Americus Colored Hospital
Americus, Sumter County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Americus Colored Hospital. One of the earliest hospitals in southwest Georgia devoted to the care of African-Americans, the Americus Colored Hospital opened in 1923. The majority of the funds needed to build the hospital were provided by Dr. W.S. Prather. Practice in the hospital was open to doctors of all races and so provided opportunities for black doctors, nurses, and pharmacists who were unable to practice in many hospitals throughout the South. The hospital suffered financial difficulties throughout its history, but remained in use by the African-American community until Sumter Regional Hospital was constructed under the Hill-Burton Act in 1953. 2008.12 Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and the City Federation of Colored Women Club 129-2
Erected by Georgia Historical Society
The Story
Opened in 1923 and funded largely by Dr. W.S. Prather, the Americus Colored Hospital was one of the earliest hospitals in southwest Georgia devoted to the care of African Americans. In an era when segregation barred Black physicians, nurses, and pharmacists from most Southern hospitals, it opened its practice to doctors of all races. Despite chronic financial troubles it served the community until Sumter Regional Hospital was built under the Hill-Burton Act in 1953.
Why it matters
The hospital shows how Black communities built their own institutions to secure medical care and professional opportunity under Jim Crow segregation.
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Related people
- · Dr. W.S. Prather
Related events
- · Opening of Americus Colored Hospital, 1923
Themes & tags
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