Health
This chapter looks at the history of Provident Hospital, which had been started by Negro doctors in the late nineteenth century to address the poor health conditions among Negroes in Chicago, with particular emphasis on its role in addressing the high mortality rates due to tuberculosis on the South Side during the period. It begins with an overview of Provident Hospital, which opened in 1891 with thirteen beds and the first training school for Negro nurses in the United States, and considers some of its doctors, led by Dr. Daniel Williams. It then discusses Provident's alliance with the University of Chicago that established the hospital as a recognized educational center, along with its affiliation with the city's important social agencies through its Social Services Department. It also describes Provident's initiative to solve the problem of proper hospitalization of tuberculosis patients in Chicago through its Department of Medicine in collaboration with white physicians and social workers.