Legacy of Hope Health and Wellness Center (formerly the Forest Avenue Hospital) was established by a handful of black doctors in the early 1960s, at a time when racial segregation was still commonplace across the United States.
At the turn of the 20th century, Forest Avenue — now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd — was Dallas’ southern city limit, an unincorporated area where black residents were allowed to buy land. Black doctors often could not work in whites-only facilities, and many hospitals did not admit black patients, forcing entrepreneurs to establish separate medical centers for people of color.
Dr. Edythe Michelle Morgan is on a mission to reopen the two-story structure at 2516 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in South Dallas as a community wellness center that offers a range of specialty medical services.
“It’s not just about business. This is home to me,” Morgan said.
The redevelopment of the 18,000-square-foot former hospital is personal for her, an African- American woman who’s frustrated that the South Dallas community where she grew up has become a “medical desert.”
That’s a term Morgan uses to describe the severe shortage of physicians practicing in the neighborhood, which is also burdened with the county’s highest rates of chronic disease.
FUTURE GOALS
We endeavor to raise $1,000,000 to assist with the funding of renovating the existing facility that offers state of the art services:
Urgent Care
Podiatry
Dentistry
Psychiatry
Pharmacy
Medical Assistant School
Dental Assistant School
Help us realize the dream of revitalizing South Dallas healthcare!