Margaret Irving Handy
Encyclopedia
Margaret Irving Handy was a pioneering doctor
who was one of the first to specialise in paediatric medicine.
In 1945, she established the first mothers' milk bank
at Delaware Hospital (now Wilmington Hospital) in Wilmington, Delaware
.
Handy was born in Smyrna, Delaware
and was the daughter of L. Irving Handy
, a U.S. Representative
. She attended Goucher College
and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from which she graduated in 1916. She was the first native-born female Delawarean to become a doctor and was also the state’s first pediatrician.
In 1918, during an outbreak of Spanish influenza in the Wilmington area, Handy was asked by the Board of Health to open a paediatric ward at People's Settlement staffed by volunteers and with very little equipment. She subsequently established a pediatric clinic and became Assistant Chief, and in 1921, Chief, of Pediatrics at Delaware Hospital where she set up a nursery for premature babies. Handy collected surplus breast milk
in the community to feed the babies of mothers who could not breast feed, and in 1945 founded the Mother's Milk Bank with Margaret Trentman, a hospital board member whose baby son had died because she was unable to nurse him. The bank supplied breast milk to mothers throughout the United States
as well as for research purposes, for 40 years. She also helped to establish ophthalmology
as a speciality in Delaware, with Norman Cutler becoming the first state-certified ophthalmologist in 1947.
Handy received a number of awards including the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary
's Elizabeth Blackwell Citation (honoring female doctors) and the Annie Jump Cannon
medal from Wesley College as well as the 1953 Josiah Marvel Cup for outstanding contributions to the state and to society in the field of children's medicine. The Margaret Handy Lectureship at DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington is named for her.
Andrew Wyeth
painted The Children's Doctor, a "votive-like" portrait of Handy, in 1949 after she treated his son Nicholas at his remote farm. Wyeth also painted another portrait, From the Capes, in 1974 and gave her Lenape Barn, a watercolour, as a gift in 1961.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
who was one of the first to specialise in paediatric medicine.
In 1945, she established the first mothers' milk bank
Human Milk Banking In North America
A human milk bank is "a service which collects, screens, processes, and dispenses by prescription human milk donated by nursing mothers who are not biologically related to the recipient infant". There are currently eleven milk banks in North America. They are usually housed in hospitals, although...
at Delaware Hospital (now Wilmington Hospital) in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
.
Handy was born in Smyrna, Delaware
Smyrna, Delaware
Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and was the daughter of L. Irving Handy
L. Irving Handy
Levin Irving Handy was an American educator, lawyer and politician, from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as U. S. Representative from Delaware. He was known by his middle name.-Early life and family:Handy was born in Berlin, Maryland,...
, a U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. She attended Goucher College
Goucher College
Goucher College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts college located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, on a 287 acre campus. The school has approximately 1,475 undergraduate students studying in 31 majors and six interdisciplinary...
and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from which she graduated in 1916. She was the first native-born female Delawarean to become a doctor and was also the state’s first pediatrician.
In 1918, during an outbreak of Spanish influenza in the Wilmington area, Handy was asked by the Board of Health to open a paediatric ward at People's Settlement staffed by volunteers and with very little equipment. She subsequently established a pediatric clinic and became Assistant Chief, and in 1921, Chief, of Pediatrics at Delaware Hospital where she set up a nursery for premature babies. Handy collected surplus breast milk
Breast milk
Breast milk, more specifically human milk, is the milk produced by the breasts of a human female for her infant offspring...
in the community to feed the babies of mothers who could not breast feed, and in 1945 founded the Mother's Milk Bank with Margaret Trentman, a hospital board member whose baby son had died because she was unable to nurse him. The bank supplied breast milk to mothers throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as well as for research purposes, for 40 years. She also helped to establish ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
as a speciality in Delaware, with Norman Cutler becoming the first state-certified ophthalmologist in 1947.
Handy received a number of awards including the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary
__notoc__The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, located at East 14th Street and Second Avenue in lower Manhattan, New York City, is one of the most prominent otolaryngology and ophthalmology hospitals in the world, providing primary inpatient and outpatient care in those specialties...
's Elizabeth Blackwell Citation (honoring female doctors) and the Annie Jump Cannon
Annie Jump Cannon
Annie Jump Cannon was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C...
medal from Wesley College as well as the 1953 Josiah Marvel Cup for outstanding contributions to the state and to society in the field of children's medicine. The Margaret Handy Lectureship at DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington is named for her.
Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Newell Wyeth was a visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century....
painted The Children's Doctor, a "votive-like" portrait of Handy, in 1949 after she treated his son Nicholas at his remote farm. Wyeth also painted another portrait, From the Capes, in 1974 and gave her Lenape Barn, a watercolour, as a gift in 1961.