Please welcome guest author Brandy McGhee. Growing up and living in Appalachia most of her life, Brandy has strong ties to the area. After becoming and working as a nurse for 20 years Brandy became interested in the history of the Appalachian region and specifically the evolution of healthcare and nursing in Appalachia. Brandy is an assistant professor of nursing at Marshall University, which puts her in a great position to research and learn about Appalachian history. Currently, Brandy is working toward her PhD in nursing education and administration at William Carey University.

West Virginia has been dubbed one of the most “white” states in the union according to the 2020 U.S. Census. The census reports that 89.8 percent of West Virginia’s population self-identifies as white. History, however, paints a much more colorful picture of West Virginia. The diverse people living in West Virginia are more likely to live in an urban area than a rural one, which is the pattern throughout the United States. The city of Huntington, West Virginia, for example, became home to a large African American population beginning around 1910 due to the large number of job opportunities in the area.

Huntington was the location of the first African American Hospital that was founded by, run, and treated African American people. Barnett hospital was named after the founder Dr. Clinton Constantine (C.C.) Barnett, an African American physician. After the creation of National Medical Association in 1895, African American physicians and communities began creating Black hospitals to fight the increasing health disparities created by the segregation in healthcare systems.

It was common for African American individuals to be denied critical care services, primary care services, and even surgery at white hospitals. White hospitals were segregated into Black and white wings, which did not provide the same quality of care on the Black wings as in the rest of the hospital. White nurses and doctors were not permitted to care for African American patients, and there were very few African American healthcare workers to provide care, creating a very discriminatory healthcare environment.

In 1912, Barnett Hospital was opened. During the time period, many hospitals started out in a physician’s own home. Barnett hospital was no exception, starting with 25 to 30 beds and then later growing to include 50 beds. There were two operating suites used for minor and major surgeries and an x-ray facility. Barnett Hospital employed 10 physicians and eight nurses. Barnett hospital reported very low patient mortality rates and high surgical success rates when compared to its white counterparts.

Dr. Barnett married Clara B. Matthews, who happened to be a nurse. Together they saw the need for an African American nursing school. In 1918, Barnett Nursing School was opened. The Barnetts had already been contributing to the medical education of African American physicians by giving internships. At the time, African American individuals could attend certain medical schools, but many hospitals denied them hands-on training due to the segregation of African American healthcare workers and white patients. Black hospitals provided African American physicians and nurses with necessary clinical education experiences. In 1920, Barnett Nursing School was one of only 54 nursing schools in the United States that admitted African American students. Only ten of the 63 nursing schools admitting African American students were associated with an African American hospital. Aspiring African American nurses and physicians came from all over the United States to study at Barnett Hospital.

In 1928, Dr. Barnett leased Barnett Hospital to the City of Huntington. It then became City Hospital and began serving both white and Black patients. Shortly after, in 1939, City Hospital was closed for good. The historic building remains as a reminder of prosperous African American neighborhood and the perseverance, fortitude, commitment, and contributions to the Huntington community and the state of West Virginia by Dr. and Nurse Barnett.

References

Gehringer, Jennifer et. al. “Barnett Hospital and Nursing School.” Clio: Your Guide to History. January 20, 2022. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://theclio.com/entry/14666

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