"A benefit to themselves, to the sick, and to the community": The Story of Philadelphia's Black Hospitals & Nurse Training Schools

The first exhibition in Holman Biotech Commons features "A benefit to themselves, to the sick, and to the community": The Story of Philadelphia's Black Hospitals & Nurse Training Schools. Mercy-Douglass Hospital started as two separate hospitals for African Americans: Frederick Douglass Hospital and Nurse Training School, the first African American hospital in Philadelphia, founded by Dr. Nathan Mossell, the first African American physician to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, in 1895 on 1512 Lombard Street. Mercy Hospital and Nurse Training School was founded in 1907 by Dr. Eugene Hinson on 17th and Fitzwater Street, becoming the second African American hospital in Philadelphia. In 1948, the two hospitals merged to form Mercy-Douglass Hospital located at 50th Street and Woodland Avenue.

The exhibit discusses the history and importance these institutions for Black communities in Philadelphia and emphasizes the important role that nurses have played in the development of modern healthcare.

The exhibit is curated by Jessica Martucci, Curator of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, and the exhibit will be in the Wendy and Wayne Reading Room starting Monday, February 19 through March 29th.

Featured image: Nurses at Mercy-Douglas Hospital circa 1950s. Image courtesy of the Barbara Bates Center for The Study of Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania