African American Pioneers in Health Care

Celebrating February as Black History Month -

African American doctors are great contributors to the medical field and have made significant contributions in the areas of cancer, cardiology, HIV-AIDS, neurology, pathology, and radiology-just to name a few. In honor of Black History Month, AKOS salutes the great pioneers in medicine-both past and present-who tirelessly work to improve the health status of all Americans.

To name a few..

1. William Edward Allen Jr., a radiologist, was the first African American certified x-ray technician, and established the first and only African American Women’s Army Corps School for x-ray technologists.
2. Otis Boykin invented pace maker controls.
3. Phil Brooks invented the disposable syringe.
4. Benjamin S. Carson is the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the nation.
5. Rebecca J. Cole was the first African American woman to graduate from the Woman’s Medical College in PA.
6. Michael Croslin computerized blood pressure devices.
7. Charles Richard Drew developed a way to preserve blood, created the first blood bank, the American Red Cross, and developed a method to efficiently store blood plasma. He was a surgeon, medical scientist and educator.
8. Joycelyn Elders was the first African American to serve in the position of Surgeon General of the United States.
9. Solomon Carter Fuller was the nation’s first African American psychiatrist and a neurologist.
10. Myra Adele Logan was the first woman to perform open heart surery.
11. Vivien Theodore Thomas worked on experiments on surgical shock and blue baby syndrome.
12. Jane Cooke Wright developed anticancer drugs.
13. Daniel Hale Williams was the first doctor to successfully perform open-heart surgery.
14. Lonnie Robert Bristow, Physician -First African American President of the American Medical Association

And the list goes on...

Courtesy: Florida healthcare