Cosmic-Observation

TV Tuesday: Nat Hurst, MD 1976

Posted on June 15, 2021

Forty-five years ago, today, the one-hour documentary Nat Hurst, MD: 20th Century American Physician aired on TV (network unknown). Written and directed by Raúl daSilva, it was produced and narrated by Jerry Carr.

The life of prominent African American medical doctor, Nathaniel Hurst, who rose from a poor family to the presidency of both a major hospital and the Monroe County Medical Association.

Raúl daSilva Summary

There is very little written about this production but, I did manage to dig up some data on Nat. ~Vic

Nat received his M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1954. He did his internship and residency in internal medicine at Rochester General Hospital. He entered private practice in 1958.

In 1976, Nat was installed as the first African-American president of the Monroe County Medical Society. In 1981, he received the Edward Mott Moore Award, the Medical Society’s highest honor and The Community Leadership Award of the Urban League of Rochester.

Nat was an expertise [sic] in geriatrics, pioneering a number of innovative programs. His interests included giving time to such projects as the Sickle Cell Anemia Project, the Inner City Health Council and the Catholic Interracial Council

Nat left an indelible imprint on Rochester’s medical community, first as an internist in the late 1950s and then as vice president, and president, of the former Park Avenue Hospital medical staff. He is credited with major involvement in the planning, building and operating of Park Ridge Hospital and Nursing Home. He later became director of the hospital’s internal medicine department and subsequently medical director of Park Ridge Hospital.

Birth: December 11, 1919, Suffolk City, VA
Death: December 22, 2000, North Carolina
Buried: White Haven Memorial Park, Pittsford, NY

Dr. Nathaniel John Hurst
Find A Grave Memorial