Medicine

Monday, February 18, 2008

7 Masters of Medicine in Black History

1) Dr. Dorothy L. Brown, (1914 - 2004), distinguished herself as a surgeon and community leader.  She graduated with honors from Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee in 1948.

After interning in New York City, she returned to Tennessee to Meharry’s Hubbard Hospital.  Brown rose to become Clinical Professor of Surgery, and the first woman chief resident in general surgery at Meharry from 1957 - 1983.

Dr. Brown was the first single mother in Tennessee to adopt a child in the 1950s.  She adopted the newborn daughter of a patient.

In the 1960’s, Brown became the first African American woman elected to the Tennessee General Assembly.





2) Dr. Charles R. Drew, (1904-1950), founded the first blood bank (1940) and invented the blood plasma bag.

He received his M.D. and Master of Surgery degrees from McGill University, Montreal.  Dr. Drew did the bulk of his blood plasma research at Columbia University in New York City.

Charles Drew is one of the featured black history people in the Empower Encyclopedia Salute to Black History DVD.





3) Dr. Robert L. Kimbrough received his DDS, (Doctor of Dental Science), from the Illinois College of Dentistry in 1951.

He entered the Army Dental Corps. in the early 1950’s.  After service, he went into private practice in Chicago.

In 1984, Dr. Kimbrough became President of the Chicago Dental Society.










4) Mary Elizabeth Mahoney, (1846-1926), is credited with being the first African American to graduate with a diploma in nursing.

In 1879, she received her degree from the New England Hospital in Boston.













5) Dr. Daniel H. Williams, (1856-1931), founded the first medical training school for African American nurses.

He is credited with performing the world’s first heart operation on an injured man who was stabbed in the chest (1893).












6) Dr. Jane Cooke Wright is well known in the medical profession for her work in cancer chemotherapy.

She was Director of Cancer Research and Associate Professor of Research Surgery At New York University Medical Center.

Dr. Wright was the first African American woman to become an associate dean at a major medical college: The New York Medical College (1967).







7) Dr. Louis T. Wright, (1891-1952), excelled in the field of medicine and brain trauma.

He graduated from Clark University in Atlanta in 1911.  Wright is famous for inventing a brace for patients with neck injuries.

His expertise included treating patients with skull fractures.

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/18 at 12:02 AM
Medicine • (0) Comments • Permalink

Monday, February 19, 2007

Patient Nurses Contribute Healing to Black History Story

Health care has had a long history of participation by blacks, although years ago, the professional opportunities were limited.

Let’s look through the pages of Empower Encyclopedia and discover three black history people who moved nursing forward.

Mary Elizabeth Mahoney, (1846-1926), is credited with being the first African American to graduate with a diploma in nursing.  In 1879, she received her degree from the New England Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Daniel H. Williams, (1856-1931), founded the first medical training school for African American nurses.  Dr. Williams also opened the first interracial hospital in 1891 (Provident Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, USA).

Hazel W. Johnson was Chief Nurse for the Army Medical Command in Korea.  As a Brigadier General she headed the U.S. Army Nurse Corps.  Johnson was the first African American woman to obtain the rank of General.

Need an idea for a Black History Month project?  Give Mahoney, Williams, and Johnson a further look.

The need for nurses is at an all-time high.  These trailblazers made significant contributions to nursing, a field that can barely keep up with today’s growing demand.

Technorati tags:



Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/19 at 06:43 PM
Medicine • (0) Comments • Permalink

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Black History People Visionaries and Pioneers

  • "What did Barbara Jordan do for us?”
  • "I need a report on Diana Ross”
  • “Something on Frederick Douglass”
  • “Do you have information on Malcolm X?”

These are four actual questions from among the many we received in the past week!  Yes, it is hard to find reliable information about African American visionaries and pioneers.

Here are 26 twentieth century personalities responsible for moving the American Dream forward you need to know about (in random order):

  1. Langston Hughes
  2. Marian Anderson
  3. Thomas Bradley
  4. Dr. Ralph J. Bunche
  5. Coretta Scott King
  6. Frederick Douglass
  7. Dr. Charles Drew
  8. Sammy Davis Jr.
  9. Shirley Chisholm
  10. Jesse Owens
  11. James Meredith
  12. Ella Fitzgerald
  13. William H. Hastie
  14. Richard Wright
  15. Malcolm X
  16. Diana Ross
  17. Charles H. Houston
  18. A. Philip Randolph
  19. Andrew Young
  20. Barbara Jordan
  21. Ronald Dellums
  22. Bo Diddley
  23. Rosa Parks
  24. Duke Ellington
  25. Lena Horne
  26. Joe Louis

    If you’d like to learn more about these achievers, (and you’ve signed up for our free black history biographies via email...and have confirmed your subscription), then you’ll be among the first to be able to benefit from an exciting new project profiling these African American legends coming soon.

    Technorati tags:



    Posted by Hugh Smith on 02/15 at 08:45 AM
    Music • Education • Civil Rights • History • Medicine • Entertainment • News • Sports • (1) Comments • Permalink

    Tuesday, January 30, 2007

    Diversity Data Explores USA Melting Pot

    We often think of black history in terms of past achievements by exceptional individuals.

    If you wanted a broad general snapshot of most African American people today, the trends in their neighborhoods, and the factors that will influence the emerging black leaders of tomorrow, where would you turn?

    A new website has created an extremely easy way to discover information about racial and ethnic groups in the USA by using census data gathered by the U.S. government.

    According to the creators, “Diversity Data is an online tool for exploring quality of life data across different metropolitan areas, for people of different racial/ethnic groups in the United States.”

    Diversity Data “provides values and rankings for the largest U.S. metropolitan areas on different indicators in 8 areas of life (domains), including demographics, education, economic opportunity, housing, neighborhoods, and health."

    Just pick a state, select a metropolitan area, then instantly observe what the trends reveal.

    By using an option called “customize profile,” you can dissect and analyze the information in more ways than you could ever imagine.

    Each state can be searched by selecting from the largest counties.

    The brainchild of this fantastic free tool is the Harvard School of Public Health.

    I highly recommend Diversity Data for:

    • Population Demographics and Diversity
    • Health
    • Housing Opportunities
    • Economic Opportunities
    • Education
    • Residential Integration and Neighborhood Characteristics
    • Crime
    • Physical Environment

    Where are the rural or urban centers in the USA where different racial and ethnic groups are striding ahead?  You’ll discover the answer to this question and a lot more by digging into Diversity Data online.

    The trends reflect possible history in the making.  If you spot differences in your state that are surprising, let the information challenge you to think about some ways you might influence your community’s destiny.

    Technorati tags:




    Posted by Hugh Smith on 01/30 at 01:05 AM
    Education • Medicine • News • Web Site • (0) Comments • Permalink

    Wednesday, January 24, 2007

    Oprah's Roots Traces Family Tree

    Genealogy research and DNA analysis have been the rage the last few years.

    More African American families are using these technologies to discover African ancestral connections.

    The PBS television series African American Lives, hosted by Henry “Skip” Louis Gates Jr., (shown above with Oprah Winfrey), debuted in February during Black History Month, 2006.

    African American Lives is fascinating.  Famous black history people in the USA trace their lineage to Africa with Gates guiding the series along.  I was very glad I watched several episodes last year.

    It’s Oprah’s chance this week, with a new, updated episode.  One good thing about PBS, the programs are always repeated, so you’ll eventually get a second chance to watch Oprah’s Roots: An African American Lives Special.

    Technorati tags:



    Posted by Hugh Smith on 01/24 at 07:09 AM
    Education • History • Medicine • News • (0) Comments • Permalink

    Tuesday, November 28, 2006

    Dr. Louis T. Wright Braces Brain Pain

    Dr. Louis T. Wright, (1891-1952), excelled in the field of medicine and brain trauma.

    He is the author of nearly 20 academic papers about brain surgery.

    Dr. Wright graduated from Clark University in Atlanta in 1911.  He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1915.

    Wright is perhaps most famous for inventing a brace for patients with neck injuries.  His expertise included treating patients with skull fractures.

    Technorati tags:



    Posted by Hugh Smith on 11/28 at 06:19 PM
    Medicine • (0) Comments • Permalink