Helen Rodríguez Trías facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helen Rodríguez Trías
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The first Latina president of The American Public Health Association
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| Born | July 7, 1929 New York City, United States
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| Died | December 27, 2001 (aged 72) Santa Cruz, California, United States
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| Nationality | Puerto Rican |
| Occupation | Pediatrician, educator, activist |
Helen Rodríguez Trías (born July 7, 1929 – died December 27, 2001) was an American doctor who specialized in children's health (a pediatrician). She was also a teacher and a strong supporter of women's rights. Helen made history as the first Latina president of the American Public Health Association (APHA). She also helped start the Women's Caucus within the APHA. For her important work, she received the Presidential Citizens Medal. Helen is remembered for helping to improve health care for women and children, especially those from diverse backgrounds and lower-income families, all over the world.
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Growing Up in New York
Helen Rodríguez Trías's parents moved to New York City from Puerto Rico in the early 1900s. Helen was born in New York in 1929. Her family then moved back to Puerto Rico for a while. But in 1939, they returned to New York. Helen chose to study medicine because it combined her two favorite things: science and helping people.
In New York, Helen faced unfair treatment because of her background. At school, even though she had good grades and spoke English well, she was put in a class for students with learning difficulties. After she performed a poem, her teacher realized how smart she was. Helen was then moved to a class for gifted children.
Becoming a Doctor and Activist
Helen's mother was a teacher in Puerto Rico. But in New York, she couldn't get a teaching license. So, she rented out rooms in their home to make enough money. After high school, Helen wanted to study medicine. She felt her chances were better in Puerto Rico because the island had good scholarships.
In 1948, she started college at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan. The university had a strong movement for Puerto Rico's independence. Helen joined the student group that supported the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. A leader named Don Pedro Albizu Campos was invited to speak. However, the university's leader, Jaime Rexach Benítez, did not let him on campus.
Because of this, the students went on strike, and Helen joined them. Her brother did not agree with her actions. He threatened to stop paying for her college, so she went back to New York.
In New York, Helen got married and had three children. Later, she decided to go back to Puerto Rico to finish her degree. At the University of Puerto Rico, she became a student leader. She spoke up for things like freedom of speech and Puerto Rican independence.
She earned her first degree in 1957. Then, she entered the university's medical school. She became a doctor in 1960, when she was 31. Soon after, she had her fourth child. During her training at the University Hospital in San Juan, she created the first center for newborn babies in Puerto Rico. This center helped cut the death rate for newborns by half in just three years. After finishing her training, she started her own practice as a pediatrician. She later divorced her husband and moved back to New York in 1970. She said that her marriage and divorce helped her grow as a person.
A Career in Medicine
Helen Rodríguez Trías became the head of the pediatrics department at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx. At Lincoln Hospital, she pushed for all staff members to have a say in how the hospital was run and how patients were cared for. She also worked closely with the Puerto Rican community. She encouraged health care workers to understand the culture and needs of the people they served.
Helen was also a professor of medicine. She taught at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, and later at Columbia and Fordham universities.
Fighting for Women's Health
Helen Rodríguez Trías is known for helping to expand health care services for women and children. She worked with people from different backgrounds and those with lower incomes. Her work helped people in the United States, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
In the 1980s, Helen was the medical director of the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. She worked to help women from minority groups who had HIV. In the 1990s, she was a health co-director at the Pacific Institute for Women's Health. This group worked to improve women's health around the world, especially focusing on reproductive health.
She was a founding member of both the Women's Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus of the American Public Health Association (APHA). She also became the first Latina to be the president of the APHA.
Later Life and Legacy
Helen Rodríguez Trías once said that her greatest inspiration came from her own mother, aunts, and sisters. She saw how they faced many challenges but still tried to achieve their dreams. Another person who inspired her was Dr. Jose Sifontes, a professor at her medical school. He was a leader in treating childhood tuberculosis. Helen said Dr. Sifontes understood how events in a community affect its health. These mentors helped shape Helen into a major contributor to science and health.
On January 8, 2001, President Bill Clinton gave Helen Rodríguez Trías the Presidential Citizen's Medal. This is the second-highest award a civilian can receive in the United States. She received it for her work helping women, children, people with HIV and AIDS, and those who were poor. Later that year, on December 27, Helen passed away from cancer.
On July 7, 2018, which would have been her 89th birthday, Google honored Helen with a special Google Doodle in the United States. In 2019, Chirlane McCray announced that New York City would build a statue honoring Helen Rodríguez Trías. The statue will be in St. Mary's Park, near Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx.
Helen Rodríguez Trías left behind an important legacy. Her own words explain it best:
We need health, but above all we need to create a grounding for healthy public policy that redresses and salvages the growing inequities. We cannot achieve a healthier us without achieving a healthier, more equitable health care system, and ultimately, a more equitable society.
