The Foundation: Overview
Provident Hospital and Training School was established in response
to discriminatory practices in Chicago's medical community. In 1889,
the black population in Chicago totaled 15,000 residents. Few hospitals
provided medical care to the black community. Black doctors had
no facilities available for their patients, nor were there any opportunities
for training black nurses. With the assistance of a local black
minister and other prominent Chicagoans, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
opened Provident Hospital and Training School in 1891 to address
the lack of quality health care available to African Americans.
In September 1987, Provident Hospital was officially closed as efforts to maintain it as a private hospital unsuccessful. However, the Cook County Board of Commissioners acquired the hospital and it was reopened as the Provident Hospital of Cook County in August 1993, to continue its long history of serving the medical needs of the community.
The Provident Foundation was established in 1995 to perpetuate the legacy of the historic Provident Hospital and the contributions of founder, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams. Since then, the Foundation has supported worthwhile charitable causes and community based service programs with priority given to programs involving health and medical education, and other social service programs dealing with the welfare of children, the elderly, domestic abuse, housing and nutrition. Past efforts include providing funds to Hands Without Guns, a national violence prevention organization and granting support to Black on Black Love and My Sister’s Keeper’s anti-violence initiatives.
Provident
Hospital is a remarkable facility. To illustrate its fascinating
and very moving history, Provident
Hospital: A Living Legacy, was commissioned by the Provident
Foundation in 1997. The publication is dedicated to the memory of
the late Chicago Defender publisher, John H. Sengstacke, who served
as the Hospital’s board chair and was a tireless advocate
in advancing the rights of black citizens. The Hospital’s
history is told in the context of Chicago’s history in the
words of those who lived it and offers a unique perspective on this
noteworthy institution.
The Foundation continues to build on this legacy.
