Millie E. Hale Hospital

The Millie E. Hale Hospital was a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee that served African-American patients. It was the first hospital to serve black patients year-round. The hospital was opened by a husband and wife team, Dr. John Henry Hale and Millie E. Hale in July of 1916. The couple first turned their home into a hospital that would grow to house 75 patients by 1923. In addition to the hospital, there was a community center and ladies' auxiliary that provided health services and also recreational and charity work to the black community. The hospital also provided parks for children who had no park to use in the Jim Crow era. In 1938, the hospital closed its doors, but some social services continued afterwards.

Millie E. Hale Hospital
Millie E. Hale Hospital in 1917
Geography
Location	523 7th Avenue, South, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Coordinates	36.153449°N 86.777842°W / 36.153449; -86.777842
Organization
Type	Specialist
Affiliated university	Meharry Medical College
Patron	Dr. John Henry Hale and Millie E. Hale
Services
Beds	75
Speciality	African-American patients
History
Opened	July 1916
Closed	1938
Links
Lists	Hospitals in Tennessee

History

The Millie E. Hale Hospital was the first hospital to serve African-Americans year-round.[1][2] The hospital was opened in Nashville, Tennessee in July of 1916 by a husband and wife team, Dr. John Henry Hale and Millie Essie Gibson Hale.[3][4] Millie Hale served as the both the hospital administrator and head nurse.[4] Her husband worked as the chief surgeon.[5]

When the hospital first opened, it had 12 beds and two nurses.[1] It was located on the second floor of the Hales' own home and eventually, the hospital took over the entire home.[6] It also included a community center.[6] By 1923, the hospital had 23 beds.[4] Also by 1923, the hospital had seen around 7,000 patients and helped feed and provide clothing for many of these.[2] Twenty-six nurses were employed at the hospital and the mortality rate for surgeries performed there was low.[5] Eventually, the hospital had 75 beds and also included rooms dedicated to specializations such as a surgery room and a maternity ward.[6] The American College of Surgeons "fully recognized" the hospital.[7] The hospital also helped train nurses from Meharry Medical College, giving them practical experience.[4][8]

The hospital's community center, which was also once a house owned by the Hales, included a free clinic and dispensary.[6][9] The center also provided classes related to healthcare and childcare.[6] In addition to providing education and practical needs, the community center screened movies and held concerts.[4]

The ladies' auxiliary of the hospital helped provide food, clothing and companionship to the poor and the sick in the city.[10] The auxiliary helped maintain the many social service programs provided by the hospital.[5] The auxiliary also helped find foster homes for children.[11] They also provided job-training programs for young women and assistance to women who were facing financial hardship.[11]

Because there were no parks that black people could use in Nashville during the Jim Crow era, Millie Hale purchased 4 plots of land that were turned into playgrounds and recreational space.[5] Hale staffed the parks with a director and nurse.[5] Boys' and girls' clubs were organized.[11]

The hospital closed in 1938 when Dr. John Henry Hale was appointed the chief of surgery at Meharry Medical College.[3][12] Millie E. Hale had died in 1930.[12] While the hospital closed, the social services the hospital had provided continued to serve the community after 1938.[11]

See also

• African Americans in Tennessee

References

1. Rice, Mitchell F.; Rice, Mitchell F.; Jones, Woodrow (1994). Public Policy and the Black Hospital: From Slavery to Segregation to Integration. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-313-26309-5.
2. Hart-Brothers, Elaine (1994). "Contributions of Women of Color to the Health Care of America". In Friedman, Emily (ed.). An Unfinished Revolution: Women and Health Care in America. Friedman, Emily. New York: United Hospital Fund of New York. p. 208. ISBN 1-881277-17-8. OCLC 29877915.
3. Lovett, Bobby L. (1999). The African-American History of Nashville, Tennessee, 1780-1930: Elites and Dilemmas. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1-55728-556-0.
4. Pethel, Mary Ellen (2015). "Lift Every Female Voice: Education and Activism in Nashville's African American Community, 1870-1940". In Bond, Beverly Greene; Freeman, Sarah Wilkerson (eds.). Tennessee Women: Their Lives and Times--Volume 2. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-8203-3743-2 – via JSTOR.
5. Ragland, John Marshall (December 1923). "A Hospital for Negroes With a Social Service Program". Opportunity. 1 (12): 370–371.
6. "John Henry & Millie E. Hale". The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
7. "Millie E. Hale Hospital". The Tennessean. 1928-10-28. p. 55. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Ward, Thomas J. (2010). Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South. University of Arkansas Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-61075-072-1. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-20 – via Project MUSE.
9. Zepp, George (2003-05-21). "Hale Hospital Nurtured Thousands of City's Blacks". The Tennessean. p. 22. Archived from the original on 2020-06-20. Retrieved 2020-06-20 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "On Saturday of Christmas week,". Nashville Banner. 1923-01-14. p. 9. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-20 – via Internet Archive.
11. Neverdon-Morton, Cynthia (1989). Afro-American Women of the South and the Advancement of the Race, 1895-1925. University of Tennessee Press. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-87049-684-4.
12. Biddle-Douglass, Teresa (1 March 2018). "Millie E. Hale". Tennessee Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-20.