Daniel Hale Williams
| Daniel Hale Williams | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 18, 1856 Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, US |
| Died | August 4, 1931 (aged 75) Idlewild, Michigan, US |
| Fields | Cardiology |
| Institutions |
Provident Hospital Meharry Medical College Freedman's Hospital St. Lukes Hospital Cook County Hospital |
| Alma mater | Chicago Medical College |
Daniel Hale Williams (January 18, 1856 – August 4, 1931) was an African American general surgeon, who in 1893 performed the second documented successful pericardium surgery to repair a wound in the United States of America. He also founded Provident Hospital---the first non-segregated hospital in the United States---in Chicago, Illinois.
At the time that he graduated from medical school, black doctors were not allowed to work in Chicago hospitals. As a result, in 1891, Williams started the Provident Hospital and training school for nurses in Chicago, Illinois. This was established mostly for African-American citizens.
In 1893, Williams became the first black person on record to have successfully performed pericardium surgery to repair a wound. On September 6, 1891,Henry Dalton had successfully performed pericardium surgery to repair a wound with the patient fully recovering. Earlier successful surgeries to drain the pericardium, by performing a pericardiostomy were done by Francisco Romero in 1801 and Dominique Jean Larrey in 1810.
On July 10, 1893, Williams repaired the torn pericardium of a knife wound patient, James Cornish. Cornish, who was stabbed directly through the left fifth costal cartilage, had been admitted the previous night and Williams made the decision to operate the next morning in response to continued bleeding, cough and "pronounced" symptoms of shock. He performed this surgery, without the benefit of penicillin or blood transfusion, at Provident Hospital, Chicago, though it would not be reported until 1897. A second procedure was undertaken to drain fluid. About fifty days after the initial procedure, Cornish left the hospital. In 1893, during the administration of President Grover Cleveland, Williams was appointed surgeon-in-chief of Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D.C., a post he held until 1898 when he married and moved to Chicago. In addition to organizing the hospital, Williams also established a training school for African-American nurses at the facility.
...
Wikipedia