LIBERAL, Kan. – The Seward County Community College Library is proud to host the Outside/Inside: Immigration, Migration, and Health Care in the United States, a six-panel exhibit on immigration and its influence on public health in United States.
The six-panel display highlights the early struggles of immigrants to access quality healthcare and showcases the work of pioneers who fought for inclusive medical services. One such individual was Lillian Wald, a German-Jewish nurse and social reformer. In 1893, she founded the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service in New York’s Lower East Side, home to the world’s largest immigrant population at the time. Wald’s work laid the foundation for community-based health services and inspired other immigrant communities to take their healthcare into their own hands. Her efforts helped establish hospitals and clinics that pushed back against the medical barriers faced by many immigrants.
Between 1890 and 1924, approximately 20 million immigrants arrived in the United States, seeking new opportunities but facing numerous barriers—especially in terms of access to healthcare. It was not until the late 20th and early 21st centuries that significant strides were made in offering equitable medical care to immigrant populations.
The exhibit, provided through the National Institutes of Health, is open and free to the public through this coming November. The SCCC Library is open Monday to Thursday from 7:45 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 7:45 a.m to 4:45 p.m. and closed Saturday and Sunday.