How Susan La Flesche Picotte Became America’s First Native Woman Doctor – Then Built The Hospital Her People Had Been Denied
Again, medical care pushed her toward politics.
The same pattern appears throughout her career.
Treat tuberculosis and you confront housing.
Treat infection and you confront sanitation.
Treat stress and you confront land loss.
Treat alcohol-related harm and you confront sellers and law enforcement.
Susan’s medical bag kept opening into larger questions about who had power over Omaha life.
The Hospital Became A Symbol Long After It Closed
The Walthill hospital continued serving patients after Susan’s death.
Eventually, medical systems changed and the building ceased operating as a hospital.