2026 Mercy-Douglass Lectureship & McGruder-Knox Scholarship Awards

Join the Medical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania in partnership with The SKCC Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities for our annual Mercy-Douglass Lectureship & McGruder-Knox Awards Ceremony.

This year's featured lecture will focus on Alopecia, presented by distinguished guest speaker Dr. Susan C. Taylor.

Dr. Taylor serves as the Bernett Johnson Endowed Professor of Dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine (University of Pennsylvania), and is the current President of the American Academy of Dermatology (2025-2026). She is also the Founder of the Skin of Color Society and Director of the Pre-Residency Fellowship in the Skin of Color Program.

This event offers a unique opportunity to hear from a leading expert in dermatology while honoring excellence in medicine through our McGruder-Knox Scholarship Awards.

Timeline:

6 - 7 PM: Lecture and Awards Ceremony

7 - 8 PM: Light Reception

 

About the Mercy - Douglass Lectureship

The Mercy - Douglass Lectureship is a partnership between the Medical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania and the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, and was established to celebrate the Mercy Douglass Hospital and its contributions to Black healthcare in the City of Philadelphia.

 

About the Mercy - Douglass Hospital

The Mercy - Douglass Hospital originated in 1948 as a result of the merger of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and the Mercy Hospital. The Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital was founded in 1895 by Dr. Nathan Francis Mossell at 1512 Lombard Street and was incorporated in 1896. Dr. Eugene Theodore Hinson played a major role in the founding of Mercy Hospital which occurred on February 12, 1907, at 17th and Fitzwater Streets. On April 2, 1907, a charter was granted for the Mercy Hospital and School for Nurses. In 1908, a new Douglass Hospital was erected at 1530 Lombard Street and in March 1919, the Mercy Hospital expanded and moved to 50th and Woodland Avenue occupying the site of the Episcopal Divinity School. 

The Mercy-Douglass Hospital and School for Nurses was incorporated on March 11, 1948. The “Doane Report” suggested that the Douglass Hospital building be used and to give up the Mercy Hospital site. However, the staff rejected this proposal and Mercy-Douglass Hospital moved to the Mercy Hospital site at 50th and Woodland Avenue. In 1950, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania agreed to build a new hospital. In 1954, the hospital was closed temporarily as the new construction took place on the same site. The new building opened in May 1956. In September 1957, the last class of student nurses was accepted and seven graduated in 1960. Thus ended the School for Nurses. Mercy-Douglass Hospital went into Receivership in December 1971, closed in 1973, and was demolished in 1982. 

These institutions had an illustrious history with an outstanding place in the history of Philadelphia medicine. They served as places of training for dedicated Black physicians and nurses who practiced and taught excellent medicine and nursing. 

 

Please Note: By entering the event premises, you consent to photography, audio recording, video recording, and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction to be used for news, promotional purposes, advertising, inclusion on websites, social media, or any other purpose by The College of Physicians/The Mütter Museum and its affiliates and representatives. Please email  with any questions.