Mobile Medical Museum

05/26/2026

We made the list!

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05/21/2026

On June 13, from 1 to 3 pm, the Mobile Medical Museum and Alabama Contemporary Art Center will present the opening reception of Evidence of Care, an exhibition of new multimedia work by Will Truran. Video displays, historical objects from the Museum’s collection, and donated materials from Mobile Infirmary and USA Health will be used to explore the past, present, and future of tool design, use and disposal in hospital systems.

In the artist's words: "After treatment ends and lives
are changed, the physical traces of caregiving remain behind. The materials, the sweat, and often the tears become evidence of the labor, urgency, and humanity found within systems of care. Evidence of Care is a multimedia art exhibition exploring the everyday medical materials that quietly support the work of medical workers."

This project was made possible by a grant from Alabama State Council on the Arts. Additional support provided by the Mobile County Commission.

Attendance is free for members and $7 admission for not-yet members. RSVPs are appreciated!

05/19/2026

Congratulations to the 2026 Mobile Community Health Leadership Awardees and thank you to everyone who came out and made our event so memorable!

05/18/2026

Last week, USA student organization Generation Action was awarded a Mobile community health leadership award from the Mobile Medical Museum. The award was accepted by (left to right) Ellen Hamby, biomedical sciences major and incoming president of Generation Action; Paige Willson, international studies major and recent graduate, founder and outgoing president of Generation Action; and Harper Higdon, biology major and graphic designer for Generation Action.

05/15/2026

The tomato has a very controversial place in the history of herbal medicine. Cherry tomatoes are closely related to the wild tomato that is native to Central and South America and was a food source to the Aztecs. The word "tomato" is derived from tomatl, which means "swelling fruit" in Nahuatl, one of the main Aztec languages. Europeans brought the tomato back home in the sixteenth century. Some herbalists classified it as a poisonous nightshade or mandrake, but it gradually caught on with the aristocracy as a somewhat exotic delicacy. In 19th century America, Dr. John C. Bennett of Ohio began promoting raw tomatoes and tomato products to treat diarrhea and soothe an upset stomach. Soon, tomato pills were being sold as a cure-all. Chef Louis Perrin of French Lick, Indiana, invented tomato juice in 1917, when he ran out of orange juice. By then, improvements in canning and preserving food as well as better understanding of nutritional health opened the door for tomato juice to be embraced as a health fad for over half a century.

05/13/2026

The Combison 202/R Minifason was a handheld, audio-only ultrasound device used for fetal heart monitoring. It was introduced by the Austrian company, Kretztechnik, in 1973. It used the Doppler method to capture the sounds of echoes reverberating off the flow of blood. The device was small, lightweight, and powered by two 9-volt batteries, quite a contrast from the console-based ultrasound machines that had been used previously. In 1999, Carl Kretz, the nephew of the founder of Kretztechnik, was awarded the prestigious Ian Donald Gold Medal for Technical Development by the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

05/08/2026

Dr. Lonnie E. Smith was a Black dentist from Houston, Texas, who brought a lawsuit to challenge a Texas law that prohibited Black voters from voting in the Democratic primary. The so-called "white primary" was one of several tactics that Southern states used to suppress the Black vote in the early twentieth century. In 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff in Smith v. Allwright, finding that the Texas law violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Following this decision, Dr. Goode worked with John LeFlore and the Non-Partisan Voters League on voter registration drives. In 1949, the NPVL registered over a thousand new Black voters in the run-up to a Mobile municipal election.

05/07/2026

Dr. Jean Carruthers, a Canadian ophthalmologist and cosmetic surgeon pioneered the cosmetic use of botox in 1987, at a time when botulinum toxin was known as "the world’s most poisonous poison." When administered correctly, it is safe and effective. But many medical professionals are concerned about the growing trend of DIY botox treatments and TikTok tutorials.

The latest DIY beauty hack isn’t for the squeamish

05/06/2026

The seventh annual Mobile Community Health Leadership Awards reception is just around the corner! We can't wait to honor and celebrate these outstanding Mobilians. Let's meet our tenth and final awardee, the Beta Omicron Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

The Beta Omicron Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is committed to leadership, scholarship, and service in keeping with the fraternity’s legacy as the first intercollegiate Greek-letter organization founded for African American men in 1906. Through purposeful programming and community engagement, the chapter has strived to uplift communities and develop leaders who exemplify excellence and integrity since its charter in 1939.

Beta Omicron Lambda actively supports Alpha Phi Alpha’s national programs, which focus on education, mentorship, health, and social responsibility. These initiatives include Go To High School, Go To College, which promotes academic achievement and preparedness for higher education; Project Alpha, which provides youth with guidance on personal responsibility and healthy life choices; A Voteless People is a Hopeless People, which focuses on voter education, registration, political awareness and empowerment; and Brothers’ Keeper, a program developed with the mission of advocating and improving the quality of life for Alpha Phi Alpha’s senior brothers, their spouses and widows; brothers who are retired and have disabilities or ailments; and vulnerable community members.

A signature local initiative of the chapter is its Annual Blood Drive (recently renamed Haynes/Hazzard Day of Service), conducted in partnership with the American Red Cross and the USA Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. This vital collaboration addresses critical blood shortages while raising awareness about sickle cell disease and its impact on diverse communities. In 2025, this event collected 55 units of blood and served over 150 sickle cell warriors, making it one of the most successful events in the 26-year partnership. Through efforts like these, Beta Omicron Lambda demonstrates its enduring commitment to saving lives and serving the public good.

05/04/2026

Thanks so much to AARP of Alabama for hosting a screening of Medicine and the Movement this morning!

If your group would like to host a screening, please get in touch.