Women’s Hospital in Manhattanville, West 109th Street near Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem, New York, 1910 postcard.
The first women’s hospital in 1855, the first women’s hospital in the country was founded by Dr. J. Marion Sims heralded as a surgical pioneer and a hero—thought of so highly, a statue memorializing him went up a year later in Bryant Park.
“Located on Madison Avenue and 29th Street in a rented, four-story house, the hospital’s 30 beds were quickly filled,” states St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Medical Center, which absorbed Women’s Hospital in 1964.
“In those early days, Sims operated without assistance from other doctors, performing one fistula repair each day.”
Sims’ achievement: He developed an operation that repaired vesico-vaginal fistulas—tears in the vaginal wall that often resulted during childbirth.
Women who suffered from them became invalids and outcasts because the tear allowed urine to leak constantly from the body. They’re unheard of now, except in the developing world.
After perfecting his technique in the South, Sims came to New York and opened Women’s Hospital.
Sims shared his technique with doctors worldwide. In New York, Women’s Hospital outgrew its Madison Avenue locale and relocated to Park Avenue and 51st Street, then 109th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
Today his statue is at Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street. Yet last year, a city councilwoman pushed to have it removed.
Why? Because Sims developed his surgery on female slaves in the South, and he didn’t use anesthesia—and modern-day critics have labeled him as racist and sexist because of this (source).
Related articles
Become a Harlem Insider!
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
