By how much did the death rate fall after Nightingale's care and improvements?

• A. From 42% to 2%
• B. From 10% to 5%
• C. From 60% to 20%
• D. From 15% to 7%

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how much improving hospital conditions and nursing can cut deaths. In the Crimea, Nightingale’s reforms dramatically reduced mortality: before her care, about 42% of patients died, and after implementing sanitation, hygiene, better ventilation, nutrition, and trained nurses, the death rate fell to about 2%. That’s a drop of roughly 40 percentage points, a huge improvement driven by cleaner, better-organized care. The other options would show much smaller changes, which don’t match the extraordinary impact her reforms had on reducing deaths.