30-04-2025
Dangers of tuberculosis keep Dr. Kathleen Jordan Project volunteers on mission
Apr. 30---- Last fall, an estimated 1,000 people, many of them high school students, came to Granite Falls to view exhibits and hear presentations on the very real threat that tuberculosis still represents, and to learn the story of a woman whose work saved untold lives from this infectious disease.
The
resulted in 20 different published articles telling her story and of the continued threat posed by tuberculosis, as well as speaking engagements for the organizers and statewide and nationwide exposure through media and a partnership with the
and Easter Seals.
"We thought we were gonna finish this project up," said Linda Heen, speaking April 16 at the annual meeting of the Chippewa County Historical Society in Montevideo. Linda and her sister, Carol Heen, were among the volunteers who organized the Dr. Kathleen Jordan Project with the goal of hosting last year's event, conducted in September across multiple Granite Falls locations.
They have since realized the work is too important. The volunteers behind the Jordan Project said they decided to continue the work they began by reaching out and continuing to educate.
"Every 20 seconds, somebody, somewhere in the world dies from tuberculosis. That's terrible," said Peggy Kvam, a Dr. Kathleen Jordan Project volunteer, in the presentation to historical society members. Every year in the world, more than 10 million people are diagnosed with tuberculosis, and more than 1 million die.
The reality of those numbers, and the fact that the disease remains with us in Minnesota yet today, led the group to decide they should continue their work.
They are equally motivated by their desire to see that the story of Dr. Jordan is told. Kvam, as a fifth- and sixth-grade instructor, said she had told the story of the Mayo brothers and their importance to health care in Minnesota for many years.
In her work with the project, she came to realize that the story of Dr. Jordan is every bit as important and inspiring.
Kathleen Jordan grew up in French Algeria, where her English parents operated a missionary school and orphanage. She came to America for college and earned a medical degree at Western Reserve University of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1929. Only four of every 100 medical doctors at the time were women.
Marriage to Dr. Lewis Jordan brought her to Granite Falls, where she and her husband oversaw the Riverside Sanatorium. Built and operated by the counties of Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Renville and Yellow Medicine, it served 1,525 tuberculosis patients during the years 1917 to 1963. It was located along the Minnesota River in Chippewa County near Granite Falls.
The sanatorium was one of 14 in Minnesota where tuberculosis patients were cared for and isolated. For most, admission meant a full year confined to a bed. In the years before antibiotics, providing fresh air, good food and rest were the available treatments for tuberculosis.
Dr. Kathleen Jordan traveled around the state of Minnesota to administer the Mantoux skin test to somewhere between 1.5 million to 2 million people — most of them school children — to identify those with the disease.
Identifying and isolating those with the disease proved to be a highly successful strategy in drastically reducing its spread, according to Kvam and fellow team member Carol Heen.
A key to the success was in identifying those who were spreading tuberculosis in the home or public settings, and may or may not have realized they were doing so. Tests performed by Dr. Jordan in the Montevideo Schools one year showed a number of infected students who did not share the same classroom, or play together on the same sports team or even attend the same church.
Dr. Jordan discovered that their band instructor had latent tuberculosis, with no apparent symptoms. He was unwittingly spreading the disease by mouthing the students horn and reed instruments to tune them.
There is no effective vaccine for tuberculosis, said Kvam. Antibiotics can successfully treat it, but there are antibiotic-resistant strains of tuberculosis circulating around the world. They require taking an expensive mix of drugs without interruption.
"It is with us today and with us here," said David Lieser, a Chippewa County commissioner who was in the audience that night. Each year, Countryside Public Health reports on cases of tuberculosis showing up in Chippewa and neighboring counties, he explained. Another audience member offered how a young relative of his recently returned from an overseas mission trip and tested positive.
Last year, there were 195 new cases of tuberculosis in Minnesota, said Kvam. It is being found most often in those ages 25 to 44 and those ages 65 and older.
After being bumped from the top as the world's leading cause of death by COVID-19, tuberculosis is back on top. One-third of the world's population is believed to be infected with tuberculosis, according to Carol Heen. For about 90% of the infected, the tuberculosis is latent. It can become active if the body experiences stress from another disease or other life challenge.
To get word out about the disease, the story of Dr. Jordan and the system of sanatoriums that once offered care for tuberculosis care in Minnesota, the Dr. Kathleen Jordan Project has created the
website and a
channel. Its members also remain ready to share the story at events and gatherings. They can be contacted through the website.
