Hospital Administrator of Sumby and Providence Hospitals; Commissioner of Hospitals

Mr. Herman J. Glass, Sr. was born July 20, 1925 to Sidney and Willie Grayson Glass in the all black town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi. He grew up on a farm with thirteen siblings, and graduated from Mound Bayou High School in 1942. Following his graduation, Mr. Glass moved to Detroit and worked for the Ford Motor Company at the River Rouge Plant until he was drafted into the Army in 1943.

Mr. Glass's career in hospital administration began in April 1948 when he accepted a job managing the 48 bed Sidney Sumby Memorial Hospital in River Rouge, Michigan. He immediately applied for accreditation, and by 1950, the hospital received full accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. Once fully accredited, Mr. Glass set about creating a general practice residency program at Sumby Memorial Hospital, which began training physicians in 1954. During his 14 year tenure at Sumby Memorial, Mr. Glass guided the evolution of the hospital from a 48 bed facility into a 100 bed fully accredited training institution.

In 1962, Mr. Glass left Sidney Sumby Memorial Hospital to oversee the completion of the new Providence Hospital and its move from Detroit to Southfield, Michigan. He served as the Assistant Administrator of this majority institution until 1969, and worked diligently to desegregate as many departments in the hospital as he could. Glass's tenure at Providence Hospital ended when Mayor Roman Gribbs appointed him the Commissioner of Hospitals for the City of Detroit, a position he filled until 1972. During his term as Commissioner of Hospitals, Mr. Glass was responsible for the administration of Detroit General Hospital on St. Antoine (later renamed Detroit Receiving Hospital and moved to the Detroit Medical Center) and the Detroit Psychiatric Institute within the Herman Kiefer Hospital complex.