Jewish Hospital accepts Black patients on a non-segregated basis, becoming among the earliest private hospitals in the region to do so.
Category: Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children's Hospital
1953: Bernard Becker, MD, fights for hospital integration
Bernard Becker, MD, a white physician, arrives at Barnes Hospital to head ophthalmology and is dismayed by the segregation he finds in McMillan Hospital. He threatens to leave unless integration occurs, and McMillan quickly desegregates. Later, he said: “I faced a good deal of opposition from my own visiting staff. I had to keep at […]
1953: SLCH receives funds to expand pediatrics at Homer G. Phillips Hospital
The U.S. Children’s Bureau awards Alexis Hartmann, MD, of Children’s Hospital funding to establish an expanded pediatric residency at Homer G. Phillips Hospital under Helen Nash, MD; Park White, MD; and Neil Middelkamp, MD. They also receive funds to build a modern unit for premature babies at Homer G. Phillips.
1951: Evelyn Whitlock joins Jewish Hospital as medical records librarian
Evelyn Whitlock, a Black student who had attended Washington University, begins work as a medical records librarian at Jewish Hospital. Eventually, she becomes director of the medical records department, where she supervises 18 people, takes charge of all patient records, and installs computer systems to better process reports. “The day for medical records workers to […]
1949: Helen E. Nash, MD: First Black woman to join WUSM faculty
Helen E. Nash, MD, becomes the first Black woman to join the School of Medicine faculty and the first Black attending physician at Children’s Hospital, where she serves for more than 40 years. A trainee of Homer G. Phillips Hospital, she becomes a hugely impactful physician and mentor and establishes scholarships for students interested in […]
1949: Velma Murphy Jones begins nursing career at Barnes Hospital
Velma Murphy Jones, a graduate of Homer G. Phillips School of Nursing, begins a decades-long career at Barnes Hospital, where she serves as the first Black nurse in charge of a nursing division. Image: Velma Murphy Jones, right, in the Barnes Hospital Bulletin, February 1976
1946: SLCH board votes to desegregate hospital
A polio epidemic sweeps through St. Louis, flooding Children’s Hospital with patients. Alexis Hartmann, MD, repurposes the Blacks-only Butler Ward to serve the polio patients and relocates the Butler Ward patients throughout the hospital. Later that year, the Children’s Hospital board of managers votes to permanently desegregate the hospital.
1946: Ridge Farm accepts first Black children
Ridge Farm, a Children’s Hospital facility for convalescent children, accepts its first three Black children.
1945: Park J. White, MD, as Homer G. Phillips pediatric director
From 1945-1966, Park J. White, MD, a white pediatrician at Children’s Hospital, serves concurrently as the pediatric director at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. Image: Park J. White, MD
1942: David Goldring, MD, sends Black infant to white ward
One evening, David Goldring, MD, is working in the Children’s Hospital Emergency Room when a Black infant is brought in needing an incubator. The Butler Ward is full, so Goldring sends the child to the white ward instead. Furious, the nursing supervisor calls pediatrics head Alexis Hartmann, MD, who backs up Goldring. Listen to the […]