Virginia Kathleen Saba

Dr. Virginia K. Joseph Saba (“Ginger”) of Arlington, Virginia, admired pioneer and global leader in the field of nursing informatics, died on Saturday, November 20, 2021, in Indianapolis, Indiana from complications following a fall. She was attending the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing Convention to present an award in her name, the Virginia K. Saba Nursing Informatics Leadership Award, to a friend and colleague. Ginger’s passion was to elevate the role of and respect for nursing and nurses, and she ultimately rose to become one of the leading authorities on the use of technology in nursing, and a founder of the field of Nursing Informatics. Ginger was born in Adams, Massachusetts, on March 20, 1926, to the late Kalil (“Kelly”) Shakar Joseph and Freda Noujaim, who came to America from the village of Maasar el Chouf in Lebanon. Her industrious family started a soda shop, Kelly’s on the Corner, where Kelly made the first ice cream in the area. Other ventures included the Adams movie theater and real-estate. Ginger and her siblings supported all the family businesses but preferred scooping ice cream. Ginger attended local schools and, always ahead of her time, was determined to study medicine despite the gender bias of the time. Ginger received a full scholarship from the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps in 1945, a program providing expedited nursing education to meet the need for nurses during World War II, and attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing Science in 1948. Ginger’s career began with hands-on, practical experience. In the late 1940s and 1950s, she worked as a home visiting nurse in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Washington DC. Ginger also lived and worked in Beirut, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia where she provided outreach healthcare as a Public Health Specialist with the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO). These home visiting nursing experiences and world travels influenced her deep belief in the importance of health education and good nursing practices. While living overseas, Ginger also pursued her love of art, creating many oil paintings, sketches, watercolors, and ceramic pieces, many of which were displayed in art galleries. She often used her experience in the Arab world as subject matter. In 1963, Ginger returned to her studies, earning a Master of Public Health Nursing Education from Columbia University, NY. Subsequently, in 1964, Ginger joined the US Public Health Service (USPHS) serving as a Commissioned Officer active-duty nurse, as a Nurse Director in the Division of Nursing, Health Resources Services Administration, where she conducted community health projects and collected and reported statistical data on nurses and nursing for the federal government. During her tenure with the USPHS, Ginger also earned both a Master of Science in Management Information Systems and Computer Science in 1981, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration, majoring in Scientific and Technical Information Science Management, from American University in Washington DC. Following her retirement from the USPHS as a Captain in 1985, Ginger served as a Distinguished Scholar at Georgetown University, where she developed and taught one of the first Nursing Informatics courses. It was through this work, and her personal experience with friends and family who had died in hospitals from what she believed was substandard nursing care, that Ginger formed the core of her passion for increasing the scientific basis of nursing. She believed that nurses needed a standard way of recording what they did and measuring the impact of nursing care on patient outcomes. To this end, Ginger pioneered the field of nursing informatics, believing that “…nursing informatics…is not only caring, it is the science of what we do that makes patients well.” Through her work with the USPHS and Georgetown University, Ginger led federally-funded research projects and developed the Clinical Care Classification system (CCC), a computer-based information system for categorizing, coding, and analyzing data about nursing practice. The CCC system is a national nursing standard which fulfilled Ginger’s groundbreaking vision of using data and computers to increase the scientific rigor of nursing practice and to link nursing care to patient outcomes. This standardized nursing classification system has been utilized to improve patient care in hospitals throughout U.S., Asia, and Europe. Ginger was president and CEO of SabaCare, Inc. She worked with hospitals and healthcare facilities around the world to promote the field of Nursing Informatics and to share her CCC. She co-edited and co-authored the Essentials of Nursing Informatics, now in its seventh edition and the CCC Manual: A User’s Guide to Nursing Documentation, along with many scholarly articles. She also taught at the Uniformed Services University Graduate School of Nursing in Bethesda, Maryland. Over the course of her career, Ginger received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Athens in Greece, Excelsior College in New York, the University of Maryland-Baltimore, and the University of Eastern Finland and in 2002, she was named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing. Generations of nurses at all stages of their careers have been mentored and inspired by Ginger. She helped them navigate the male-dominated field of medical informatics while advancing and contributing to the field of nursing informatics. She was a firm advocate for nursing, serving on nonprofit boards, mentoring young nursing professionals, and traveling all over the world to present at nursing informatics conferences and supporting nurses and the nursing profession. Ginger’s friends were very important to her, and she loved going out to eat and to parties and playing bridge. Over the years, she hosted many gatherings for family and friends. She was an active member of the Army Navy Country Club of Arlington, where she played tennis and won trophies for many years. Most recently, she was a dedicated golfer and continually improved her game. Growing up Catholic, Ginger’s faith was central to her life. She attended Catholic Mass at the Fort Myer Memorial Chapel weekly and volunteered regularly after Mass. Ginger loved her extended family deeply and was generous with her heartfelt support, encouragement, and strength. Her family loved her dearly and miss her every day. She was loved by all for her kindness and gentle ways. Ginger is predeceased by her parents, Kalil A. Joseph and Freda Noujaim; brothers and sisters Alfred L. Joseph, Janet E. Myers, baby Raymond Kenneth Joseph, Marshall E. Joseph, and Bernice T. Scully; and two nephews, Gregory C. A. Joseph and Michael J. Myers. She leaves nieces and nephews Douglas M. A. Joseph, Barbara A. McCleary, Robert W. Myers, Tesha A. Jarrett-Harrower, Nina E. Toffler-D’Onofrio, Beverly J. Myers Bailey, Caroline A. Scully, Richard A. Scully, and many great nieces and nephews. The funeral will be held on Tuesday, August 8th, 2023, at 12:45pm at the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer, followed by inurnment at Arlington National Cemetery. Attendees must register for security clearance at Fort Myer within 14 days of the funeral and enter through Hatfield Gate. Donations in memory of Virginia K. Joseph Saba can be sent to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (an organization close to her beloved nephew Michael’s heart) (https://www.awla.org/donate/donate-online/) or the Virginia K. Saba Nursing Informatics Student Scholarship for IMIA Nursing Informatics 2024 Conference (http://evite.me/6FbSh7cxg9).