To honor our True Nebraska Physician Hero

By Britt Thedinger, MD

Against all odds, our Nebraska medical colleague, Susan La Flesche, graduated as Valedictorian from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1889, becoming our country’s first Native American physician—and she was a woman! Fulfilling her promise to return to the Omaha Reservation, she established a medical practice caring for all members of her community—treating over 1,200 patients and traveling over 1,350 miles of open prairie, making house calls by horse and buggy.

Her efforts significantly reduced the mortality rates of the Omaha Tribe and the surrounding community — raising awareness of proper hygiene and food sanitation; treating tuberculosis, smallpox, measles, and influenza; banning the communal drinking cup; and installing screens to keep out disease-carrying flies.

In addition to being a trailblazing physician, she was a cultural mediator, church leader, and a tireless advocate for women’s and Native American rights. Despite not being considered a citizen of the United States, she was a hero, healer, and warrior for her community.

After the death of her husband, Henry Picotte, she moved from Bancroft and built a house in Walthill, Nebraska, in 1905. In 1913, the physician affectionately known as Dr. Susan fulfilled her lifelong dream to build a local hospital with the help of the Presbyterian Church. It was the first hospital built on a reservation without any government money.

Designed by architect William Steele of Sioux City, The Presbyterian Memorial Hospital opened at 503 Mathewson Street in Walthill. Situated atop a hill overlooking the town, the hospital is a two-and-a-half-story building built in a Craftsman style, with a full-length recessed porch along the front. It contained a maternity ward, an operating room, two general wards, and five private wards. The hospital closed in the late 1940s.

The hospital was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and named a National Historic Landmark in 1993. Approximately 8 years ago, it was named one of the eleven most endangered historic structures in the United States. Over the past 30 years, the structure significantly declined; by 2012, it was in disrepair and vacant.

In 2016, University of Nebraska journalism professor Joe Starita published a comprehensive Dr. Picotte biography, A Warrior of the People. Starita was fascinated by Picotte’s extraordinary character and how she achieved so much at a time when the barriers to advancement for Native American women were overwhelming. That same year, she was featured in a PBS documentary film about Native American women in medicine.

In 2017, Judi Gaiaskibos, the Executive Director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, convened a group of Tribal leaders, descendants, local leaders, and other interested parties. A needs assessment was performed, and it was the group’s decision to proceed with restoring and preserving the hospital structure to honor this remarkable Nebraska physician. Thus, formal fundraising efforts commenced.

In 2018, a new roof was installed. Next, the exterior and all the original windows were restored. The foundation was repaired. Mold and asbestos were removed from the interior. In 2021, the NMA led a physician fundraising effort to honor our colleague, which raised over $600K. To date, over $5 million has been raised with the help of the USDA, The National Park Service, numerous foundations, and individuals. By early 2023, the interior restoration began, with completion scheduled for Spring 2025, when the Dr. Susan exhibit is installed.

The restored facility will once again provide medical and behavioral services to the community, tell Dr. Susan’s story, provide youth programming, be an artist co-op, and a community resource.

The Center will be a national example of pride and instill hope in residents while stimulating economic benefits. The restoration project aims to repurpose the building as a cultural treasure. It will celebrate Dr. Susan’s legacy, pioneering spirit, and devotion to her Omaha Tribal People. Plans are underway to acquire Dr. Susan’s home at the corner of Taft and Main Street in Walthill.

I invite my fellow physicians to make the trip to Walthill to visit the new Picotte Center—to honor her history and the history of the Omaha Tribe. You can see her home and visit her and the family’s grave sites in the nearby Bancroft cemetery.

PHYSICIAN DONORS

$200,000+
Anne Hubbard, MD

$100,000 – $200,000
Britt Thedinger, MD
Stanley Truhlsen, MD

$25,000
Nebraska Medical Foundation

$10,000
Nebraska Hospital Association

$5,000
Tom McKnight, MD
Lancaster County Medical Society
Woodman Family Charitable Fund

$2,500
Jeoffrey Deeths, MD
Terrence Kumar, MD
Robert Rauner, MD
Ann and David Sjulin, MDs

$1,500
Siobahn Westcott, MD

$1000
Jossie Abboud
Khalid Awad, MD
Dave Canditt, MD
Gary Chingren, MD
Columbus Family Practice
Carol Drake, MD
Paul Esposito, MD
Linda Ford, MD
Harris and Jan Frankel, MDs
Richard Fruehling, MD
Richard Goble, MD
John Goldner, MD
Mark Goodman, MD
Barbara Goyne, MD
Priscilla Grew
James Linder, MD
Benton Nelson, MD
Off- Nite MDs
George Orr, MD
Rob Rhodes, MD
Dan Rosenquist, MD
Scott Schmidt, DO
Douglas States, MD
Emily Vuchetich, MD
Michelle Walsh, MD
Jordan Warchol, MD
David Watts, MD
Michael and Susan Westcott, MDs
Mark Wilson, MD

$500 – $999
David E. Brown, MD
Jane Carnazzo, MD
Sean Figy, MD
Elaine and Phillip Fitzpatrick, MDs
Jeffery Friesen, MD
Johnathan Henning, MD
Michael Kroeger, MD
Michell Marsh, MD
Renae Meyer, MD
Peter Morin, MD
Sherrill Murphy, MD
Mohan Mysore, MBBS
Nila Novotny, MD
Lisa Peterson, MD
Samuel Phillips, MD
Primary Care Physicians of Lincoln
Neal Ratzlaff, MD
Trisha Sams, MD
Arindam Sharma, MBBS
Richard Vautravers, MD
Deborah Wigton, MD
Donald Woltemath, MD
Randy Woodward, MD

$250 – $499
Niran Al-Agba, MD
Kimberly Apker, MD
Amy Bargen, MD
Melvin Campbell, MD
Kelly Caverzagie, MD
Andrew Coughlin, MD
Daniel DeFreece, MD
Henry Dethlefs, MD
Jerry Fischer, MD
Donovan Foote, MD
Richard French, MD
George Greene, MD
Klaus Hartman, MD
Kristie Hayes, MD
George Head, MD
Patrick Hotovy, MD
David Jasper, MD
Jo Kinberg, MD
William Lydiatt, MD
Thomas Martin, MD
Kathleen and John Mitchell, MDs
Michael Moulton, MD
James Newland, MD
Lindsey Northam, MD
T. Kevin O’Malley, MD
Douglas Pope, MD
Trent Quinlan, MD
Jerry Reed, MD
Debra Romberger, MD
Leslie Spry, MD
Sebastian Troia, MD
David Wiebe, MD
Andrew Wilber, MD
Orlyn Wingert, MD
Gerald Zarlengo, MD

$132 – $249
John Aita, MD
Joan Anderson
Dean Arkfeld, MD
Alena Balasanova, MD
Jesse Barondeau, MD
Craig Bartruff, MD
Shoba Bastani, MD
Samuel Bierner, MD
Joanna Bisgrove, MD
Rachel Blake, MD
William Burns, MD
Jane Dahlke, MD
Dele Davies, MD
Stanley Davis, MD
Judith Degraff, MD
Robert Dunlay, MD
Michael Dunn, MD
James Dunning, MD
Stuart Embury, MD
Cynthia Ferris, MD
T. C. Fitzgibbons, MD
John Floyd, MD
Karen Higgins, MD
Natasha Hongsermeier-Graves, MD
Candace Grier, MD
Jamie Haferbier-Gustafson, MD
James Harper, MD
Elizabeth Hartman, MD
Jenifer Hill, MD
Russell Hopp, DO
William Hunter, MD
Corey Joekel, MD
Sandy and Tim Johnson
Amar Kelkar, MD
Brady Kerr, MD
Steve Koukol, MD
Jillyn Kratochvil, MD
Kari Krenzer, MD
John Kugler, MD
Anthony Kusek, MD
Sushil Lacy, MD
Wyatt Lanik, MD
Howard Liu, MD
James Long, MD
Thomas Madejski, MD
Dale Mahlman
Joshua Mammen, MD, PhD
James Manion, MD
Corrigan McBride, MD
Dale Michels, MD
Larry Moeller, MD
Moshman Family Foundation
Scott Pasichow, MD
Audrey Paulman, MD
Kenneth Pavlik, MD
Deborah Perry, MD
John Peters, MD
Stan Schack, MD
Susan Scherl, MD
Tricia Schmit, MD
Andrew Settje, MD
Robert Shaffer, MD
Gerald Simons, MD
Erin Smith, MD
Gayle Smith, MD
Rebecca Steinke, MD
Carl Streed, Jr., MD
Timothy Tesmer, MD
Dean Thomson. MD
John Trapp, MD
Edward Truemper, MD
Mark Van Roojen, MD
Todd Voss, MD
Andrew Wahl, MD
Chester Waters, MD
Michael Weaver, MD
Robert Wergin, MD
James Wonnacott, MD
Anthony Younkers, MD
Rowen Zetterman, MD