50th Anniversary sheds light on "unsung heroes" in healthcare

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Dr. John Winston Jr. remembers when weary marchers were allowed to camp at the City of Saint Jude 50 years ago during the Voting Rights March from Selma to Montgomery. Winston was a general surgeon at Saint Jude Catholic Hospital at the time.

That particular time was a trying time, he said. We were hoping for change not only in the rights of people, but in medicine also.

After the march, much of the financial support for the City of Saint Jude and the hospital began to erode due to backlash over their involvement in the voting rights campaign.

Dr. Winston and others fought to save the hospital, renaming it Fairview Medical Center.

Due to the fact that the marchers were allowed to camp on the grounds of Saint Jude, the white physicians stopped admitting patients and that cut down on quite a bit of the revenue that was coming in to keep the hospital operational, Dr. Winston explained. That led to many things to keep the hospital going, including changing the name from Saint Jude to Fairview. We were hoping that changing the name would change the outlook or the outcome and help keep the hospital going.

The black physicians that were there who saw a dire need for continuity of care for black patients, organized a hospital. They were not there, at first, to be hospital operators, but they saw the need and took the responsibility. These doctors put their finances at risk, added Robert Taylor III, who worked as one of the first administrators at Fairview Medical Center. Black patients and underprivileged patients could still get hospital admission to get their health needs taken care of.

The facility had to close years later due to financial strain, but the work that was done there left a lasting mark. A legacy organization was recently formed to honor the quest of physicians and employees for equal health care and human rights.

It's designed to keep that part of history alive and keep us ever mindful of the facts that exist and that we must continue the struggle, Dr. Winston said. We must continue the effort to create privileges and opportunities for everybody. The march was an event amongst several others that helped eradicate discrimination and helped us gain privileges we didn't have before, including those of us in medicine.

They're unsung heroes. To take that stress away from black people by continuing on with the hospital operation, is a story that needs to be told, Taylor added. He is the president of the Fairview Medical Center Legacy Organization.

Those re-enacting the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march received information about the organization as they arrived at the City of Saint Jude Tuesday in an effort to tell a chapter of local history many feel has gone untold for years.

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50th Anniversary sheds light on "unsung heroes" in healthcare