New England Hospital for Women and Children facts for kids
Quick facts for kids New England Hospital for Women and Children |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Geography | |
| Location | Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States |
| Coordinates | 42°19′10.9″N 71°5′53.4″W / 42.319694°N 71.098167°W |
The New England Hospital for Women and Children was started by Marie Zakrzewska on July 1, 1862. The hospital aimed to give patients good female doctors. It also wanted to teach women how to study medicine. Another goal was to train nurses to care for sick people.
Until 1951, the hospital only treated women. Then, it was renamed the New England Hospital to include male patients. The hospital changed its name again in 1969 to the Dimock Community Health Center. Today, this center offers many health services. These include care for adults and children, women's health, and special care for HIV/AIDS.
How the Hospital Started
Marie Zakrzewska was born in Berlin on September 9, 1829. She once wrote that she wanted to be remembered as "a woman who was willing to work for the elevation of woman." She certainly did this by starting the hospital.
When she was a child, Marie often went with her mother to the school of midwifery. Her mother worked there as a midwife. At 18, Marie tried to study midwifery, which was the only medical field women could work in. She applied to the Royal Charité Hospital in Berlin but was turned down. She kept applying at ages 19 and 20, but still faced rejection. Finally, Dr. Joseph Hermann Schmidt, who worked at the school, used his influence to help her get in. After studying, she moved to America, where women were allowed to be doctors.
In New York, Marie met Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. Dr. Blackwell helped Marie become a doctor. Together, they opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children on May 1, 1857. This experience led Marie to Boston. She met with the board at the New England Female College. They offered her a job as a professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children. She also became the head of their clinical program.
Marie later left that job. With help from members of the New England Female College board, she opened her own hospital. Key supporters included Ednah D. Cheney and Lucy Goddard, who were legal sponsors. Mrs. George G. Lee gave $3000, and Samuel E. Sewall donated $1000. With their help, the New England Hospital for Women and Children opened on July 1, 1862.
Early Years of the Hospital
The hospital had three main goals. First, it wanted to give women medical help from skilled female doctors. Second, it aimed to help educated women learn medicine in a practical way. Third, it planned to train nurses to care for sick people. Marie Zakrzewska was dedicated to providing care for pregnant women. She helped everyone, no matter their race or how much money they had.
When the hospital first opened, the staff was small. It included Marie Zakrzewska, two interns, and two consulting doctors. By 1900, the hospital had grown. It had a resident doctor, 54 doctors who attended, assisted, or advised, and 13 consulting doctors.
For many years, only women worked as staff and doctors. This changed in 1950 because the hospital needed more money. The board decided to allow men to work there. However, in 1952, the policy changed back to only allowing women on staff. This rule was changed for the last time in 1962. New rules were written, allowing both men and women to work at the hospital.
In 1864, the state of Massachusetts gave the hospital $5000. This money helped the hospital grow along Pleasant Street. By the end of 1864, the hospital also bought land behind its main building. This allowed the hospital to be split into three parts: a hospital, a place for outpatients (a dispensary), and a place for patients who stayed overnight.
In 1865, Dr. Anita Tyng was hired as a surgeon. She was the first woman in the United States to be officially listed as a surgeon by a hospital. She was also one of the women who wrote to the founder of MIT in 1867. They asked to "continue the study of Chemistry in the Technological Institute." Dr. Fanny Berlin, who later became the hospital's chief surgeon, was also one of the first Jewish-American women to practice surgery in the US.
In 1872, the hospital moved to Codman Avenue in Roxbury. The dispensary, which treated outpatients, stayed in central Boston. The new hospital opened a nursing school. This was the first nursing school in America. The first American-trained nurse, Linda Richards (who graduated in 1873), and the first African American-trained nurse, Mary Eliza Mahoney (who graduated in 1879), both trained there. The nursing school closed in 1951.
The hospital continued to focus on women and children until 1951. That year, it was renamed the New England Hospital. This change showed that it was now open to men as well as women and children. The decision to treat men also came from the hospital's money problems.
The Dimock Center Today
In 1969, the hospital changed its name again. It became The Dimock Community Health Center. It was named after Susan Dimock, a resident doctor and surgeon at the hospital. She sadly drowned in a shipwreck on May 7, 1875, when she was 28 years old.
Because of its long history, the clinic's buildings are recognized as a National Historic Landmark. This means they are very important historical places. All the buildings at the Dimock Center are named after women.
The Dimock Center is located on a historic nine-acre campus in the Egleston Square area of Roxbury, Massachusetts. It also has several other locations. The center provides many healthcare and human services. These include primary care for adults and children, women's healthcare, eye and dental care, and special care for HIV/AIDS. They also offer mental health services, housing programs, and a shelter for families called The Mary Eliza Mahoney House. The center also has pre-school and Head Start programs, after-school programs, and adult education and job training.
See also
- Susan Dimock
- Mary Eliza Mahoney
- Hannah Myrick
- Women in medicine
- Marie Elizabeth Zakrzewska
- Helen Morton (physician)
