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Born in 1920 in the east Texas town of Terrell, Colonel Bertram Fuller attended Wiley College in Marshall. Dr. Fuller then earned his medical degree in 1947 at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, the first medical school in the south for African Americans. He interned at Hubbard Hospital in Nashville and did advanced study at the University of Texas, University of Colorado and the University of Oklahoma. In 1937, he married Mildred McNairy in Kaufman, and together they had three children. Following service as a physician in the Army Medical Corps, Dr. Fuller established a practice in Wichita Falls’ east side in 1948. Dr. Fuller was able to admit patients, despite their ethnic background, to the local city-county hospital, Wichita General Hospital. A separate floor on the west end, known as the Black Wing, was set aside for African American patients. A large broom closet was converted into a nursery for the children delivered by Dr. Fuller. At this time, African American physicians were not allowed admission to the Texas Medical Association (TMA). However, in 1955, the racial membership requirement was revoked and Dr. Fuller became the first African American physician admitted to TMA. Along with this honor, Dr. Fuller also was the first African American physician elected to membership in the American Academy of Family Physicians. He served on U.S. District Court Judge Sarah T. Hughes’ Biracial Committee on Schools and was elected in 1970 as President of the Wichita General Hospital Medical staff. In 1988, he received the Wichita County Medical Society’s Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Fuller died in 1994 at the age of 74 but will be remembered for his courage and determination to provide quality medical care to all. (2014) |
