Posted on Sep 30, 2023
A century ago, Black WWI vets demanded better care. They got their own VA hospital
438
24
6
9
9
0
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/29/ [login to see] /tuskegee-alabama-va-hospital-black-veterans-centennial
The sprawling leafy Tuskegee VA spans more than 400 acres, and operates like a mini-city. There are outpatient medical clinics, a nursing home, a psychiatric hospital, and a mental health residential treatment program. It also has its own fire station, baseball stadium, bowling alley, and chapel that chimes on the hour.
Some of the buildings here date back a century, to a time when Black soldiers returning from World War I, found healthcare hard to come by in the U.S.
"I kind of think of this as where health equity for veterans began," says Amir Farooqi, director of the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System, which includes this Tuskegee campus.
The sprawling leafy Tuskegee VA spans more than 400 acres, and operates like a mini-city. There are outpatient medical clinics, a nursing home, a psychiatric hospital, and a mental health residential treatment program. It also has its own fire station, baseball stadium, bowling alley, and chapel that chimes on the hour.
Some of the buildings here date back a century, to a time when Black soldiers returning from World War I, found healthcare hard to come by in the U.S.
"I kind of think of this as where health equity for veterans began," says Amir Farooqi, director of the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System, which includes this Tuskegee campus.
A century ago, Black WWI vets demanded better care. They got their own VA hospital
Posted from npr.org
Tuskegee University
Medical
Health
WWI
American History
Posted 7 mo ago
Responses: 4
3
3
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"The federal government pledged to build the Tuskegee hospital after mounting pressure from a national campaign by veterans, the Black medical community, the NAACP, and Black newspapers. It opened in 1923 with 600 beds and 250 patients, with a focus on treating tuberculosis and "shell shock.""
"The federal government pledged to build the Tuskegee hospital after mounting pressure from a national campaign by veterans, the Black medical community, the NAACP, and Black newspapers. It opened in 1923 with 600 beds and 250 patients, with a focus on treating tuberculosis and "shell shock.""
(3)
(0)
3
3
0
1
1
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google