They wore white starched dresses and the signature cap of their patron Florence Nightingale. They were expected to defer to doctors.

Nurses have evolved over the decades, but at Providence Holy Cross they have built upon the same traditions of excellence and compassion for more than a half-century.

Now a committee has been formed of retired and active Providence Holy Cross nurses to form a Nurses Alumni Association. The association will hold its first gathering at noon May 20 in the North Conference Rooms at Providence Holy Cross, 15031 Rinaldi St., Mission Hills, 91346.

Former Chief Nursing Officer Linda Coale is leading the budding organization, which will honor the legacy of excellence in nursing that has catapulted Holy Cross nurses to Magnet Hospital status for nursing excellence. The American Nurses Credentialing Center re-designated Holy Cross as a Magnet Hospital earlier this year, status that places the nursing staff in the top 6 percent nationwide.

“Nurses today are a lot more independent and autonomous in their practice and they really are leading some of the changes in health care,” Coale said.

The goal in forming the association is to celebrate a shared history of nursing care, to reconnect friends, to plan social events and to raise funds to support nursing through education, research and other avenues, she said.

The founders have tracked down one of the hospital’s original nurses and hope to collect stories the alumni to provide for the hospital a documented history of its nursing.

Holy Cross Hospital was established in 1961 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, based in South Bend, Ind. Ten years later it was destroyed by the Sylmar Earthquake, and reopened in 1975. Plagued by financial challenges, the sisters sold the hospital in 1996 to the Sisters of Providence, who established Providence Health & Services. Providence Holy Cross has collected numerous quality awards over the years and is renowned for its cardiology, pulmonology, maternity, orthopedics and emergency and trauma services, among other specialties.

And now the Nurses Alumni Association hopes to highlight the role nurses have played in building that legacy.

Those wishing to attend the May 20 gathering are asked to contact Dee Sandjian by May 10 at 818 898-4600 or by email Dee.Sandjian@providence.org.