Women’s History Month: Dr. Claire Louise Caudill
Article by Savannah Jackson
This article originally appeared in the March 2022 Edition of the Rowan Review. Subscribe today at rcky.us/review.
This Women’s History Month, we reflect on the lives and contributions of women throughout history- women whose accomplishments were often unsung, whose triumphs over struggle remain a source of inspiration to this day. Dr. Claire Louise Caudill was one of these women from Rowan County.
Born in Morehead in 1912, Claire Louise Caudill lived in our area until 1930 when she left to attend Ohio State University. Later, in 1946, she was one of the only two women in her class at University of Louisville and received her Medical Doctorate. One year later, she came home to Morehead to make a difference in the community. She started a medical practice with her friend and nurse, Susie Halblieb, and spent much of their time visiting homes, delivering babies, and advocating for advances in healthcare in Eastern Kentucky.
At the time, because there was no hospital in the area, folks across the region were sent to Lexington, Ashland, or Cincinnati to receive medical treatment for anything more than minor. Claire Louise Caudill was determined to see a change in this and ensure quality medical care for the people of Rowan County and Eastern Kentucky, and she played a significant role in St. Claire Medical Center’s establishment in 1961. The hospital is named for her and is sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame along with the aid of the Northeast Kentucky Hospital Foundation, making it a Catholic, not-for-profit hospital.
For over five decades, Caudill worked to improve local healthcare and delivered an estimated over eight thousand babies while practicing medicine. She received the 1994 County Doctor of the Year Award, was interviewed by CBS, and was featured in USA Today. She kept delivering babies until she turned seventy and kept practicing medicine until she was in her eighties- a true testament to her desire to help her people. Throughout March, we recognize women like Dr. Claire Louise Caudill and show our gratitude for their lasting impacts.
Sources:
https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/caudill_oral_histories/