Item Detail
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17119
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0
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0
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English
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Legacy of the Deseret Hospital
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Journal of Collegium Aesculapium
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Fall 2004
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18-23
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The dedication of the Deseret Museum stands as a wonderful monument to the compassion, determination, and perseverance of a group of women committed to the well-being of others. When Brigham Young announced in the early 1870s that women "must come forth as doctors in these valleys of the mountains," it was a difficult task. The pioneering efforts of women such as Elizabeth Blackwell, Susan La Flesche Picotte, Alice Hamilton, and Mary Breckinridge had broken the gender barrier that existed in the medical world, but women were still discouraged from obtaining medical degrees. The Relief Society nevertheless funded the education of several sisters who returned to Utah and established the Deseret Hospital. Not only was it a place of care and healing, but it was also used to train other women to become physicians and midwives. Though the life of the Deseret Hospital was short, those who established and labored in it provide shining examples of the principles that should guide men and women today--faith, determination, charity, service, compassion, and kindness.