Hospice care and Black History in the United States share a compelling story of compassion and social justice. Hospice is an approach to healthcare that focuses on giving the best quality of life possible to those struggling with terminal illnesses. Pain management, symptom management, emotional support and spiritual support are provided for the individual and their loved ones.

Hospice care, as we know it today, was developed in the 1960s by Dame Cicely Saunders, a British physician. Dr. Saunders was a revolutionary in the areas of hospice and palliative care. In 1976 she founded St. Christopher’s Hospice in London which provided a new model of care for patients with terminal illnesses. The focus became more about meeting the unique needs of dying patients and their families while providing compassionate care that respected the patients’ values and beliefs. The new model grew rapidly and is now available in many countries around the world.

In the United States, the hospice movement began to develop in the 1960s and 1970s. The first hospice programs were established in Connecticut and other states. At the same time, the civil rights movement was gaining momentum with Black leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. calling for an end to segregation and discrimination. The new model of hospice care aimed to establish relationships of trust with patients and families. The goal was to provide culturally sensitive care that respected patients’ values and beliefs. This approach helped to overcome the barriers that had previously prevented many African American patients from seeking medical care.

African Americans, through direct contributions and significant events, contributed to the hospice movement. These contributions promoted compassionate and person-centered end-of-life care for people from diverse backgrounds.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy as an advocate for social justice significantly impacted end-of-life care. As a powerful champion of civil rights, Dr. King’s dedication to advancing healthcare equality, including end-of-life treatment, is still being felt today. His passionate advocacy for justice

and civil rights directly reflects the core values of hospice care. Those values include providing empathetic end-of-life care with utmost respect for patients and their families. His commitment to this cause has profoundly shaped our understanding of death, leading us closer to a better quality of life in hospice care.

Dr. Robert Lee Brown founded our nation’s first hospice program for African Americans in Harlem in 1977. His efforts continue shaping how we approach end-of-life medical assistance today.

Dr. Brown realized that African American patients were confronting tremendous struggles acquiring necessary end-of-life care. These struggles included discrimination, financial insecurity and conflicting cultural attitudes towards death and dying. To combat these issues, he founded a hospice center devoted to providing compassionate, culturally appropriate aid for both African American individuals and their families.

Dr. Brown was a visionary in the field of hospice care. He tried to ensure that those facing terminal illnesses received comprehensive and compassionate home-based or facility-based treatments in accordance with their wants and backgrounds. His groundbreaking work continues to be applauded by caregivers around the world as an essential model for dignified end-of-life support. Today, Dr. Brown’s legacy lives on through his ongoing influence over how terminally ill individuals are cared for across cultures, families and communities.

Dr. James McCune Smith was an inspirational leader in the history of medicine and civil rights. He broke barriers as he became the first ever African American to receive a medical degree from a university. Dr. Smith opened doors for himself through his determination and perseverance. He served as an example for generations of black doctors and medical professionals who followed him.

Dr. Smith succeeded academically despite having grown up in a racially segregated society. He received his medical degree from the University of Glasgow in Scotland in 1837. This was an extraordinary accomplishment since American medical schools did not permit black students at the time. Smith faced more obstacles after he returned to the United States. His foreign degree wasn’t acknowledged by any domestic institutions requiring him to finish extra schooling and examinations before being admitted into practice. Despite these obstacles, he became a highly respected physician in New York City. He was known for his expertise in treating cholera and other diseases.

Smith’s medical practice was not just a space for healing, but also served as an area of political and social revolution. Smith founded the American Anti-Slavery Society where he worked diligently with other marginalized groups to promote the rights of black people. He wrote essays and articles on medicine while continuing his work, delving into topics such as race and its relationship to healthcare.

We commemorate Dr. Smith today as a valiant and influential advocate of civil rights movements. He influenced generations of African American doctors and medical professionals by encouraging them to pursue justice with effortless zeal. His legacy serves as an exhortation for us to seek education, remain determined in the face of adversity and take steps towards achieving equality regardless of race or creed.

Through hospice care, healthcare providers and patients build meaningful relationships with trust and respect. This connection allows for a higher quality of care that has the potential to benefit both parties long-term. Hospice organizations are actively advocating for social justice in America by providing its services solely based on need, regardless of race or ethnicity.

The intricate relationship between African American history and hospice care exemplifies the integration of justice, healthcare and empathy. Members of the Black community along with hospice providers have developed a model of care that prioritizes compassion and respect for one another. It is essential that we remember this example as our nation attempts to tackle health concerns as well as matters surrounding social equality. Healthcare can meet and promote equality and access within our country while attending to an individual’s distinct needs.

At Smoky Mountain Home Health and Hospice, we celebrate Black History Month and the immense contributions of African Americans to our society. We are committed to promoting diversity and providing hospice care that is respectful and sensitive to the unique cultural and personal beliefs of our patients and their families.

If you, or a loved one is in need of hospice services, or if you have any questions, please contact Smoky Mountain Home Health and Hospice or call us at (423) 623-0233.

Elizabeth Blackwell photo courtesy of The Archives and Special Collections of the Health Sciences Library, SUNY Upstate Medical University.

National Women Physicians Day celebrates the accomplishments of women in the medical field. This day recognizes female physicians and the numerous contributions they have made throughout history. It was established to honor Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female in America who acquired her medical degree on February 3, 1849. Her success opened new doors for women and many medical institutions started accepting females into their programs after she graduated.

Blackwell started a movement that would outlive her and inspire other female doctors. Her courage and determination is something we recognize on this special day as we remember the many successes of women in medicine. Blackwell’s achievement serves as an enabler for women who helped women to acquire entry as well as equality in their pursuit for medical certification and related courses. It was Elizabeth’s belief that the decision of a society not to allow the development of women demanded a complete remodeling of that society.

Today we celebrate the many accomplishments of women physicians and encourage future generations to continue achieving excellence in their medical careers.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was a trailblazer in medicine. She became the first female in America to receive a medical degree, and then actively fought for women’s involvement in medicine. Her dedication was so immense that she eventually opened her own private medical college specifically tailored to meet the needs of female students.

On February 3, 1821, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell—a pioneering figure in modern medicine and an outspoken advocate for Anglo-American rights—was born to the anti-slavery activists Hannah Lane and Samuel Blackwell of Counterslip, Bristol. The family immigrated to the United States and settled in New York when Blackwell was 11-years-old. They eventually moved from Jersey City to Cincinnati Ohio with both locations profoundly contributing to her success as a physician later on.

Blackwell’s father was a firm believer in providing his daughters with a quality education, so it was no surprise when Blackwell decided to pursue a career in medicine. After facing several rejections, she was admitted to Geneva Medical College in Geneva, New York in 1847 and became the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States in 1849.

Following her graduation, Blackwell went to Paris, France to study at La Maternité. She furthered her career in London, England at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. In 1853, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell pioneered the establishment of a small dispensary in one of New York’s most impoverished regions. With the aid of her sister, Emily and Marie E. Zakrzewska, this dispensary developed into a respected New York Infirmary for Women and Children by 1857.

In 1861, she took the initiative to create the Women’s Central Association of Relief and U.S. Sanitary Commission in order to select and educate nurses for military service. In 1868 she established the Woman’s Medical College in New York City. Seven years later, she was appointed professor of gynecology at London School of Medicine for Women. She additionally assisted with founding The National Health Society while writing several books throughout her life including Pioneer Work Opening Medical Profession to Women published in 1895 which was an autobiography.

To commemorate her remarkable accomplishments, Elizabeth Blackwell is celebrated through the annual presentation of the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal to a female physician who has made an impressive contribution in advancing opportunities for women in medicine.

An exceptional pioneer, Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman in America to obtain a medical degree and the only one to attend New England Female Medical College. She was accepted into the college, located in Boston, after working for eight years as a nurse in Charlestown, MA and obtaining several commendation letters from doctors. She made history in 1864 as the only African American graduate of the college and the country’s first African-American woman to become a formally-trained physician.

Rebecca, the daughter of  Matilda Webber and Absolum Davis, was born in Delaware but grew up in Pennsylvania. She spent her childhood caring for those around her as medical care for impoverished Black individuals during antebellum times was nearly nonexistent. In 1852, she relocated to Charlestown, Massachusetts where she worked as a nurse until 1860 when she was accepted into the New England Female Medical College– making history as one of America’s first African American female doctors.

After the Civil War, Crumpler moved to Richmond, Virginia and endured blatant racism and sexism while caring for previously enslaved people. Despite this hardship, she learned many lessons which enabled her to provide medical care when she returned home to Boston.

Shortly after gaining certification, she married Arthur Crumpler – a former slave who had come to Boston in 1863. She practiced medicine in Richmond Virginia; but eventually returned to her hometown of Boston along with her husband and settled down in Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Unfortunately there wasn’t much call for medical services from within the community which caused her to retire from practice by 1883. During this time she was able to write a book on medical discourses utilizing all of the notes that she kept during her career as a doctor – dedicating it both nurses and mothers alike. Crumpler passed away on March 9, 1895 in Fairview, Massachusetts.

Crumpler was moved by her aunt’s commitment to helping neighbors in need. As she wrote in A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts (1883), “I early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to relieve the suffering of others.” Such inspiring work did not go unrecognized as the Rebecca Lee Society, one of the first medical societies for African-American women, was named in her honor.

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836 – 1917) made history by becoming the first Englishwoman to qualify as a physician, despite intense opposition. She broke barriers for women in medicine and was also the very first female mayor, school board member, and magistrate in Britain. Her unparalleled accomplishments helped pave the way for more opportunities for future generations of women around the world.

Anderson was renowned in her day for being a woman of tremendous strength and wit, who had no patience for nonsense. Her father, an affluent businessman from Aldeburgh in Suffolk, thought that girls should receive the same level of education as boys. As such, she received schooling at home then spent some time attending a boarding school meant exclusively for females.

When Elizabeth announced her dream to become a doctor, her father was proud but her mother couldn’t contain her shock. The medical world refused to accept female doctors or surgeons and all of Elizabeth’s applications were denied by teaching hospitals and universities alike. Yet despite this adversity, she knew that with sheer determination she could fulfill the calling within herself.

In an effort to practice medicine, Mary tried infiltrating the Middlesex Hospital in London as a nurse – but it was unsuccessful. She then decided on becoming a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries which granted her permission to be medically trained and practicing; although not as prestigious for women compared with MDs or Doctorates of Medicine. Her father’s threat to sue the Society spurred them into allowing her access, until she passed all exams in 1865. Unfortunately, they soon altered their regulations so that no other woman would ever again obtain this same opportunity.

In 1866, Elizabeth established the St Mary’s Dispensary for Women and Children in London’s Marylebone district – a hospital dedicated to women with female personnel that quickly filled up with impoverished patients. An impressive feat in itself, she later went on to become the first woman ever awarded a medical degree from the University of Paris in 1870. Her original dispensary then transformed into New Hospital for Women two years later in 1872.

In 1871, Elizabeth wed James George Skelton Anderson — the head of a large shipping business and an ardent advocate for married women’s independence. This event served as a catalyst for change. In 1874, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was an influential part in setting up the London School of Medicine for Women and continued to teach there for many years. She also supported suffragettes during their fight for equal rights.

In 1902, she and her spouse retired to Aldeburgh. In 1908, Mrs. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was elected mayor – becoming Britain’s first female mayor. After her passing in 1917 at the age of 81, a hospital in London was renamed in her honor to recognize her achievements.

As we celebrate National Women Physician Day, let us take a moment to honor the many achievements of female physicians throughout history. From Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, to Dr. Elizabeth Anderson, to Dr. Rebecca Crumpler, these pioneering women have made invaluable contributions to the medical profession and helped pave the way for future generations of female physicians. This day honors the hard work, courage, and dedication women have contributed to the medical field.

We can continue to celebrate and recognize the achievements of women in medicine by supporting organizations dedicated to empowering female physicians, such as the American Medical Women’s Association. Show your support and help promote gender equality in the medical profession today.

As per Statista’s June report, an estimated 37% of US physicians are women and Washington D.C has the highest proportion.