Dr. Geraldine Burton Branch, M.D., from the 1936 yearbook
Dr. Geraldine Burton Branch, M.D. (1908-2016), was a respected gynecologist who worked extensively to improve women’s health and to improve access to medical education.
Posters featuring Dr. Geraldine Burton Branch, M.D. are on display in the ground floor atrium of the Skyline Drive Building and the first floor hallway of Sunshine Cottage.
Birth: October 20, 1908
Death: July 22, 2016
Education:
Dr. Geraldine Burton Branch, M.D. (1908-2016), was a noteworthy physician who always looked toward the future and worked for the betterment of women’s health.
Born in 1908, Dr. Burton Branch was known to be both frequently worrying and simultaneously unafraid to seek answers. She was described by her peers in the New York Medical College as worrying over her lack of knowledge. She strove to always have the most information possible. Consequently, her peers also noted that she was never afraid to ask a question of her instructors and mentors.
Dr. Burton Branch graduated from hunter College with her bachelor’s degree before attending the New York Medical College. She was a recipient of the Walter Gray Crump scholarship and graduated with her M.D. in 1936. She also earned a master’s in public health from UCLA. After earning her M.D., she became a prominent physician with a specialty in gynecology.
She was directly involved with the founding of the Watts Health Center and the Watts Foundation. She continued on with the organizations for many years, serving as a clinician, health officer, consultant, and instructor. Dr. Burton Branch continually looked to the future, which is seen through her involvement with the Watts Clinic, but she brought this focus to the New York Medical College as well.
Looking to the future, Dr. Burton Branch established a four-year, merit-based scholarship to attend the New York Medical College. She made multiple statements that she felt blessed to have the opportunities she did, including the ability to become a physician and gynecologist. She established the scholarship to ensure others could also have those opportunities. Dr. Burton Branch hoped that the recipients would, in turn, continue to help others to have better opportunities.
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