An  African American Doctor by the name of Daniel Hale Williams changed the healthcare industry when he decided to open the first interracial hospital back in 1891. The reason he decided to do this was due to the discrimination faced by African Americans at the time. African Americans were not allowed to be admitted into hospitals and were turned down from hospital positions.  Since African Americans were not being given opportunities, he decided to open up a facility called Provident Hospital and training school for nurses.

Dr. Williams was also the first African American, to perform the first successful pericardium surgery in the United States to repair a wound in 1893.  He also paved the way for how nurses would be trained by creating two hospital based trainings for nurses.  He also, co-founded the National Medical Association, and was the first African American physician admitted to the American College of Surgeons.

Today African Americans are able to work at hospitals and not face some of the discrimination that Dr. Williams and others faced in the past. Today African Americans can attend schools across the nation and receive that best training. Dr. Williams reminds us that, when opportunities are not given to us, we must create our own opportunities.

Sources:
http://www.cookcountyhhs.org/locations/provident-hospital/about-us/
http://www.biography.com/people/daniel-hale-williams-9532269
http://www.biography.com/people/daniel-hale-williams-9532269#awesm=~oBIKWee8eY1rBh
http://www.providentfoundation.org/history/williams.html