American Women's Hospitals Service with children in front of well

The American Women’s Hospitals (AWH) was founded by women physicians in 1918 to provide medical care to the people of war-torn France during World War I. AWH subsequently established hospitals in other parts of Europe and Western Asia, continuing to provide medical care to devastated populations after wars and conflicts had officially ended.  Appalachia is a rural, mountainous region spanning several states, including parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, West Virginia, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.  AWH concentrated their efforts in Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Kentucky. Even before the Depression, Appalachia was relatively poor, rural area of the country and was geographically isolated with few roads or means of transportation in or out of the area.  The economic crisis of the Great Depression only increased the severity of the region’s existing poverty and lack of quality education and healthcare.

This photo reveals some aspects of the impoverished circumstances of Appalachian residents.  Their appearance is in stark contrast to the AWH doctor.