Plymouth Hospital and Nurses' Training School

Although the New England Hospital for Women and Children cared for Boston's Black community, many hospitals did not welcome Black patients or grant hospital privileges to Black physicians or train Black nurses. Plymouth Hospital was founded by Dr. Cornelius Garland, who received his medical degree from Leonard Medical College in Raleigh, NC. Garland began practicing in Boston in 1903 and maintained the Plymouth Hospital from 1908 until 1928. Garland's plan was to expand the school and hospital, but opponents thought that a separate hospital for Black physicians and patients would uphold segregation in Boston. After the Plymouth Hospital closed in 1929, Boston City Hospital accepted Black nurses and physicians to its training programs, although it did not appoint a Black physician to the staff until 1949.