Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School charter and certificate of incorporation
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Title
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Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School charter and certificate of incorporation
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Description
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This charter and certificate of incorporation legitimized the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School in Philadelphia on April 10, 1896. The charter includes the hospital and school’s purpose, leadership, and articles and conditions. The Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School was a Black owned and operated institution existing to serve the Black community (National Library of Medicine, n.d.).
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The charter begins with the statement: “Be it Resolved, That moved by a desire to make further and better provisions than now exist, for the relief, care, medical attendance and treatment of the sick and infirm poor of the City of Philadelphia and especially the colored element of said city, as well as the necessity for better facilities to train persons to become professional nurses,” that 17 individuals will be “associat[ing] themselves for the purpose of founding and maintaining” the hospital and school.
The charter then shares 10 articles and conditions, such as: (Article 1) the name of the corporation, (Article 2) its object and mission of which is to “found and maintain a Hospital and Training School for the relief and medical attendance, care and treatment of the sick and infirm poor of the City of Philadelphia and the instruction of those desiring to become trained nurses, (Article 10) the corporation shall exist in perpetuity, and others about the conditions of leadership of the hospital and school.
It has a list of ten witness’ signatures and their addresses, as well as three seals: 1 from the Office for Recording Needs in and for the City of Philadelphia, 1 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and 1 from the Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
The Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School was a Black owned and operated institution existing to serve the Black community– from the sick to both aspiring and existing medical professionals (National Library of Medicine, n.d.). It was founded by Dr. Nathan Francis Mossell (1856-1946), who was the first African American to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1882 (Schauffler 2020; Penn Libraries University Archives & Records Center, n.d.). This location was the second Black hospital in the US, and offered “internships to Black doctors and nursing training to Black women” (Penn Libraries University Archives & Records Center, n.d.). The school received applications from “African American women from across the United States” (Markey Locklear, n.d.). The institution “helped launch the Black hospital movement” (Schauffler 2020).
The location was originally at 1512 Lombard Street with 15 beds, until in 1909 it moved to 1534 Lombard Street gaining 60 additional beds (Markey Locklear, n.d.).
In 1948, it merged with Mercy Hospital forming the Mercy-Douglass Hospital in West Philadelphia (National Library of Medicine, n.d.; Markey Locklear, n.d.). This hospital closed in 1973 due to “decades of financial strife and internal debate” (National Library of Medicine, n.d.; Markey Locklear, n.d.).
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Discover more about the hospital and its history in this WHYY video
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View the Hospital and Training School’s Historical Marker around 1522 Lombard Street in South Philadelphia
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Explore the life of Dr. Nathan Francis Mossell
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Rights
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This work is believed to be in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States. For more information, see http://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-US/1.0/
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Creator
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Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital
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Date
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1896/04/10
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Language
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eng
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Spatial Coverage
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Philadelphia, PA
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Contributor
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College of Physicians of Philadelphia
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Extent
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1 page
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Identifier
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MSS 6/001
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Date Created
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1896
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Subject
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Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School (Philadelphia, Pa.)
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Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital (Philadelphia, Pa.)
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Hospitals
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Charters
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Certificates of incorporation
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Urban health
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South Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pa.)--History
