Provident Hospital of Cook County (formerly Provident Hospital and Training School) is a public hospital in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

that was founded as the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

-owned and operated hospital in America. It was established in 1891 by Dr.

Daniel Hale Williams Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1856 – August 4, 1931) was an African-American surgeon, who in 1893 performed what is referred to as "the first successful heart surgery". It was performed at Chicago's Provident Hospital, which he founded in ...

, an African-American surgeon during the time in American history where few medical facilities were open to African Americans.

History

It was founded to provide health care and medical training. Its initial officers were president John M. Brown, vice president

Richard Mason Hancock Richard Mason Hancock (November 22, 1832 – June 5, 1899) was a carpenter and shop foreman and civil rights activist in the American Northeast and Chicago. He was one of few African-American iron works shop foremen during his era. Early life R ...

, treasurer John T. Jenifer, secretary Louis H. Reynolds, and auditor Lloyd Wheeler. Owned and run by African Americans, from its start Provident was open to all regardless of race.

"
t was T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...
the first private hospital in the State of Illinois to provide internship opportunities for black physicians . . . e first to establish a school of nursing to train black women . . . one of the first black hospitals to provide postgraduate courses and residencies for black physicians and the first black hospital approved by the American College of Surgeons for full graduate training in surgery. Provident also offered an important forum, a proving ground for ideas about black self determination and institutional survival."

In 1893, the first documented heart surgery was performed by Dr. Daniel Williams at Provident Hospital and Training School. Though the historic Provident Hospital was forced to close in 1987 due to financial difficulties, it reopened in 1993 as part of

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Cook County Health and Hospital System, along with Provident Hospital of Cook County and ...

System. to provide services to residents of Chicago's South Side. It is now known as Provident Hospital of Cook County.

Notable people

Alton Abraham Alton Abraham (5 May 1927 – 6 June 1999) was an African American social entrepreneur who acted as business manager for jazz musician Sun Ra. Early life Abraham was born in Chicago and served in the U.S Military in Okinawa from 1945 to 1947. When ...

, the

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of o ...

associated with

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...

, worked at Provident. *

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

was born at Provident in 1964.

References

Hospitals in Chicago Defunct hospitals in Illinois Historically black hospitals in the United States African-American history in Chicago Public hospitals in the United States {{Chicago-struct-stub

History

Notable people

See also

References