Representatives of the Newtown community will gather this week at Sarasota Memorial’s Internal Medicine Practice in Newtown to honor the memory of the late John W. Chenault, MD, an orthopedic surgeon who was the first African American physician to receive practicing privileges at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in 1960, and one of the first to establish a practice serving the Newtown community. The dedication ceremony will include the unveiling and installation of his portrait, an original illustration and gift from the Ringling College of Art & Design and art student Yekaterina (Katy) Kaydash, as well as a brief history of Dr. Chenault’s contributions. Dr. Chenault was born in 1904, and among other leadership positions, served as director of the Tuskegee Institute’s Orthopedic Surgery and Polio Center; administrator of Florida A&M University Hospital; advisory board member of the American Red Cross; building fund chairman of the Old Folks Aid Home in Newtown (an assisted living and long-term care center for aging African Americans – now the J.H. Floyd Sunshine Manor retirement home); and board member of Easter Seals Southwest Florida (formerly known as Sarasota-Manatee Crippled Children’s Clinic and Happiness House).

Sarasota Memorial Internal Medicine Practice-Newtown