By Claire Brocato, contributor
Feb. 26, 2010 - Back in 1889, with her heart set on becoming a nurse, a young woman by the name of Emma Reynolds applied to each of Chicago's nursing schools in the hopes of pursuing her dream. Her hopes were soon dashed, however, when she was denied admission to every nursing program in the city on the grounds that she was black.
When respected black surgeon Daniel Hale Williams, M.D., heard of Emma's ordeal through his church he took up her cause, but encountered the same resistance. In 1890, Williams took it upon himself to launch his own nursing school for black women and began consulting with a group of black ministers, physicians and businessmen to explore the possibility of establishing a nurse training facility and hospital. At the time, the black population in Chicago totaled 15,000 residents, yet few hospitals provided medical care to the African-American community and the city's few black physicians had very limited or no hospital privileges.
With the help of prominent citizens, organizations and businesses, rallies were organized, donations were collected and, in late 1890, Williams was able to secure the down payment on a three-story brick house in the heart of the city. The building, with 12 beds, became the first Provident Hospital.
The following year, Provident Hospital was designated an Illinois corporation, the training school for nurses opened and Williams was appointed hospital chief of staff. By 1892, seven women, including Emma Reynolds, enrolled in the first nursing class. Five years later the hospital moved to a larger facility with 65 beds.
Provident Hospital provided health care to the black community at a time when most hospitals in Chicago would not treat African-Americans. The late Betty Gross, a head nurse at Provident Hospital's pediatrics department in 1948 summed it up by saying: "Working at Provident was a privilege. It was our hospital."
Although Provident Hospital was officially closed in 1987 after unsuccessful efforts to maintain it as a private facility, the Cook County Board of Commissioners acquired the hospital and reopened it as the Provident Hospital of Cook County in 1993, continuing Williams' legacy and the facility's long tradition of serving the medical needs of the community on the south side of Chicago.
Community nurse clinician, Louvenia Ward, RN, not only finds a great amount of satisfaction in the work she does for Provident Hospital of Cook County, but she also appreciates the fact that she's working for an institution with a very proud and important legacy.
"Providing care and touching so many helpless lives, and seeing a positive outcome is so very rewarding for me," she said. "Working with teams of physicians and nurses who are committed to making life better for others in this community is an incredible experience, and working for a historic hospital that Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founded makes me feel like I am walking on holy ground each time I step into the building."
Like many of the nurses at Provident Hospital, Ward feels privileged to be able to continue the work and the mission that the hospital's founder started more than a century ago.
"Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was a visionary who saw beyond the present," she stated. "He was truly a legend and a blessing, and he wasn't afraid to take risks. Everywhere I go, I speak his name and feel so proud of the fact that I can help carry out his dreams."
"I love the work that I do here, the people that I work with and the many opportunities it has provided me. But, best of all, is the feeling that I get when I see patients smile as they leave the halls that Dr. Daniel Hale Williams created.
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