Dr. L. Natalie Carroll
Dr. L. Natalie Carroll, 2000. (Courtesy of Dr. L. Natalie Carroll)
Class photo of Dr. L. Natalie Carroll, 1974 (Courtesy of Meharry Medical College)
Dr. L. Natalie Carroll, a nationally recognized obstetrician and gynecologist, was born in 1950 in Nashville, Tennessee, while her father, Dr. Carl Mark Carroll, completed his medical education at Meharry Medical College. Natalie Carroll decided to pursue a medical career at a young age; she believed that medicine perfectly combined science and helping people.
After completing her college studies at Lake Forest College in Illinois in just three years, Natalie Carroll decided to study medicine at Meharry Medical College, following her family’s tradition with this school. Dr. Carroll received her medical degree in 1974. She completed her residency with Howard University School of Medicine at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. and with Harvard University School of Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. At the Washington Hospital Center, she became the first female to complete an internship in surgery and the first African-American woman to complete a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Before she moved to Houston, Dr. Carroll served in the Army at Ford Hood, Texas, where she ran the women’s health clinic. From 1983 to 1985, she chaired the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. Since arriving in Houston, she has been a member of the staffs at several hospitals, including Riverside General Hospital, St. Luke’s Hospital, Hermann Memorial Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Hospital. Currently, Dr. Carroll maintains a private practice in Houston’s Third Ward.
Dr. Carroll is active in various organizations. She is also a member of the Texas Medical Association, Lone Star State Medical Association, Harris County Medical Society, Houston Medical Forum, and Houston Gynecological Society. In the 1990s Dr. Carroll was nominated for and won an Outstanding Young Houstonian award.
In 2002, Dr. Carroll was elected president of the National Medical Association. As president, she focused on the disparity in care provided to the nation’s African-American population and on problems with the remuneration of African-American physicians under Medicare and Medicaid.
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