Robert Russa Moton

History of Morton Comprehensive Health Center The beginning of Morton Comprehensive Health Services can be traced to 90 years ago. In 1921, the American Red Cross opened the Maurice Willows Hospital in Tulsa north to provide assistance to the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. Willows was then director of the Red Cross in Tulsa. In 1932, the City of Tulsa replaced the hospital with a new municipal hospital at the corner of Pine and Greenwood. In 1941, the City of Tulsa transferred management of the municipal hospital to a board of community representatives. The hospital was renamed Moton Memorial Hospital after Robert Russa Moton. Moton served as president of Tuskegee Institute from 1890-1915. He succeeded Booker T. Washington. (More information about Moton can be viewed at http://www.motonmuseum.org) In 1967, after a history of serving Tulsa’s minority and economically disadvantaged populations, Moton Memorial Hospital closed. In 1968, the facility reopened as Moton Health Center, an ambulatory care center.

In 1972, the then Department of Health, Education and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services) assumed grant support of the health center. Today, Morton is affiliated with the Bureau of Primary Health Care. Previously, the hospital was supported by the Office of Economic Opportunity and the Tulsa City-County Health Department.

In 1983, the center was renamed Morton Comprehensive Health Service in honor of W. A. Morton, M.D., a local physician with a distinguished record of service at Moton Memorial Hospital.

In 1998, the MidTown Family Health Center – Homeless Clinic opened to serve the health care needs of the homeless population.

In 2002, the East Tulsa Family Health Center began to serve the growing Hispanic and Asian communities in east Tulsa.

Also, in 2002, the Nowata Family Health Center offered its services to the local community and surrounding counties in northeastern Oklahoma.

In 2006, Morton moved into a new 60,000 square foot facility funded by the citizens of Tulsa County through Vision 2025.

In 2008, Morton became one of only two federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in the state of Oklahoma to receive The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) (To learn more about The Joint Commission, see http://www.jointcommission.org/ ).

Today, Morton has four locations – Main site, 1334 N. Lansing Ave.; East Tulsa Family Health Center, 11511 East 21st St.; MidTown Family Health Center - Homeless Clinic, 102 N. Denver; and the Nowata Family Health Center, 207 S. Locust.

Morton is a nonprofit corporation with 501(c)(3) IRS status and is governed by a multicultural board of directors comprised of community representatives and patients. As a FQHC, Morton provides medical services to northeastern Oklahoma and is able to offer its services on the ability of the patient to pay as defined by federal poverty guidelines.

Historial Timeline of Morton Comprehensive Health Services

1921    Originally named Maurice Willows Hospital
1932    City of Tulsa replaces Willows hospital with a new municipal hospital
1941    Moton Memorial Hospital
1968    Moton Health Center
1983    Morton Comprehensive Health Center
1998    MidTown Family Health Center - Homeless Clinic opened
2002    Nowata Family Health Center (June) and the East Tulsa Family Health Center
(August) were opened
2006    Morton moved into its new main location at 1334 N. Lansing Ave.
2008    MCHS receives full accreditation status from The Joint Commission on the
Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO)

Former Robert Russa Moton High School, Farmville, Virginia, in Prince Edward County Virginia

In 1998, the Robert Moton High School was recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

Today, the former high school is the home of the Robert Russa Moton Museum – A Center for the Study of Civil Rights in Education.

For more information about Moton and the museum, visit http://www.motonmuseum.org/.