Nursing staff at Fort Bayard Hospital, circa 1950, is part of the Silver City Museum's newest exhibit, Healers and Heroines: Women and the Shaping of Local Health Care, Photo courtesy of the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society.
Silver City -- The Silver City Museum's latest exhibit, "Healers and Heroines: Women and the Shaping of Local Health Care," opens Saturday, December 14, in the museum's Dodge Gallery, and is scheduled to run through 2025.
The exhibit examines the questions, "What is health, what is health care, and how do we take care of each other?" The exhibit also explores the vital role that women have played throughout the history of health care in Grant County, and is largely based on the research of local historian Heather Moorland, PhD, and complemented by the research of Javier Marrufo, museum curator. For example, the exhibit includes the women's sewing circle that, in 1882, gave rise to the idea of a local hospital to "provide some sort of shelter, care, and treatment for the aged and sick prospectors and miners," a quote from local business woman and community leader, Elizabeth Warren.
Women's historic participation as healthcare professionals as well as their experiences as recipients of healthcare are key themes that connect other ideas together throughout this highly interactive exhibit, including the role of women in building the foundation of health care in Grant County; their role as traditional, folk, and spiritual healers; the politics behind their roles in healthcare; institutional sexism and self-determination; as well as the impact of geography and social status in a rural, Western frontier community. The exhibit will be supplemented by a series of monthly educational programs, beginning in March.
"This exhibit provides a framework for the community to not only learn about the history of local health care and the key role that women have played in its creation and development, but also to prompt thoughtful conversation about the most pressing health care issues facing us today, and consider potential solutions," explained Museum Director Bart Roselli. "This exhibit offers a fascinating bridge between the history of our local health care system, while also asking us to reflect on what our current health care needs are and how to address them."
In an effort to make the exhibit compelling to visitors of all ages, several objects and photographs in the exhibit will be tagged with a question to prompt children and their caregivers to consider and discuss various aspects of health care, both historically and present-day.
The exhibit's content and design was highly influenced by a series of focus groups with 25 local historians, healers, educators, and health care professionals to provide a baseline for the history and guide the research, based on lived experience. When creating a new exhibit, museum staff strive to engage the public in multiple ways, and visitors will be invited to share their ideas, questions and comments about the future of health care in Grant County.
In keeping with the idea of creating an exhibit that reflects and engages the larger community, Marrufo invites anyone with a healthcare-related story, object or perspective to share to contact him via email at
"The Silver City Museum is dedicated to presenting honest, truthful reflections of the community that we serve," he said. "As such, we really depend upon community-based research in collaboration with local residents, ensuring that we remain reflective of who we are and who we were. By grounding our research in lived experiences, we become more inclusive through respect for the knowledge and lived experiences of the community."
Museum admission is free, though a suggested donation of $5 helps support the museum's education programs, collections care and exhibitions. For more information, please contact the museum at (575) 589-0221/
The exhibit is sponsored by the Town of Silver City, the Silver City Museum Society, WILL (The Western Institute for Lifelong Learning), and LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens, Local 8003).
