring about sinks and saucepans, locks and laundry rooms. No detail was too small for her considered attention. She worked out ideas for the most efficient way to distribute clean linen, the best method of keeping food hot, the correct number of inches between beds. She intended to change the administration of hospitals from top to toe. Lives depended upon detail.
Florence Nightingale succeeded. All over the world Nightingale-style hospitals would be built. And Florence would continue to advise on hospital plans for over forty years. Today’s hospitals with their flowers and bright, clean and cheerful wards are a direct result of her work.
1857年5月，一个研究军队医务全项问题的委员会成立了。为此付出的代价是巨大的。这项辛劳的工作交给了弗洛伦斯·南丁格尔，并不是因为她主动请缨，而是这任务至关重要。她开始变了。变得比以往更能言善辩，更注重实效，更有见地，在论理上也更加坚定和深刻。她作风严谨，精益求精——这所有一切是她用牺牲所有的娱乐换来的。
1857年的夏天对弗洛伦斯来说是一场梦魇——她不仅要夜以继日地说服参与委员会工作的政客们，还要就她的个人经历撰写述职报告。而与此同时帕尔丝和母亲却靠在沙发上，相互提醒着插花不要插得太累。
弗洛伦斯只用了六个月的时间就独自完成了长达一千页的《关于英国军队保健、效率和医院管理事项的纪要》的机密报告。其阐述之清晰，考虑之深入令人难以置信。她从克里米亚学到的一点一滴都跃然纸上——每项陈述都论据充分。
弗洛伦斯·南丁格尔的基本主张是防患于未然。这在当时是标新立异的，许多政客和军医都觉得这过于出格同时又是稀奇古怪的。他们顽固地反对弗洛伦斯和她的支持者们。liuxuepaper.com