L. Richardson Memorial Hospital was the first modern African American hospital facility in Greensboro and the only early modern hospital in the city where the original building survives. The hospital was created to meet the needs of Greensboro’s African American citizens during the days of segregation. Previously, the majority of hospitals in Greensboro were small facilities housed in house-like buildings. The first modern hospital for white citizens, St. Leo’s, opened in 1906. Richardson Memorial was preceded by two small institutions, Cordice Sanitarium which opened ca. 1914, and Trinity Hospital for Negroes, a private facility co-founded by Dr. S. P. Sebastian and opened in 1918. A larger and more modern facility for Greensboro’s African American citizens was badly needed, however. The impetus for a larger black hospital came from Charles H. Moore, a well-known teacher. Moore enlisted the help of Sebastian and other prominent members of the city’s African American community. This led to the creation of the Greensboro Negro Hospital Association on January 20, 1923. City ward leaders canvassed people house-to-house for support; support was sought among Greensboro’s white citizens as well. Moore secured the backing of C. W. Banner, a white doctor and businessman, and they started a fund-raising campaign for $100,000. Although some money was raised, it was not nearly enough. The association then formed a committee to seek help from the widow and son of Lunsford Richardson, founder of the Vick Chemical Company. The Richardson's assisted with an initial donation of $50,000 and additional gifts later.
In December, a twelve-member elected board of directors was created. Six of the board members were black and six were white, with four members each nominated by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, the Greensboro City Council, and the Association’s Board of Directors. The hospital began taking patients in May 1927. At the time of its opening, it was the best-constructed and best-equipped hospital in Greensboro, with sixty beds, and with x-ray machinery and operating equipment provided via a monetary donation. A nursing school was established at the hospital in 1929. It closed in 1954 as an independent entity and merged with the nursing program at North Carolina A&T College.
In 1934, the Greensboro Negro Hospital Association was renamed the L. Richardson Memorial Hospital, after Lunsford Richardson. Until the 1960s, African American citizens in Greensboro had hospital access only to Richardson Memorial until the Simkins v. Cone case led to the integration of hospitals. As a result, during its early history, the number of patients rose dramatically from the 1930s on. In 1935 the hospital treated 900 patients; by 1955 the number had grown to 5,325 patients. Renovations were made to the original to add new patient beds and new equipment. Much of the funding of the hospital was dependent on support from organizations such as the Duke Foundation and charitable contributions.
L. Richardson Memorial Hospital continued operations at its original location on the South Benbow Road until June 1966. It reopened at a new location on Southside Boulevard that same year. Ironically, Simkins v. Cone led to the slow demise of the hospital, as many patients switched to integrated facilities. Financial problems mounted as the number of patients declined. The hospital continued to operate as an independent local hospital devoted to the needs of the African American community until April 1994, following its purchase by the Louisville-based corporation Vencor in December of the previous year. The new corporate management renamed the facility Vencor Greensboro. It provided specialized care for the chronically ill. Following Vencor’s emergence from bankruptcy in 2001, the corporation changed its name to Kindred Healthcare. Today, the building is operated under the name Kindred Hospital.
REFERENCES:
William H. Chafe, Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom (New York: Oxford University Press, 1980)
Wilson Elkins, “The History of L. Richardson Memorial Hospital Greensboro, North Carolina,” Journal of the National Medical Association, Vol. 61, No. 3 (May 1969): 205-212.
“Kindred Healthcare,” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindred_Healthcare .
Kindred Hospital Greensboro website, https://www.kindredhealthcare.com/locations/transitional-care-hospitals/kindred-hospital-greensboro .
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, L. Richardson Memorial Hospital.
Robert L. Phillips, History of the Hospitals in Greensboro, North Carolina: Including Sanitariums, Infirmaries and Institutes (Greensboro: Printworks, 1996)
P. Preston Reynolds, “Hospitals and Civil Rights, 1945-1963: The Case of Simkins v Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital,” Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 126, No. 11 (June 1, 1997):898-906.
Jim Schlosser, “The March of Medicine in Greensboro,” News & Record, September 18, 1996, https://www.greensboro.com/the-march-of-medicine-in-greensboro/article_023e54f2-ca30-5030-9060-27ac25163de8.html .
S. P. Sebastian, “The L. Richardson Memorial Hospital Greensboro, N.C.,” Journal of the National Medical Association, Vol. 22, No. 3 (July-September 1930): 142-143.