Harlem Hospital School of Nursing was established in 1923 as a training school to provide an opportunity for African American women to become professional registered nurses who were refused admission into white nursing schools in New York City. There was pressure in 1921, to establish a nursing school at Harlem Hospital. As a result of the actions of a determined father (Mr. William Vassals & his daughter, Lurline Vassals Deshields) along with the support from the Harlem community, Harlem Hospital Center School of Nursing was established. Lurline Vassals was among the first graduates of Harlem Hospital School of Nursing in 1925. They not only instructed women of color, but men as well as people of other ethnic background graduated from this illustrious school. 

Unfortunately, the school was closed in 1977 due to lack of funding and inability to establish a relationship with a baccalaureate degree program.  

The graduates of Harlem Hospital Center School of Nursing have contributed to the healthcare and wellness of the underserved communities in America and throughout the world. 

Brigadier General Hazel W. Johnson ANC, PhD. First Black Women Director of Walter Reed Army Institute.  

Lieut. Comdr. Dorothy Naomi McCree, USN NC, Commissioned in the Navy in 1953. 

Ethel Rhodes Murray First Black Consultant to Liberian Government in health & nursing field, Liberia, West Africa. 

Maxine Frere Clinical Nurse Specialist/Sr. Assoc. Nurse Coordinator specialty clinical trials for children who were infected with HIV in the Harlem community.