Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Mercy- Douglass nurses, who led the way to integrate Pennsylvania's healthcare system. In the 1940s and 1950s, there were few nursing programs available to Black women. At that time, two West Philadelphia hospitals founded by Black doctors merged and created the Mercy-Douglass Hospital School of Nursing. Mercy-Douglass trained young, Black women for professional careers at a time when few nursing schools would enroll them, and most hospitals in Philadelphia or across the Commonwealth had few, if any, Black nurses on staff. Early graduates of Mercy-Douglass were often the first Black nurses in a facility and had to deal with doctors and White nurses who questioned their qualifications or refused to be supervised by them, no matter their training or seniority. Nevertheless, Mercy-Douglass nurses, like Susan Blake from my hometown, persisted to break barriers and emerge as leaders in their communities. Today, we celebrate the legacy and commitment of the trailblazing nurses of Mercy-Douglass Hospital Nursing School to improve the lives of those in need of care and for the women who followed. ____________________”