Velma Hunt, a longtime Children’s Hospital employee, retires after more than 60 years of service as a patient liaison in the emergency room. Image: Velma Hunt, right
2021: Velma Hunt retires
Category: Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children's Hospital
1993: Helen E. Nash, MD, retires
Helen E. Nash, MD, is revered for a decades-long career caring for generations of patients and advocating for the underserved. She retires as a Washington University emeritus professor in 1993 and serves as the school’s dean of minority affairs from 1994-1996. “She fought to get the best care for her patients — and for basic […]
“The whole experience made me feel like an exotic animal. And I guess for women who had never seen an educated Black person, I was.”
— Helen E. Nash, MD
1923: Butler Ward opens
The Butler Ward opens at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in 1923 to serve Black children. It is in use until 1947, shortly after Children’s Hospital integrates. Image: In the Butler Ward, St. Louis Children’s Hospital
1989: Calvin Weaver wins meritorious award
Calvin Weaver, who would become operations manager for all three housekeeping shifts at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, wins Jewish Hospital’s meritorious award for his service.
1980: Animal facility renamed in honor of Henry L. Bramlette
Henry L. Bramlette Animal Facilities: In 1948, Henry L. Bramlette, later known as “The Duke of McMillan,” came to work for the Department of Neurology and Neurological Surgery and became a well-respected animal handler and technician, helping hundreds of scientists complete complex projects. Upon his retirement in 1980, the animal facility was renamed in his […]
1959: SLCH heart-lung pump patient
Heart-lung pump patient and her parents leave St. Louis Children’s Hospital after being discharged, April 1959.
1950: SLCH patients conversing
Two patients converse at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, circa 1950.
1978: Maternity Hospital building resegregates, then abandons policy
Robert Frank, Barnes Hospital director, temporarily establishes “geographic separation of patients” in the Maternity Hospital building, with ward patients (largely Black) on certain floors and private patients (mostly white) on others. The effect is resegregation. A brief protest occurs, and the policy is abandoned. Image: From the Barnes Hospital Bulletin, December 1978
1977: Helen E. Nash, MD: President of SLCH medical staff
Helen E. Nash, MD, serves as president of the medical staff at Children’s Hospital from 1977 to 1979. Image: Helen E. Nash, MD