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Black History Month: 3 ‘Firsts’ at Hartford HealthCare
February 04, 2022
As part of Black History Month, Hartford HealthCare recognizes the invaluable contributions of Black and African American colleagues, including those remembered for paving the way as “firsts” in their field.
They include:
- Ann Jennings, the first Black nurse to graduate from the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing. After her graduation in 1959, she graduated from the Yale University master’s program and became a nurse practitioner. She went onto hold many nursing leadership positions at the hospital and with the state. She worked on the Test Development Committee at the American Nurses Credentialing Center in Washington for five years, helping develop national board exams for nurse practitioners. She was the organization’s only minority certified nurse practitioner for five years. Jennings passed away in 2016.
- Dr. John Lawrence, the first chief medical officer at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport. Recognized as a pioneer in many ways, the internal medicine provider served in the role for six years and as a mentor to many young physicians. He had earned a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College and his medical degree from Howard University, starting his career at St. Vincent’s in 1957 as an intern. He served on the hospital’s Board of Trustees as well as on the board of the Park City Primary Care Center and the Daughters of Charity National Health System Insurance. In 1999, he received the Mother M. Angela Teresa Award for Service from St. Joseph’s Manor. He passed away in 2012.
- Vicie Brooks (pictured above at her 2019 retirement), the first Hartford Hospital Liaison Nurse and the first Black nurse to receive the Hartford Hospital Doris Armstrong Excellence in Nursing Leadership Award. Brooks served as manager of the Neurology, Trauma, ENT and Rehabilitation Unit (N9) at the hospital for 15 years, and was a role model for colleagues to support the delivery of outstanding patient care and career progression. Through her strong connections in the Greater Hartford community, she established and maintained effective internal and external relationships, creating partnerships necessary to secure and maintain resources that support patient care, especially in underserved communities. A Lifetime Member of the National Black Nurses Association, Brooks is also a founding member and officer of the Northern Connecticut Black Nurses Association, Inc., and one of the first recipients of the Capital Community College Distinguished Alumni Award.