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by Jean Torkelson (As Told to)
They came to America uncertain of the future, and ended up making history in the field of mental health
Newly married, with little but $200 and their medical diplomas in hand, Gregorio and Haydee Kort left Argentina in 1957 to gain experience as resident physicians in the USA.
Their first jobs exposed them to the shocking and inhumane conditions in state mental hospitals, and also to a pair of charismatic bosses committed to reform. Excited by the opportunity to bring the treatment of mental illness out of the cruel practices of the 19th century, the Korts became psychiatrists and leaders in the field of mental health.
Making history, Dr Haydee Kort became the first, and still the only, woman superintendent of the Colorado State Hospital and honored as one of the top hospital administrators in the nation. Dr Gregorio Kort used his specialty, clinical psychiatry, to bring empathy and award-winning innovations to the care of each patient.
This is the story of how "Dr H and Dr G" turned the Colorado State Mental Hospital in Pueblo, Colorado into a nationally recognized model for re-form known for its compassionate, individualized care of the mentally ill.
It's also the story of "Goyo and Beba," two young people, deeply in love, who took on the challenges of a new country and learned to work together professionally, while never forgetting the value of family and the rule "Home by Five." Their lives, personally and professionally, reflect the challenge they put to each other when newly arrived in America, "Let's see what we can do!"
