Piedmont Sanatorium
Encyclopedia
Piedmont Sanatorium was a rest home for tubercular African American
s in Burkeville
, Virginia
from 1917 to 1965. It was the first facility of its kind ever to be established in the United States
. The Sanatorium later became the site of Piedmont Geriatric Hospital
.
was the leading cause of death in the early twentieth century, accounting for one out of every 10 deathshttp://www2.kumc.edu/coa/Senior_Press_Article/Sr-Death.htm. Those infected with the disease were isolated from society in sanatorium
s. These self-contained communities became known as "waiting rooms for death."
Piedmont Sanatorium was established circa 1917 in Burkeville
, Virginia
as a rest home for blacks suffering from tuberculosis. Concerns about the health of whites were what led to its construction.
began bringing whites and blacks into closer contact, Virginia health officials started compiling evidence of the "Negro Health Problem" - high disease, death, and maternal and infant mortality
rates among blacks. Hard physical labor along with poor diet and sanitation contributed to the problem. Disease flourished in the crowded black neighborhoods, where garbage piled up, sewage
went untreated, and running water was often nonexistenthttp://www.legacymuseum.org/herbs/G2/G200.htm.
Fearing that black child-care nurses, cooks, and laundresses might spread tuberculosis
to white neighborhoods, the government began looking for ways to stamp out TB and other contagious diseases. At the time, the only treatment facilities for blacks were the Central State Hospital for Mental Diseases and the State Penitentiaryhttp://www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/ALAV/sanator.html.
Agnes Dillon Randolph, a life-long political activist and charter member of the Virginia State Association of Nurses, became concerned about the situationhttp://www.library.vcu.edu/tml/speccoll/vnfame/randolph.html. To strengthen her political influence, Randolph rose to the position of Executive Secretary of the Virginia Anti-Tuberculosis Association. She lobbied the General Assembly to establish a sanatorium for Negro tuberculosis patients - the first ever in the United States. Although some legislators were reluctant to try such an unprecedented idea, in 1916, the legislature granted her requesthttp://www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/ALAV/sanator.html.
. Local whites fiercely protested the facility, as recorded in the Aug. 24, 1916 State Board of Health minutes:
The Piedmont Sanatorium committee then visited a site in Lynchburg, Virginia
but received an even harsher response. According to The Tuberculosis Experience of African-Americans in Virginia, "any idea of such purchase was immediately abandoned."
In 1917, the committee hired a real estate agent named Mr. Barnes to negotiate the purchase of a site in Burkeville, Virginia
. This time, the committee asked a group of citizens from Burkeville to sign a statement which said that the sanatorium could be built there. Nonetheless, opposition emerged for a third time. An attorney named Mr. H.H. Watson wrote a letter to the committee on behalf of a group of citizens who opposed locating the sanatorium in Burkeville. Impatient with the delays, this time the State Board of Health ignored the opposition and began construction of Piedmont Sanatorium on a 300 acre (1.2 km²) parcel in Burkevillehttp://www.faculty.virginia.edu/blueridgesanatorium/piedmont.html.
actively sought to locate Blue Ridge within their community. Charlottesville paid $15,000 of the $32,000 required for the procurement of the property and funded Blue Ridge’s water supply. Piedmont, in contrast, had to hire contractors to dig its well.
Blue Ridge patients enjoyed access to University of Virginia
medical staff located in the same city. Piedmont patients, on the other hand, had to travel more than 50 miles to St. Phillips Hospital in Richmond, Virginia
in the event of a non-tubercular medical emergencyhttp://www.faculty.virginia.edu/blueridgesanatorium/piedmont.html.
. They then rested until lunch, had quiet time from 1:45 until 4:00 p.m., ate supper
at 6:00 p.m., and went to bed at 9:30 p.m. Some patients who were advanced in their treatment exercised at certain times of the day. An occupational therapist
led the patients in handicraft
activities. Some patients were taught skills that they could use upon returning to productive society.
Patients were required to attend weekly lectures on tuberculosis. They were taught the proper way to dispose of sputum
and other aspects of dealing with the illness. Piedmont staff hoped that they would go back to their home communities and teach other blacks about tuberculosishttp://www.faculty.virginia.edu/blueridgesanatorium/piedmont.html.
. The school became the subject of controversy due to the hospital staffing shortages of World War II
. In 1943, Virginia Governor Colgate W. Darden Jr. proposed having an all-black staff at Piedmont in order to free white personnel to work in white hospitals. The proposal failed, partly because of concerns that the quality of care at Piedmont would sufferhttp://www.faculty.virginia.edu/blueridgesanatorium/piedmont.html.
was beginning to crumble, Piedmont Sanatorium closed and black patients were admitted to the previously all-white Blue Ridge Sanatorium. By 1967, the Burkeville facility had been converted into Piedmont Geriatric Hospital
.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s in Burkeville
Burkeville, Virginia
Burkeville is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, United States. The population was 489 at the 2000 census. The source of the town name is disputed. The town is located on the crossroads of U.S. Routes 360 and 460....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
from 1917 to 1965. It was the first facility of its kind ever to be established in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Sanatorium later became the site of Piedmont Geriatric Hospital
Piedmont Geriatric Hospital
Piedmont Geriatric Hospital is a geriatric hospital located in the state of Virginia, USA. It is Virginia's only state facility solely dedicated to the evaluation and treatment of persons over the age of 65 . The 123-bed geriatric hospital is located in Burkeville on the 300 acre site of the...
.
A hacking killer
TuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
was the leading cause of death in the early twentieth century, accounting for one out of every 10 deathshttp://www2.kumc.edu/coa/Senior_Press_Article/Sr-Death.htm. Those infected with the disease were isolated from society in sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
s. These self-contained communities became known as "waiting rooms for death."
Piedmont Sanatorium was established circa 1917 in Burkeville
Burkeville, Virginia
Burkeville is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, United States. The population was 489 at the 2000 census. The source of the town name is disputed. The town is located on the crossroads of U.S. Routes 360 and 460....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
as a rest home for blacks suffering from tuberculosis. Concerns about the health of whites were what led to its construction.
The worsening "Negro Health Problem"
In the 1910s, as increasing urbanizationUrbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
began bringing whites and blacks into closer contact, Virginia health officials started compiling evidence of the "Negro Health Problem" - high disease, death, and maternal and infant mortality
Infant mortality
Infant mortality is defined as the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. Traditionally, the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea. However, the spreading information about Oral Re-hydration Solution to mothers around the world has decreased the rate of children dying...
rates among blacks. Hard physical labor along with poor diet and sanitation contributed to the problem. Disease flourished in the crowded black neighborhoods, where garbage piled up, sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
went untreated, and running water was often nonexistenthttp://www.legacymuseum.org/herbs/G2/G200.htm.
Fearing that black child-care nurses, cooks, and laundresses might spread tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
to white neighborhoods, the government began looking for ways to stamp out TB and other contagious diseases. At the time, the only treatment facilities for blacks were the Central State Hospital for Mental Diseases and the State Penitentiaryhttp://www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/ALAV/sanator.html.
Agnes Dillon Randolph, a life-long political activist and charter member of the Virginia State Association of Nurses, became concerned about the situationhttp://www.library.vcu.edu/tml/speccoll/vnfame/randolph.html. To strengthen her political influence, Randolph rose to the position of Executive Secretary of the Virginia Anti-Tuberculosis Association. She lobbied the General Assembly to establish a sanatorium for Negro tuberculosis patients - the first ever in the United States. Although some legislators were reluctant to try such an unprecedented idea, in 1916, the legislature granted her requesthttp://www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/ALAV/sanator.html.
In search of a building site
Finding an acceptable site was an uphill battle. The Board of Health placed ads across the state for a site where a "colored sanatorium" could be built. The first location considered was in Ivor, VirginiaIvor, Virginia
Ivor is an incorporated town in Southampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 320 at the 2000 census.- Overview :Popular legend has it that William Mahone , builder of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad , and his cultured wife, Otelia Butler Mahone , who had been raised in...
. Local whites fiercely protested the facility, as recorded in the Aug. 24, 1916 State Board of Health minutes:
- "While the negotiations [for the purchase of the property] were in progress, and before any papers were passed, a large number of protests began to come into the health department from citizens of Ivor, objecting seriously to the location of such an institution at that point. The Commissioner went down to Ivor and attempted to allay the feeling, without result. A number of the citizens had employed an attorney and a delegation bringing a large petition entered emphatic protest before the committee."
The Piedmont Sanatorium committee then visited a site in Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
but received an even harsher response. According to The Tuberculosis Experience of African-Americans in Virginia, "any idea of such purchase was immediately abandoned."
In 1917, the committee hired a real estate agent named Mr. Barnes to negotiate the purchase of a site in Burkeville, Virginia
Burkeville, Virginia
Burkeville is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, United States. The population was 489 at the 2000 census. The source of the town name is disputed. The town is located on the crossroads of U.S. Routes 360 and 460....
. This time, the committee asked a group of citizens from Burkeville to sign a statement which said that the sanatorium could be built there. Nonetheless, opposition emerged for a third time. An attorney named Mr. H.H. Watson wrote a letter to the committee on behalf of a group of citizens who opposed locating the sanatorium in Burkeville. Impatient with the delays, this time the State Board of Health ignored the opposition and began construction of Piedmont Sanatorium on a 300 acre (1.2 km²) parcel in Burkevillehttp://www.faculty.virginia.edu/blueridgesanatorium/piedmont.html.
Separate but equal?
The all-white Blue Ridge Sanatorium was established in 1920. The City of Charlottesville, VirginiaCharlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
actively sought to locate Blue Ridge within their community. Charlottesville paid $15,000 of the $32,000 required for the procurement of the property and funded Blue Ridge’s water supply. Piedmont, in contrast, had to hire contractors to dig its well.
Blue Ridge patients enjoyed access to University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
medical staff located in the same city. Piedmont patients, on the other hand, had to travel more than 50 miles to St. Phillips Hospital in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
in the event of a non-tubercular medical emergencyhttp://www.faculty.virginia.edu/blueridgesanatorium/piedmont.html.
Daily life
According to Gertz, "everything at Piedmont was hierarchically organized and routine"http://www.faculty.virginia.edu/blueridgesanatorium/piedmont.html. Patients were awakened every morning at 7:15 a.m. for breakfastBreakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
. They then rested until lunch, had quiet time from 1:45 until 4:00 p.m., ate supper
Supper
Supper is the name for the evening meal in some dialects of English - ordinarily the last meal of the day. Originally, in the Middle Ages, it referred to the lighter meal following dinner, where until the 18th century dinner was invariably eaten as the midday meal.The term is derived from the...
at 6:00 p.m., and went to bed at 9:30 p.m. Some patients who were advanced in their treatment exercised at certain times of the day. An occupational therapist
Occupational therapist
An occupational therapist is trained in the practice of occupational therapy. The role of an occupational therapist is to work with a client to help them achieve a fulfilled and satisfied state in life through the use of "purposeful activity or interventions designed to achieve functional...
led the patients in handicraft
Handicraft
Handicraft, more precisely expressed as artisanic handicraft, sometimes also called artisanry, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft. Usually the term is applied to traditional means...
activities. Some patients were taught skills that they could use upon returning to productive society.
Patients were required to attend weekly lectures on tuberculosis. They were taught the proper way to dispose of sputum
Sputum
Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways. It is usually used for microbiological investigations of respiratory infections....
and other aspects of dealing with the illness. Piedmont staff hoped that they would go back to their home communities and teach other blacks about tuberculosishttp://www.faculty.virginia.edu/blueridgesanatorium/piedmont.html.
Piedmont Sanatorium School of Tuberculosis Nursing
Piedmont Sanatorium School of Tuberculosis Nursing, a two-year nursing school for black women, was founded shortly after the Sanatorium opened. It allowed the black women to become certified specifically in tuberculosis nursing; a third year of training at St. Phillips Hospital in Richmond was required in order to become a Registered NurseRegistered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
. The school became the subject of controversy due to the hospital staffing shortages of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1943, Virginia Governor Colgate W. Darden Jr. proposed having an all-black staff at Piedmont in order to free white personnel to work in white hospitals. The proposal failed, partly because of concerns that the quality of care at Piedmont would sufferhttp://www.faculty.virginia.edu/blueridgesanatorium/piedmont.html.
The end of an era
In 1965, in a visible sign that racial segregationRacial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
was beginning to crumble, Piedmont Sanatorium closed and black patients were admitted to the previously all-white Blue Ridge Sanatorium. By 1967, the Burkeville facility had been converted into Piedmont Geriatric Hospital
Piedmont Geriatric Hospital
Piedmont Geriatric Hospital is a geriatric hospital located in the state of Virginia, USA. It is Virginia's only state facility solely dedicated to the evaluation and treatment of persons over the age of 65 . The 123-bed geriatric hospital is located in Burkeville on the 300 acre site of the...
.