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Steamboat Everglades on the New River circa 1922Florida State Archives |
By Jane Feehan
James Franklin Sistrunk (1891-1966), a Fort Lauderdale pioneer and doctor is credited with delivering 5,000 babies. But his practice extended far beyond obstetrics.
As the only Black physician in the city from about 1922
until the late 1930s and with strictly segregated medical care, Blacks came to
him or were brought to him from as far away as Pompano or Boca Raton. He tended
to a range of typical illnesses, as well as injuries sustained in car and industrial accidents and fights. He conducted house visits and often, to assist
the poor, did not collect fees.
Dr. Sistrunk was born Midway, Florida, about 10 miles from
Tallahassee. In 1919 he earned his medical degree at Meharry College in Nashville,
TN. In 1922, he came to a growing Fort
Lauderdale. He filled a large medical void and served his community in many
ways.
The doctor delivered services with scarce
supplies and equipment. A hospital was needed. Sistrunk, in partnership with Dr.
Von Mizell and Leona Collins, opened Provident Hospital in 1938, the “only
hospital in Broward County exclusively” serving the Black community. Dedicated
Sunday, May 1st that year, the hospital (some called it a
sanitorium) offered 12 beds and 24-hour nursing care at 14th Avenue
and 6th Street. Supplies and equipment were provided through
donations raised at teas, casino nights and an assortment of benefits regularly
written up in the Fort Lauderdale News months before and years after
Provident Hospital opened its doors.
The hospital filled a community service and often drew newspaper interest. In 1938, Dr.
Sistrunk and five other Black doctors completed a three-week intensive training
in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis. A month later, Black doctors from
other parts of the state volunteered their services so Provident could provide free
tonsil removal for Black children for one week.
Dr. Sistrunk was also busy in the community. During World
War II, he, Dr. Mizell, Dr. J.L. Bass and Dr. E.G. Thomas ran a campaign to
raise funds for a “soldier club” for service men returning home to Fort Lauderdale
on furlough. Additionally, Dr. Sistrunk was active in the African Methodist Episcopal
Church, the Veteran’s Association and Sigma Fraternity.
In 1956 he and wife Daisy, parents of two daughters, held an
open house at their new home at 724 N.W. 27 Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. It was the
only house with a pool in the neighborhood located near the New River and was
reported to have been built for about $65,000.
Provident Hospital was torn down in 1964 after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when hospitals were integrated. Medicare could not serve segregated facilities.
Dr. Sistrunk died March 20, 1966, at 75. For his contributions to the community, the city rededicated the 6th Street Bridge as the J. F. Sistrunk Bridge in 1968 and renamed parts of 6th Street, Sistrunk Boulevard in 1971.
The Sistrunk Festival with its parade is held each February to honor the doctor. The corridor was once core of the city’s African American community and today is a revived cultural area of Fort Lauderdale.
Copyright © 2021, 2022. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan
For other pioneer Fort Lauderdale doctors, search for Mizell or Kennedy.
Sources:
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 16, 1928
Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 16, 1935
Fort Lauderdale News, May 3, 1938
Fort Lauderdale News, Dec. 23, 1938
Fort Lauderdale News, July 21, 1938
Fort Lauderdale News Oct. 28, 1942
Fort Lauderdale News Aug. 7, 1950
Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 21, 1956
Fort Lauderdale News, March 21, 1966
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Tags: African American history in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale pioneer doctors, Provident Hospital, Fort Lauderdale history