Health. Care. | An Educational Blog

In a Baltimore, MD laboratory in the 1970s, a researcher made a discovery that would revolutionize our ability to detect the presence of microscopic organisms. From this one discovery, this scientist would invent ways to test soil on Mars for evidence of life as well as evaluate bacteria for antibiotic susceptibility. This one tenacious biochemist would go on to invent uses of bioluminescence that would affect almost every industry, from space exploration to food production to medicine. This man was Emmett W. Chappelle.

February marks a month to celebrate the vital role of African-Americans in our nation's history. Today, we will take some time to recognize an incredible individual who left a tremendous legacy in the world of microbiology, saving countless lives in the process. Please join us as we remember Dr. William A. Hinton, researcher, physician, mentor, and leader.

On a fall day in 1957, a young girl learns about the launch of Earth's first artificial satellite and falls in love with science. Perhaps she rushes home to teach her younger siblings - she is the oldest of 13 - about her new passion. Perhaps her parents overhear her gushing about her excitement, and start that day to encourage her to go to college to pursue science professionally. However the events aligned, a young Lizzie Johnson was smitten, and would go on to become a "trailblazing clinical microbiologist" responsible for the availability of many of the safe antibiotics we use today. As the calendar takes us from Black History Month to Women's History Month, we'll learn about this amazing researcher, teacher, and mentor.

The neighborhood school blood drive is one of those events that is so common, so American, that it has just become a part of our national landscape. However, the blood donated at those events goes on to save millions of lives every year. The system of collecting, preserving, storing and transporting blood to hospitals around the country and the world is possible due to the pioneering work by Dr. Charles Richard Drew, a medical hero born into a country that tried everything to stop him from succeeding. But just as he dodged linebackers on the fields of Amherst on his way to scoring touchdowns, Dr. Drew would make it through many more obstacles to change the world.

On a sunny day in the early 1950s a young girl, the daughter of a medical secretary and a waiter, witnessed a terrifying event. Her mother collapsed and began bleeding, right in the middle of the family home. The girl's terror and panic were magnified by her knowledge that the family did not have a car to get her mother to medical care miles away, nor health insurance to pay for it once they arrived. On that day, the young girl decided she would become a doctor, and not just any doctor - a doctor for everybody, regardless of race or income. In today's post, we'll see what impact this momentous day had on American health care as we learn about that young girl who would become Dr. Marilyn Hughes Gaston.

Any and every day is a good day to celebrate nurses! These hard-working healthcare professionals keep the medical field moving, providing in-person patient care, monitoring, and treatment. The COVID pandemic has brought their importance into clear focus: As the pandemic swept the nation over multiple waves, it was nurses that took on the bulk of the impact as they cared for patients and their loved ones. Today's post gives us an opportunity to celebrate not only nurses, but also Black History Month, by spotlighting the role black nurses have played in our nation and our future.