Pitts — who received her nurse training at Brewster Hospital Nursing Program for colored girls in Jacksonville, Florida, which was one of the few nursing schools for African American girls in the United States – says that she was fortunate to have a nursing school director who had links to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, Washington (one of the first Seattle Hospitals to hire African American nurses at that time).

Pitts is no novice to virus infections and in public health efforts to change health outcomes for communities of color in Seattle’s Central Area; especially African American.

In 1956, she was a nurse for the Seattle Department of Public Health when she was loaned, based on her interest and expertise in infectious diseases, to the University of Washington Department of Epidemiology and International Health, where she  worked closely with Dr. John P. Fox in implementing a multi-year virus infection surveillance research project entitled “The Virus Watch Program.”

Her influences in erasing the disparities in health status of our community is evidenced by the increasing number of African American nurses in our community with advanced degrees, involvement with higher education and the increased number of members of MMPNO involved in outreach activities in the community which improved the lives and hope of African heritage people.

• Gayle Robinson, an Assistant Professor at Seattle University, has a doctorate degree and serves with a very special interest and experience in African American health, HIV Prevention, and Intergenerational Dialogues on family health.