Movers & Makers: The Story of Mercy-Douglass Hospital

Discover the amazing story of Mercy-Douglass Hospital, created by and for the Black community in Philadelphia. Founded in 1895, Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital, and Mercy Hospital, founded in 1907, merged to form Mercy-Douglass hospital in 1948. All three institutions were established by the Philadelphia Black community, offering care and compassion during periods when healthcare was widely segregated.

This insightful Movers and Makers special is a WHYY original and was produced in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, The College of Physicians/Mutter Museum and more. The TV special includes interviews with Barbara Bates Center Director Patricia D’Antonio, PhD, RN, and Hafeeza Anchrum, PhD, RN, CPAN, a postdoctoral fellow in the Penn Program on Race, Science and Society.

The program airs on WHYY-TV 12 on February 16 at 7:30 PM and again at 11:00 PM EST. You can view the program online beginning February 16, on the Movers & Makers website.

Movers & Makers also produced Mercy-Douglass Hospital: Preparing Philadelphia’s Early Black Nurses, which focuses on the story of the nurses of Mercy-Douglass, who were the backbone of these institutions.

This video features interviews with Dr. D’Antonio and Dr. Anchrum, and includes photos and materials from the Center’s Mercy-Douglass Hospital collection and from the Alumnae Association of Mercy-Douglass Hospital School of Nursing records.