Gertrude Teixeira Hunter (1926 – March 12, 2006) was an American doctor and professor of medicine. She served as the national director of health services for Head Start, and later became health administrator for the New England region of the United States Public Health Service. Over her career, she worked in several roles at Howard University College of Medicine. She was also an activist for

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

healthcare in minority communities.

Early life and education

Gertrude Teixeira was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in 1926 to Antonio Dias and Carrie Teixeira. Her father was originally from Cape Verde, but came to the United States in 1902, where he ran a food manufacturing company in addition to working as a chef and owning a restaurant. He and his wife had four children, of whom Gertrude was the oldest. Gertrude Texeira attended high school in Boston. Although her academic advisor had put her in the "domestic arts" curriculum path (one that would eventually prepare her for housekeeping work), her mother's opposition and insistence that she would attend college led Gertrude to be moved to a college preparatory track. After graduation, she attended

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. After performing well on a medical aptitude test, she was accepted to Howard University College of Medicine in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

while she was still in her junior year. She went on to attend, and graduated with her

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

in 1950. She did her internship and residency at

Freedman's Hospital Howard University Hospital, previously known as Freedmen's Hospital, is a major hospital located in Washington, D.C., built on the site of the previous Griffith Stadium. The hospital has served the African-American community in the area for over ...

in Washington, D.C. and the

Homer G. Phillips Hospital Homer G. Phillips Hospital was the only public hospital for African Americans in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1937 until 1979, when the city still had segregated facilities. Located at 2601 N. Whittier Street in The Ville neighborhood, it was the fi ...

in St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. During medical school, Gertrude Teixeira met classmate Dr. Charles H. Hunter, who later went into radiology. She married him in 1952, and they went on to have six children.

Career

After graduating from medical school, Hunter became an instructor in Howard University College of Medicine's

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

department. She also taught as an assistant professor in the

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

department, where she also researched gastrointestinal physiology. In 1956, she was appointed as a clinician in the pediatrics department. She worked here until 1965, and during this time published on her work on antibiotics and development of African American children. In 1965, Hunter was appointed as the first national director of health services for Project Head Start, a program that worked to provide resources and support to low-income children. During her time in this position, she helped create a national program to provide healthcare and immunizations for

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

-aged children that provided care for millions of children. In 1971, Hunter became New England's regional health administrator for the United States Public Health Service. Hunter returned to Howard University in 1976, where she became a professor and the head of the Department of Community Health and Family Practice. In this position, she developed the family residency program and worked to fund her department's international program. She also created a School of Public Health. In 1978, she worked with other black doctors on an initiative to vaccinate impoverished people across the United States. She continued to chair the Community Health and Family Practice department until 1980, when she transitioned to become the head of the community health service, a division of this department. In 1985, Hunter worked as the chair of a National Council of Negro Women medical task force. As a part of this work, she helped to implement a countrywide effort to encourage African Americans to attend to their healthcare. Hunter retired from Howard University in 1988. After her retirement, she created the Human Services Educational and Research Institute, a non-profit that works to create programs and policies benefiting underprivileged and low-income people of color. The organization focused particularly on women's health and

. She helped minority groups establish health services, and she was one of the first doctors to focus on second-generation

patients. She once described creating support for AIDS patients within black communities as "one of the last battles in the civil rights movement."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Gertrude 1926 births 2006 deaths African-American physicians American public health doctors 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians Boston University alumni Howard University College of Medicine alumni Howard University faculty HIV/AIDS activists Physicians from Boston Academics from Boston 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century American people American women academics 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women Women public health doctors