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Robert Lee oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 1 hour and 35 minutes.

Robert Lee discusses his work as Assistant Dean for Minority Student Affairs at Washington University School of Medicine and his efforts to increase recruitment, admission, and retention of Black students and students from other minority groups.

Lee begins by discussing how he came to work at Washington University and his early years as the Coordinator for Minority Student Affairs. He discusses changes in how the School of Medicine recruited students from minority groups and supported students who enrolled, and how he worked to build credibility for the programs he implemented.

Lee then relates how Black faculty and students were historically obstructed from joining the school, and how segregation affected patient care and treatment at Barnes Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. He addresses how health care for the Black community has changed since the closure of Homer G. Phillips Hospital.

Next, Lee discusses local and national recruitment strategies and the relationships he and his department have built with historically Black colleges and universities as well as predominantly white institutions. He addresses how tuition plays a role in attracting students from underrepresented minority groups and what strategies they have taken to create scholarship programs. He explains that John Schultz, John Herweg, John Walters, Howard Phillip Venable, and John Anderson played a significant role in recruiting Black students before he was hired.

John C. Herweg oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 45 minutes.

John Herweg discusses the segregated wards for Black patients in Barnes Hospital and the desegregation of St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

Herweg begins by relating the experiences of medical students at Washington University when he was a student in the 1940s, and compares those experiences with contemporary students. He explains how medical students were assigned patients in one of the segregated ward at Barnes, Ward 0400, and the similarities and differences between the wards for white and Black patients.

Herweg then relates the events that led to the removal of the Black wards and desegregation at Children’s Hospital. He discusses his involvement in the desegregation of the medical school and the first Black students to enroll, including the first post-graduate student in 1947. He also explains how the medical school attracts and retains Black students, and what measures have been put in place to help Black students succeed.

William M. Landau oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 67 minutes.

As background to the desegregation of hospitals and Washington University School of Medicine, Landau discusses his experiences with segregation in St. Louis as a child, and as medical student, house officer, and resident at Barnes Hospital and the school of medicine. He mentions figures who played a role in desegregation, including David Goldring, Alexis Hartmann, Sr., and Park White, and discusses the obstruction to integration at Barnes from Frank Bradley, the director of the hospital, and the board of trustees. Landau also discusses the desegregation of the school of medicine.

John C. Herweg oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 44 minutes.

John Herweg discusses federal grant programs for attracting minority students, and admissions procedures for Washington University School of Medicine, and how the school has and has not been successful in attracting and retaining Black students and students from other minority groups.

Herweg begins by clarifying the medical school’s commitment to the recruitment and education program for minority students and further explaining capitation grants, both of which he discussed in his first interview. He then discusses the federal grant programs for minority students available in the 1970s.

Herweg next explains the admissions criteria for the medical school, how applications are reviewed, and how the number of applications from Black and other minority students has changed over time. He addresses the fact that the applicant pool of Black students has increased but the number of Black students enrolled has remained fairly stable. He then discusses the university’s commitment to students from other minority groups, and how it can attract them. He closes by saying he believes that the school is on the brink of a leap forward and then gives his thoughts on the future of the school.

Lawrence I. Kahn oral history transcript, “PJ White”

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 35 minutes.

Please note that the interview transcript was edited by Dr. Kahn into an essay format and so there is some discrepancy between the audio recording and final transcript.

Lawrence Kahn discusses his memories of Park Jerauld White, a pediatrician who served as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University Medical School and the Director of Pediatrics at Homer G. Phillips Hospital.

Kahn describes White’s professional practice, which Kahn joined, and White’s care for his patients. He relates White’s experiences at Harvard University and later the relationship White had with his family. Kahn then discusses White’s role at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. He also relates the role David Goldring and Alexis Hartmann played in desegregating St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and comments on the segregated ward for Black patients at Children’s Hospital, the Butler Ward.

Julian C. Mosley, Jr. oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 57 minutes.

Julian Mosley, the second Black student to graduate from Washington University School of Medicine, discusses his experiences as a student in the 1960s and recruitment strategies and programs for students from minority groups.

He begins by explaining why he decided to come to Washington University. He discusses the other Black students in his class and his efforts to recruit more Black students to the medical school. Mosley also discusses the work of Robert Lee as Assistant Dean for Minority Student Affairs and his success at recruiting students. He addresses specific efforts on the part of Lee, other students, and the university that supported minority students, including tutoring and individualized programs.

Mosley next discusses the Wessler Committee and later, their recommendations. He addresses the lack of Black professors at Washington University and at the medical school, and the lack of Black students in the residency programs. He also discusses the effects of the Supreme Court case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke on minority student recruitment.

He discusses his experience with integration in high school in East St. Louis, in the Air Force Academy, and at Washington University, and his experiences with professional societies and student medical associations and programs.

Lastly, Mosley explains what he believes needs to be done to recruit more Black graduate students and faculty, and gives his thoughts for the future.

Paul N. Saunders oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 64 minutes.

Paul Saunders discusses the suit he and others filed against Barnes Hospital in 1978 for civil rights violations, as well as the state of health care policy and health care for Black people in St. Louis.

Saunders discusses the policy for “geographic separation of patients” at Barnes Hospital’s Maternity Hospital, initiated by hospital director Robert Frank in 1978, and the suit Saunders and others filed with the Missouri Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

He addresses hospital policies and procedures which create informal segregation, and the effects of white flight on medical care in St. Louis, particularly for indigent patients. He discusses the need for national health insurance, and barriers created by the current health care system for Black patients.

Howard Phillip Venable oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 1 hour and 16 minutes.

Please note that some of Venable’s statements contain ambiguities that the interviewers were unable to verify.

Howard Phillip Venable discusses his experience at Homer G. Phillips Hospital, the desegregation of hospitals in St. Louis, his work with students, and his experience with housing discrimination.

Venable describes how he came to work at Homer G. Phillips Hospital and the segregation of medical care and medical education in St. Louis in the 1930s and 1940s. He explains the connections between Homer Phillips, Washington University, and St. Louis University, and discusses the doctors from Washington University and Barnes Hospital who came to Homer Phillips. Venable also relates his work identifying ophthalmological differences between Black and white patients.

He addresses his role in desegregating an ophthalmology society in St. Louis, the housing discrimination he faced in Creve Coeur and his case against the city, and the part he played in the desegregation of St. Louis hospitals. He relates his experience as a Black doctor before Barnes integrated, and the white patients he saw at his private practice. He also discusses the closure of Homer Phillips and the differences between Homer Phillips and Max Sarkloff Hospital (City Hospital No. 1).

Venable discusses the establishment of the Katie and Howard Phillip Venable Student Research Fund in Ophthalmology and his experience as an associate examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology. He also explains what he thinks should be done to get more Black students into medical school.

David Goldring oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 19 minutes.

David Goldring relates stories he heard and his own experience with the admission of Black children to St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

He begins with stories he heard about the attitudes of chiefs of pediatrics, hospital administrators, and hospital board toward the admission of Black children to Children’s Hospital. Goldring discusses John Howland, who was the first chief of pediatrics at the hospital, and how Howland left after 6 months because the hospital board was opposed to the admission of Black children. This situation changed when St. Louis Children's Hospital opened the Butler Ward, a segregated ward for Black children in 1923.

Goldring then relates a story from his time as a resident in 1941-1944. He says that one night, a Black child needed an incubator and there were none available in the Butler ward, so Goldring admitted him to the infant ward. An administrator called the chief of pediatrics, Alexis Hartmann Sr., to report it, but Hartmann let the admission stand. Goldring next briefly discusses the integration of the staff of Children's Hospital.

He relates the role of Park J. White played in training Black interns and residents at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. Goldring later discusses the differences between working at Children’s Hospital and Homer Phillips, and the closure of Homer Phillips.

Samuel B. Guze oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 49 minutes.

Samuel Guze discusses his experience with segregation and desegregation of Barnes Hospital, Renard Hospital, as well as its psychiatric service and unit. He guesses the psychiatric service desegregated the Barnes Hospital psychiatric unit in October 1953.

He describes the desegregation of Washington University School of Medicine. He says the Executive Faculty gave the admissions committee discretion in flexible criteria for admission for those with disadvantaged educational background. Roy Vagelos of biochemistry was a key player on the executive faculty along with John Herweg, who headed the admissions committee starting in the early 1960s. Guze recalled that the first African American medical student admitted had difficulty and the second had no difficulty, but the Executive Faculty wanted more African Americans admitted and numbers did not start to go up significantly until about 1968. Guze says this was due to the hiring of Robert Lee, Assistant Dean for Minority Affairs.

Guze discusses the parallel but related desegregation of the St. Louis City Hospital and health care systems. He notes that the segregated city healthcare system included two large general hospitals, Homer G. Phillips Hospital for Blacks and the older St. Louis City Hospital No. 1 for whites. He explains that there was one psychiatric unit at the Malcolm Bliss Center for whites and a separate psychiatric unit for Blacks run by Black psychiatrists at Homer G. Phillips. Guze recalls the teaching arrangement with Homer G. Phillips was less complete and depended on personal relationships in each service. Guze notes that desegregation of both facilities led the city to evaluate whether the city needed two large general hospital complexes. A group of Black physicians approached Guze in the 1970s about an affiliation, but Guze insisted on conditions that Homer G. Phillips was not prepared to meet then, including the right to appoint medical staff.

Michael M. Karl oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 11 minutes.

Michael Karl discusses the ways in which hospitals were segregated in St. Louis when he first came to the city in the 1930s, and how the desegregation of Barnes Hospital came about.

Karl begins by addressing the status of segregated medical facilities in St. Louis in the early 1930s and 1940s and then discusses the desegregation of Barnes Hospital and the elimination of the segregated wards for Black patients, Wards 0300 and 0400. He remarks on the role the hospital boards played in preventing the hospital from desegregating, and the similarities and differences between the Black and white wards.

Karl also discusses the high level of medical care for Black patients at Barnes Hospital and some Black physicians who worked at Barnes.

He says he believes Barnes was integrated in 1962, however the exact date when the hospital was fully integrated is not known.

Ella B. Brown oral history transcript

An interview of the Washington University Medical Center Desegregation History Project, conducted by Edwin W. McCleskey and associates, 1990. Approximate Length: 22 minutes.

Please note that edits made by Brown have been incorporated into the interview transcript so there is some discrepancy between the audio recording and the final transcript.

Ella Brown discusses her experiences at Homer G. Phillips Hospital, where she served as director of nursing service at the time of its closure, and the effect the closing of the hospital had on health care for the Black community.

Brown relates her memories of the closure of Homer G. Phillips Hospital and the pain she felt. She discusses the political and economic issues at play, and later explains the logistics involved in closing the hospital and provides details from its last day of operation.

She also discusses the connection between the hospital and Washington University, and the merger of the Homer G. Phillips School of Nursing with St. Louis City Hospital Training School for Nurses in 1966.

Marcia Levetown oral history transcript.

As an intensivist, Dr. Levetown noted three things: 1. a large proportion of critically ill kids were actually “chronically dying.” 2. families’ information about their child’s condition was incomplete or inaccurate and, feeding unrealistic hopes and influencing decisions based on outcomes that “were really not on the table.” And 3. family units were often overwhelmed by the child’s illness, too often leaving the family unit in varying levels of social, physical, mental, and emotion ruin.

Dr. Levetown described her early experience with palliative care and hospice, her involvement with several research projects on reforming the culture of death at the academic level, the history of pediatric palliative care as a field and some of the early challenges implementing palliative care in a hospital setting. T he profound gratitude of patients’ families whom she accompanied through the end of life was an important counterbalance to the experience of being shunned by colleagues, who had dubbed her “Doctor Death.”

Dr. Levetown identifies several persistent barriers to pediatric palliative care, including funding, professional acceptance, availability/capacity of clinicians, and burdens on patient-family, such as time, effort, transportation, and funds. Dr. Levetown then explains with her vision of expanding both physical and financial accessibility of pediatric palliative services, community integration of palliative services, and revitalizing explorations into the biopsychosocial life stages of children and adolescents that have life-limiting conditions.

Levetown, Marcia

Pamela Hinds oral history transcript.

Dr. Pamela Hinds begins by identifying some early experiences in her nursing career that led her towards a career in pediatric palliative care. She recalls some of the challenges of funding research and reframing some of the discipline’s stigma around child-death from “physician failure” to a patient and family-informed process of the bio-psycho-social changes that were happening to the child. Dr. Hinds goes on to describe some of the successes in pediatric palliative care being the cultivation of the multi-disciplinary then interdisciplinary team approach as well as the changes in the relationship between providers and families. Dr Hinds describes the on-going challenges in pediatric palliative care being credibility, funding, and policy, but she relays her excitement to continue to help develop this specialty into a vision of patient-first advocacy and patient choice.

Hinds, Pamela

Gary Walco oral history transcript.

Dr. Walco discusses his career beginnings in pediatric pain medicine. He describes field observations of “barbaric” practices that were founded on the notion that children did not experience pain the same way adults do. Dr. Walco recounts some landmark events in the 1980s and 1990s that gained public notoriety and aided in developing the field of pediatric pain medicine, including the Jeffrey Lawson case-study of a premature baby who was administered thoracic surgery while awake and conscious. Dr. Walco then describes early experiences in a field with general disregard for the pain and suffering ofpediatric patients. The need for pediatric health care advocacy drove him to connect with other health care providers to investigate multi-disciplinary, multi-organizational level solutions to improving the quality of life for pediatric patients. Dr. Walco describes the barriers and successes he has experienced in pain medicine as the sub-specialty has evolved in the last thirty-five years. Dr. Walco also describes the vision he seeks to achieve within pediatric pain medicine, as well as the work he is doing to continue to advance the field in establishing the best evidence-based practices.

Walco, Gary

Stephen Connor oral history transcript.

Dr. Stephen Connor begins by describing some of his early professional experiences and mentors who supported him as he developed his interest in death and dying. Dr. Connor explains that after several “epiphany moments” and observing some of the death and dying practices abroad, he and several other like-minded professionals said: “You know, really, we should just start a hospice.” Dr. Connor then describes his early professional experiences of co-founding some of the earliest hospice programs in the United States, which drove his career from local hospice programming to national programming and finally into the international programming, research, publications, and evidence-based practices for the new fledgling field of children’s palliative care. Dr. Connor shares stories of pivotal moments from his career journey, which spans from the beginning of the pediatric palliative field, through the HIV/AIDS pandemic, all the way to the present. He explores multiple topics such as pain management, policy, program design as they relate to palliative care across the lifespan and from domestic to global socio-economic and techno-political differences. Dr. Connor explains the many ways children’s palliative care has changed since the field developed, as well as some of the barriers and successes he’s seen. Dr. Connor concludes with his goals for the future of pediatric palliative care to be accessible, policy protected, and serving the need for bereavement services.

Connor, Stephen

Charles Corr oral history transcript.

Dr. Charles Corr begins by explaining how his career in pediatric death, dying, and bereavement began “almost accidently” as he stepped into the instructor role of a death and dying course in the mid-1970s. After that experience, Dr. Corr focused more on teaching classes on children and dying and gathering experiences alongside clinicians in the pediatric palliative field. He explains that as a trained academic writer, he was grateful when pediatric clinicians, patients, and families allowed him to share in their experiences and write them up. Dr. Corr goes on to describe the changes he’s experienced in the field that have removed some of the barriers he experienced in his early career, as well as the strengths of the multidimensional care he has experienced in the field. Dr. Corr ends by identifying patient transitions and seamless care models for patients, especially those that age out of pediatric care, as next frontier for this field.

Corr, Charles

Joan Marston oral history transcript.

Ms. Marston introduces her career beginnings as a response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa and describes some of the memorable experiences with youth she cared for. She explains her role in the initial implementation of pediatric palliative day care and home care as well as some of the challenges around growing provider, political, and community education in South Africa. Ms. Marston then talks about her international experiences meeting other in pioneers in the pediatric palliative care field. She touches on her work in developing hospice programs as well as some of the global challenges she’s experienced while establishing palliative care programs. Ms. Marston then goes on to itemize some of the challenges she’s faced in her career and successful methods to counteract those barriers. She concludes with her vison of child palliative care to be integrated into universal health coverage and “accessible to every child’s needs.”

Marston, Joan

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