Happy Black History Month!

Dear Colleagues,

February is Black History Month, a month-long celebration acknowledging the important contributions and accomplishments of Black Americans.

From VNS Health’s earliest days, our organization has been enriched by the contributions of our Black team members – contributions that continue right to this day.

A few years back, Frontline ran a series highlighting the important roles that three Black VNS Health nurses – Elizabeth Tyler (VNS Health’s first Black nurse, who was hired in 1906), Edith Carter and Jessie Sleet Scales – played in bringing health care services to New York’s Black communities in the early part of the 20th century.

In the years that followed, as health care in New York became more integrated – a movement that VNS Health’s founder, Lillian Wald, helped spearhead – thousands of Black team members went on to touch the lives of millions of New Yorkers of all backgrounds, helping to shape our organization into what it is today.

Unfortunately, written accounts don’t exist for most of these VNS Health team members – but we do have photographs. In honor of their historic contributions, we’ve created a photo gallery featuring Black team members from the first half of the 20th century. You can view it by clicking here.

I hope you enjoy the photos. Happy Black History Month!

Dan  

Dan Savitt
President and Chief Executive Officer