from 1:45 until 4:00 p.m., ate supper at 6:00 p.m., and went to bed at 9:30 p.m. Some patients who were advanced in their treatment exercised at certain times of the day. An occupational therapist led the patients in handicraft activities. Some patients were taught skills that they could use upon returning to productive society. Patients were required to attend weekly lectures on tuberculosis. They were taught the proper way to dispose of sputum and other aspects of dealing with the illness. Piedmont staff hoped that they would go back to their home communities and teach other blacks about tuberculosis. Piedmont Sanatorium School of Tuberculosis Nursing Piedmont Sanatorium School of Tuberculosis Nursing, a two-year nursing school for black women, was founded shortly after the Sanatorium opened. It allowed the black women to become certified specifically in tuberculosis nursing; a third year of training at St. Phillips Hospital in Richmond was required in order to become a Registered Nurse. The school became the subject of controversy due to the hospital staffing shortages of World War II. In 1943, Virginia Governor Colgate W. Darden Jr. proposed having an all-black staff at Piedmont in order to free white personnel to work in white hospitals. The proposal failed, partly because of concerns that the quality of care at Piedmont would suffer. Closing In 1965, in a visible sign that racial segregation was beginning to crumble, Piedmont Sanatorium closed and black patients were admitted to the previously all-white Blue Ridge Sanatorium. By 1967, the Burkeville facility had been converted into Piedmont Geriatric Hospital. References External links Dr. Julian B. Woodson Home Page The Blue Ridge Sanatorium Against the Cityscape of Charlottesville, Monica Shenouda. Hospital buildings completed in 1917 Hospitals in Virginia History of Virginia African-American historic places Tuberculosis sanatoria in the United States