Nash is best known for her work as an advocate for children. Louis community for her commitment to excellence, tireless advocacy on behalf of children, and endless enthusiasm for the field of medicine. Louis Children’s Hospital attending staff from 1977 to 1979. In addition, she served as pediatric supervisor and associate director of Pediatrics at Homer G. At the same time, she maintained a thriving private practice. Nash served for over 40 years on the clinical faculty of Washington University School of Medicine and on the attending staff at St. As a pediatrician, Nash became a member of the house staff of St. In 1949 she was the only woman among the first four African-American physicians invited to join the staff of the Washington University School of Medicine. A three-year residency in pediatrics followed. Nash began a rotating internship there in 1945, working on twelve services in one year. Louis offering learning opportunities and clinical experience to African-American doctors. Philips Hospital, opened in 1937 as a segregated hospital, was the only hospital in St. Internships and residency opportunities were limited for non-white medical school graduates at that time. Despite harsh discrimination against black Americans and women in medicine, she was determined to become a physician, and her upbringing and education had given her the self-confidence she would need to succeed. However, once Helen made the honor roll her first semester, he accepted and supported her career choice. Her father, who received his medical degree from Meharry in 1910, was initially resistant to his daughter studying medicine. A 1942 graduate of Spelman College with high honors, Nash graduated from Meharry Medical College in Nashville in 1945. She was born in Atlanta, the third of six children. Helen Elizabeth Nash broke down racial barriers when she became the first African-American doctor to join the staff of St. They have two daughters and four grandchildren.
She and her husband, a retired dean from Washington University, live in St. Today, in her volunteer time, she enjoys tutoring young students and working with newly released ex-offenders. She grew up in Rochester, New York and graduated from Cornell University. Other recent projects include a history of lake where she and her husband have vacationed: A Gem of the Adirondacks, Garnet Lake. Using the voices of former nurses and physicians, along with in-depth research, she describes the life of the hospital known as “Homer G.,” which opened in a gala 1937 dedication and closed amid bitter controversy in 1979.Ĭurrently, she is starting work on two new books: a history of the WUSM Department of Pathology and a history of Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. Phillips Hospital (University of Missouri Press, 2021), which traces the history of the only public African-American hospital in St. In 2021, she completed a new book project, Climbing the Ladder, Chasing the Dream: The History of Homer G. Louis titled Beginning a Great Work: Washington University, 1853-2003 (2004) and A Song of Faith and Hope: The Life of Frankie Muse Freeman (2003). Louis Children’s Hospital, The First 125 Years (2006) a history of Washington University in St. Louis Children’s Hospital called Hope and Healing: St. Her recent book projects include: A Legacy of Caring: The History of Barnes-Jewish Hospital (2017) Renaissance: A History of the Central West End (2017) histories of the departments of neurology, surgery, and radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) a history of St. For more than three decades, her magazine and newspaper stories have appeared in local and national publications. She specializes in historical and medical writing and is the author of 13 books on Midwest history. Candace O’Connor is an award-winning, freelance writer and editor.