Sidney
A. Sumby Memorial Hospital, River Rouge, MI (1938-1987)
(a.k.a. Milton Community Hospital)
Founders:
Samuel B. Milton, MD
Locations:
Visger Rd. and Palmerston St., River Rouge, MI
1938 (20 beds);
1950 (40 beds);
1956 (80 beds);
1962 (100 beds)
The hospital was founded in 1938 by Dr. Samuel B. Milton, a native of Washington, D. C.
who earned his M.D. degree from Northwestern University and later became Wayne County
Coroner.
The facility was named in honor of his late brother-in-law, also a physician,
who died shortly after establishing his practice in Saginaw, MI.
The hospital grew from its original 20-bed capacity to encompass a drug store,
dental offices, and four clinics.
In 1954, Mr. Herman J. Glass, Sr., the hospital's administrator, initiated a
two-year general practice residency program. The residency program was fully
accredited by the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical
Association and the American Academy of General Practice.
The hospital became known as Milton Community Hospital before it closed in
April, 1987.
Edyth K. Thomas Memorial Hospital, Detroit, MI
(1937-1965)
Founders:
Dr. Alfred E. Thomas, Sr.
Location:
556 East Garfield
1937 (50 beds;
later expanded to 114 beds);
1950 (160 beds)
Founded by Dr. Alfred E. Thomas, Sr. in June of 1937, Edyth K. Thomas Memorial
Hospital was dedicated to the memory of his deceased daughter. Dr. Thomas, Sr.
received his M.D. degree from Meharry Medical College in 1903. He helped to organize the
Allied/Detroit Medical Society in 1917 and was its first president until 1931.
The first of the hospital's two buildings was a three-story structure devoted to
the care of medical and obstetrical cases. The second building opened in December,
1937. It had two floors, with an outpatient clinic on the second floor, and was
exclusively for the care of surgical cases. It had an operating room, X-ray
room, laboratory, and sterilizing room. The clinic was equipped with 15 beds for
those needing temporary institutionalization. |
Edyth
K. Thomas Hospital admitted 1,568 patients during its first fiscal year. By 1950 it had
the capacity to service 58 general patients and 102 psychiatric patients. Dr.
Alf Thomas, Sr. was a founder or co-founder of at least 5 of Detroit's African American
Hospitals. Edyth K. Thomas Hospital closed in 1965.
Boulevard General Hospital
Detroit, MI
(c. 1960-1974)
Founders:
Drs. Harold Johnson and
Frank Raiford, III
Location:
1852 West Grand Boulevard (100-plus beds)
The hospital was founded in the early 1960s as a non-profit community hospital
when Trinity Hospital moved from its East Vernor Highway location in Detroit to the old
Resthaven Hospital location.
Boulevard General Hospital was administered by Mr. George Allen, Detroit's first
graduate- degreed African American hospital administrator, under the direction of the
Crestwood Corporation, a group of physician investors. Co - founder Dr. Frank
Raiford, III graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1943.
Boulevard General was the largest of the four hospitals (including Burton Mercy,
Trumbull General, and Delray General) which merged in 1974 to form the Southwest Detroit
Hospital.
Rites of Passage
Drs. Charles and Roberta Wright, Rites of Passage Ceremony,
CHWMAAH, September 13, 1998
On Sunday, September 13, 1998, the Rites of Passage ceremony was
held to officially dedicate the Museum in honor of Dr. Wright. We salute our friend
and founder. May the legacy of his commitment to documenting, preserving, and educating
the public on the history, life, and culture of African Americans live forever.
National Conference
February 26, 1999
The Kellogg African American Health Care Project and the Charles H.
Wright Museum of African American History (CHWMAAH) is hosting a national conference on
the past and present state of black healthcare and blacks in the health sciences.
The conference will be held on February 26, 1999, at the CHWMAAH. |
Health Care Exhibit
The Kellogg African American Health Care Project and the Detroit Public Library
will be developing a health care exhibit of photographs and medical artifacts at the
Detroit Public Library from February - March 1999. The Detroit Medical Society, the
Walter Reuther and Bentley Historical Libraries, the CHWMAAH, and several community
residents will be working together to develop the exhibit.
We are looking to borrow small items to be displayed at the exhibit. All items
must be from the period 1900 - 1969 and represent the medical and health care history of
Southeastern Michigan. Please feel free to contact George Myers below if you have
items you would like to be part of the exhibit.
Upcoming Issues
The Winter quarterly newsletter will feature the last of the seventeen
Black-owned and operated hospitals in the Detroit Metropolitan area along with project
updates. If you would like to have any of the earlier editions, please contact:
George Myers, Research Investigator/Project Coordinator
300 North Ingalls Building,
Room 3D019
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
734-647-6918
email: gmyers@umich.edu
web address: www.med.umich.edu/haahc
Research Investigators
Norman L. Foster, M.D., Professor, University of Michigan Medical School
Harold W. Neighbors, Ph.D., Professor, University of Michigan School of Public
Health
Kellogg Project Team
George Myers
Ron Amos
Project Advisors
Vence Bonham, J.D., College of Human Medicine,
Michigan State University
Joel Howell, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, University of Michigan Medical School
Martin Pernick, Ph.D., Professor, History Dept., University of Michigan
Richard Candida Smith, Ph.D., Professor, History Dept., University of Michigan
Nicholas Steneck, Ph.D., Professor, History Dept., University of Michigan
Brian Williams, M.L.S., Associate Archivist, Bentley Historical Library, University of
Michigan
 |
Internet Web Site |
Our web site is being updated to include more information on the project,
additional links to other sites, sound bytes of selected excerpts from interviews, and
more. |
