Caring for a Community
Construction of the Central Carolina Convalescent Hospital began in July 1948, and the facility opened on October 11, only ninety-five days after fundraising began. The hospital sat on the eastern edge of Greensboro’s city limits. The location of the facility was ideal because it could care for the high concentration of polio cases in Guilford County and its central location provided easy access from all corners of the state.
Treatments
The hospital was a single story white block building comprised of seven wings, containing 134 beds. ©Carol W. Martin/Greensboro History Museum Collection
The hospital was a single-story, white cinder block building comprised of seven wings with 134 beds, an operating room, and rehabilitation rooms. Doctors used Sister Elizabeth Kenny’s Hot Pack method along with hydrotherapy, which utilized a wading pool, treatment tanks, and whirlpools. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis donated iron lungs, hot pack machines, and other much needed medical supplies. An on-site school ensured that children did not fall behind on their education as they healed.
Similar to the hot pack method, hydrotherapy involved warming joints and encouraging gentle exercise.
©Carol W. Martin/Greensboro History Museum Collection
Doctors prescribed oxygen inhalers and iron lungs for more severe cases, as shown in this photograph, 1952.
©Carol W. Martin/Greensboro History Museum Collection
Integration
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The Central Carolina Convalescent Hospital was also unique because it was a racially integrated facility at the outset. While many hospitals in the region were segregated, the Central Carolina Convalescent Hospital treated and employed both whites and African Americans. Additionally, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which provided funding for the hospital, had a policy of providing services to patients regardless of race, age, or creed.
African American nurses initially worked at the hospital and treated patients. Courtesy of Victoria and Roy Shipman