Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health officials apologized to the last living plaintiff involved in a lawsuit that desegregated hospitals nationwide. Officials commemorated the occasion with the creation of a scholarship fund to honor those involved.
Officials reached out to Alvin Blount, MD, one of nine African American physicians and dentists who, along with two patients, sued Cone Health and Wesley Long Hospital, also in Greensboro, in 1962 on allegations of racial discrimination. According to a press release from Cone Health, the plaintiffs in the case sought professional employment at and medical treatment from the health organization, but were barred based upon their race.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that "separate but equal" did not apply to public hospitals and so violated laws of equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. The decision allowed African American practioners and patients to treat and be treated at public hospitals nationwide.
Cone Health officials plan to contribute $250,000 in hospital funds toward a scholarship honoring Dr. Blount and the other plaintiffs. The Greensboro Medical Society will use the funds to award scholarships to students pursuing careers in healthcare, according to the press release.
"It seemed to me, and to our medical and dental staff, that we needed to take an opportunity to apologize for our role in this chapter of our history and to honor these individuals for challenging us to be our best selves and for their foresight and courage in changing America," said Cone Health CEO Terry Akin.