ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the negative effects of both segregation and integration on health care delivery to black families, as indexed in the rise and decline of black hospitals. It also discusses the impact of segregation and integration on the rise and eventual decline of black hospitals and suggests strategies necessary for the survival of black hospitals. The chapter suggests that black hospitals can play a vital role in improving the health status of blacks by providing relevant, client-specific health care. Further, blacks, like every other minority group, need institutions they can call their own; a hospital is perhaps one of the most serviceable institutions a minority group can have. Integration has also led to changes in the attitudes of the black community to include both black physicians and black patients. The advent of the Medicare/Medicaid programs has made black hospitals and black patients both victims and beneficiaries.
