Speaker 1: Right now, it's time for our way Black History Fact.
Speaker 1: In Today's way, Black History Fact is sponsored by Major Threads.
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Speaker 1: we're going to talk about doctor Daniel Hill Williams, who
Speaker 1: has an inspiring story. He was born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania,
Speaker 1: on January eighteenth, eighteen fifty six. Daniel was the eldest
Speaker 1: son of eight children. Around the age of ten, his
Speaker 1: father died of tuberculosis. The family moved to Baltimore, Maryland
Speaker 1: to live with relatives. Daniel became a shoemaker apprentice, and
Speaker 1: he disliked the work and returned to his family's barbering business. Ultimately,
Speaker 1: Daniel decided to pursue his education. He worked as an
Speaker 1: apprentice with doctor Henry Palmer, who was considered a highly
Speaker 1: accomplished surgeon. Daniel graduated with an MD degree in eighteen
Speaker 1: eighty three at Chicago Medical College. Doctor Williams practiced medicine
Speaker 1: in Chicago at a time when there were only three
Speaker 1: other black physicians in Chicago. He also worked with the
Speaker 1: Equal Rights League, a black civil rights organization active during
Speaker 1: the Reconstruction era. Considered a thoughtful and skilled surgeon. Doctor
Speaker 1: Williams's practice grew as he treated both black and white patients.
Speaker 1: In eighteen eighty nine, he was appointed to the Illinois
Speaker 1: State Board of Health now known as the Illinois Department
Speaker 1: of Public Health and worked with medical standards and hospital rules.
Speaker 1: Doctor Williams practiced during an era when racism and discrimination
Speaker 1: prohibited African Americans from being admitted to hospitals and denied
Speaker 1: the black doctor's employment on hospital staff. To counteract this practice,
Speaker 1: doctor Williams founded the Provident Hospital and Training School for
Speaker 1: Nurses now called Provident Hospital of Cook County in Chicago.
Speaker 1: This emerged as the first hospital in the country with
Speaker 1: a nursing and intern program that hired African Americans. This
Speaker 1: hospital had the distinction of being the first medical facility
Speaker 1: to have an interracial staff. In eighteen ninety three, doctor
Speaker 1: Williams became the first surgeon to perform open heart surgery
Speaker 1: on a human. Well that's why we're talking about him today.
Speaker 1: As a black man, Doctor Williams performed the nation's first
Speaker 1: open heart surgery at the Provident Hospital in the summer
Speaker 1: of eighteen ninety three. The operation was done without X rays, antibiotics,
Speaker 1: surgical prep work or tools of modern surgery. Doctor Williams's
Speaker 1: skill placed him and Provident Hospital at the forefront of
Speaker 1: one of Chicago's medical milestones. His patient, James Cornish, survived
Speaker 1: he was discharged fifty one days after his remarkable surgery.
Speaker 1: He was considered a pioneering heart surgeon during a time
Speaker 1: when technological discoveries were revolutionizing the practice of medicine. In
Speaker 1: eighteen ninety four, doctor Williams moved to Washington, d c.
Speaker 1: Whereas chief surgeon of the Freedom Freedman's Hospital. He continued
Speaker 1: his assault on health disparities by encouraging the employment of
Speaker 1: a multi racial staff and promoting the use the advancement
Speaker 1: of surgical procedures. In eighteen ninety five, he co founded
Speaker 1: the National Medical Association, a professional organization for black medical practitioners.
Speaker 1: This organization was instituted as an alternative to the all
Speaker 1: White Medical Association that did not extend membership to black doctors.
Speaker 1: When doctor Williams left the Freedman's Hospital in eighteen ninety eight,
Speaker 1: he returned to Providence. He later moved to Cook County
Speaker 1: Hospital and then to the larger Saint Luke's. He worked
Speaker 1: at Maharry Medical College for about twenty years, beginning in
Speaker 1: eighteen ninety nine, and in nineteen thirteen he became a
Speaker 1: charter member of the American College of Surgeon. Doctor Daniel
Speaker 1: Hell Williams experienced a stroke and died five years later
Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty one. So kind of a neat story there.
Speaker 1: You know, we have a problem with heart disease, and
Speaker 1: you know all that sort of stuff in this country.
Speaker 1: And now you know that the first successful open heart
Speaker 1: surgery was performed by a black doctor who was discriminated against.