By Regina Lynch-Hudson/Special to Black PR Wire

(Black PR Wire) As headlines warn of deepening fault lines in America’s healthcare infrastructure, National Women’s Health Week (May 12–18) calls us to recognize the impactful force of women who have long stood in the breach—the caretakers, birth workers, herbalists, and healers who are central to the health of their communities.

Among them was my great-great-grandmother, Mary Louisa Stepp Burnette Hayden (1858–1956), whose life work in the Appalachian South exemplified the overlooked genius of women-led wellness.

A skilled healer, caregiver, herbalist, and midwife, Hayden embodied the ethos of prevention—a principle increasingly sidelined in modern medicine. Her legacy provides valuable insight into how traditional, community-based healing can inform the future of healthcare in America.

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