Mary Starke Harper facts for kids

Mary Starke Harper (born September 6, 1919 – died July 27, 2006) was an amazing African American nurse. She worked directly with patients, did important research, and helped create new rules for health care.

Mary spent many years working for the Department of Veterans Affairs. She studied older patients with mental health needs and looked into health issues for minority groups. In 1972, Harper started the NIMH Minority Fellowship Program, which helped many students. She also advised four US presidents on mental health and health care changes. Mary passed away in 2006, having received many awards and written over 180 publications.

Early Life and Choices

Mary Starke Harper was born in Fort Mitchell, Alabama on September 6, 1919. She later moved to Phenix City. She was the oldest of seven children. As a child, she loved reading, studying, and even raising mice to sell to labs and hospitals nearby.

Her parents wanted her to become a housewife. But Mary decided to go to college instead. She first studied business at Tuskegee Institute. After her father passed away during her college years, she changed her major to nursing. She even became the private nurse for the famous scientist George Washington Carver before he died in 1943.

Mary's Education Journey

Mary Starke Harper earned her nursing diploma from Tuskegee Institute in 1941. Later in the 1940s, she applied to several bachelor's degree programs. The University of Alabama turned her down because of her race.

So, she chose to attend the University of Minnesota. At that time, no Black woman had ever graduated from their program. In 1950, she earned her bachelor's degree in education from there. In 1952, she received her master's degree with honors in nursing education and educational psychology. Mary continued her studies, earning a doctorate in medical sociology and clinical psychology from St. Louis University in 1963.

Working at Veterans Hospitals

After getting her nursing license, Harper started working as a registered nurse. Her first job was at the Tuskegee Veterans Administration Hospital. She spent more than thirty years working for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mary moved to new VA hospitals nine times during her career. In 1952, she became the nursing director at the VA in Tuskegee. As a bedside nurse, she cared for patients with serious mental illnesses. She created new hospital programs to involve family members in patient care. She also made hospital stays feel more normal by allowing patients to wear their own clothes, adjust their diets, and change their medicine plans. Later, Harper worked at VA hospitals in Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Missouri. There, she did research and taught staff how to improve treatment programs.

Her Family Life

In 1943, Mary Starke Harper married Willie F. Harper when she was 24. They had one daughter, Billye Louise Harper, in 1944.

As Mary moved to different cities for her research, her family was always her top priority. She had two main rules for moving: her husband had to get a job just as good as his old one, and the move had to happen when her daughter's school year ended. Sadly, her husband Willie died in 1963. Her daughter Billye also passed away in 1969 at the age of 25. Later, Mary's sister died. From 1972 to 1998, Mary moved to Washington, D.C. She raised her sister's three sons and cared for her elderly mother.

Research on Older Patients

Harper began her clinical research career by studying older people. She was part of several professional groups, like the American Psychological Association. In 1982, she went to the World Assembly on Aging in Vienna. There, she shared her research on long-term care for the elderly.

She found that older patients often had mental illnesses that doctors didn't notice. These patients were at risk of not getting the right treatment in care homes. Harper pointed out that giving too much medicine or having medicines react badly with each other were big problems for these patients. In 2003, she started focusing on the stress faced by caregivers. Even though family members provided 90% of long-term care for older patients, Mary realized there was no organized system to support these families.

As an African American nurse, Harper was a leader in studying health differences among racial and ethnic minorities. She showed how the health system often failed these groups. Tuskegee University created a special nursing position in her name. Also, in 2001, a hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama was named the Mary Starke Harper Geriatric Psychiatric Center in her honor. This hospital had 126 beds to care for older patients with mental illnesses.

Helping Minority Students

After working as a clinical nurse, Harper joined the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 1972. Over the next few years, she earned a senior position. At NIMH, Harper set up research centers across the country. These centers focused on improving mental health.

She started the NIH Minority Fellowship Program in 1972. Harper said her main reason for creating this program was her involvement in the Tuskegee project. Since it began in the 1970s, the program has helped educate over 12,000 doctors, scientists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and other health professionals.

Working on Health Policy

Harper worked for 28 years at the US Department of Health and Human Services. With her knowledge of mental health and aging, she advised people in all 50 US states, most US territories, and 21 other countries.

She served on White House advisory panels for four US presidents: Clinton, Reagan, Bush, and Carter. In these roles, she worked with groups like the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving. From 1979 to 1981, during President Carter's time, Harper was the director of the Office of Policy Development and Research for the White House Conference on Aging. She was the first woman to hold this title. She continued as director through Reagan's and Bush's presidencies. When President Clinton took office, Harper was key in creating the Clinton Mental Health and Public Sector Task Force for Health Care Reform. In 1995, she was also a consultant for the White House Conference on Aging.

Mary's Research Focus

Mary Starke Harper's research mainly focused on nursing for older patients and those with mental health issues. She studied depression, delirium, Alzheimer's, and giving too much medicine to older people. Harper noticed that elderly patients often received too many medications, which affected their health and social lives. She also studied older people living alone and how long-term illnesses impacted their lives.

In her mental health research, Harper focused on mental health, schizophrenia, and health care in prisons. She also studied why patients kept returning to the hospital. Harper believed that patients coming back for multiple hospital stays showed a failure in the health system and treatment plan. A key part of her research was including family members in the treatment plan. She also studied minorities in health care and fair treatment issues for minority groups.

Awards and Honors

Mary Starke Harper received many awards during her time as a nurse and researcher. Tuskegee Institute recognized Harper as the Best All Around Nurse for her studies and clinical work. In 1963, she earned the Federal Nursing Service Award. The Veterans Affairs gave Harper the Surgeon General's Medal of Honor twice for helping patients.

In 1966, Harper was honored by the Chi Eta Phi Sorority for her great achievements. In 1970, Tuskegee Institute gave her the Alumni Merit Award. In 2001, Harper won the Living Legacy Award in Aging from the American Academy of Nursing. At the ANA convention, she received the Mary Mahoney Award. This award recognized a nurse who helped create equal opportunities for minority groups.

Later Years

Mary Starke Harper lived in Washington, D.C. until 1998. Then, she moved back to Columbus, Georgia. She passed away from cancer on July 27, 2006, at 86 years old. Her important papers and writings can be found at the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.