1908

Plymouth Hospital Opens as First and Only Black Hospital in MA

A graduating class of nurses from Plymouth Hospital and Nurses Training School, from a report printed in 1914. Boston, MA. (Courtesy Lisa Gordon)
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A graduating class of nurses from Plymouth Hospital and Nurses Training School, from a report printed in 1914. Boston, MA. (Courtesy Lisa Gordon) Credit: WBUR

Plymouth Hospital and Nurses Training School opens in Boston, in a time when Black people were largely excluded from the formal American medical system. It is the first and the only Black hospital in the state; it serves Black patients and allows Black

Administrators at city hospitals around the country denied Black medical school graduates from internships and residencies because they didn't want Black doctors practicing on white patients. With few other options, Black graduates went into research or found other opportunities to hone their skills. Plymouth Hospital in the South End, founded by Dr. Cornelius Garland, was one of many efforts to provide care to Black patients as well as training opportunities for Black doctors. It operated for twenty years and served patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Sources
https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/blackhistorymonth/hospitals https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2023/02/09/historic-boston-plymouth-hospital-cornelius-garland-lisa-gordon https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2023/02/13/cornelius-garland-black-hospital-south-end https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2569729/pdf/jnma00196-0027.pdf https://www.hubhistory.com/episodes/the-rise-and-fall-of-black-bostons-first-hospital-episode-294/#chapter11
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