According to Marla Ahlgrimm, there have been strong women throughout history who have laughed in the face of stereotypes – women like Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth. Anthony was one of the most prolific voices in women’s suffrage, slavery abolition, and education reform in the mid-1800s, well before women were considered equal to men. And before Anthony there was Sojourner Truth, an African American slave-turned-activist who fought against oppression and won. Sojourner Truth was the first African American woman to walk away victorious in a court case against a man.
Women have made a major impact in healthcare over the last century, reports Marla Ahlgrimm. Dr. Virginia Apgar was the first physician to develop a standardized newborn screening procedure, which has helped identify countless ailing infants since 1952. The Apgar test is still in use today, says Marla Ahlgrimm. Dr. Apgar wasn’t the first notable female to make her mark in the world of medicine, however. One hundred years prior, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female MD, graduating from Geneva Medical College in NY in 1849.
It is women like these who paved the way for Marla Ahlgrimm and her colleagues back in the early days of women’s health research. Without these standout women’s contribution to politics, healthcare, and other areas, Ahlgrimm may have never had the chance to graduate from pharmacy school. She may have never founded Madison Pharmacy Associates or Women’s Health America. Ahlgrimm’s work has helped thousands of women take control of their health and find real solutions in the form of hormone therapy, diet, and lifestyle change.
