Annual Pub 2022 - Flipbook - Page 9
Looking into the Life of Nevada’s First Black Pediatrician
by Paul Harasim
Growing up in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, Beverly Neyland realized that before her parents took her and her brother and
sister on a long car trip, they had to know well in advance where they would stay. The African American girl didn’t know
why, just 昀椀gured it was one of those parental prerogatives.
But many years later, in 2018, when “Green Book” opened in movie theaters, she understood why. An Oscar-winning 昀椀lm
named after a Jim Crow-era travel guide written by Victor Hugo Green – it highlights safe places for Blacks to stay and eat
while on the road – the movie tells the story of an unlikely friendship that develops between an African American classical
pianist and his white chauffeur/bodyguard as they experience a concert tour chock full of racism.
“When I asked my parents about the “Green Book”, they explained it,” said Beverly Neyland, MD, now a professor of pediatrics at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV.
What Dr. Neyland, now in her 70s and the 昀椀rst Black pediatrician in Nevada, has experienced and accomplished in an
America that hasn’t always been welcoming is a slice of history that can be celebrated anytime an example is needed of
an American who’s made a difference.
Born in a farmhouse in Gloster, MS, Dr. Neyland has achieved much in her life, including chief of pediatrics at University Medical Center (UMC) and Sunrise Hospital; a member of the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners; president of the
Nevada chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; president of the pediatric section of the National Medical Association; chairman of the Governor’s Child and Maternal Health Advisory Board; as well as a member of the Diversity and
Inclusion Committee at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine.
Dr. Neyland says her parents made a huge difference in her life. Her father worked his way to a PhD and her mother to
a master’s degree while their children were growing up. Her father became Florida A&M University’s Dean of Arts and
Sciences and Vice President of Academic Affairs. Her mother, an early preschool educator, also taught at Florida A&M and
was present with President Lyndon Johnson in the White House Rose Garden for the signing of the legislation that began
the nation’s Head Start program.
“They believed their children could be whatever they wanted to be,” she said of her parents.
By the age of 6, Dr. Neyland already showed a scienti昀椀c bent by taking radios apart and putting them back together. She
said her sister’s condition – she had cerebral palsy – made her want to become a pediatrician so she could help youngsters overcome medical conditions.
After graduating with honors from high school and then Bennett College in North Carolina, she
was accepted at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, one of the nation’s oldest historically
Black academic health science centers.
DR. BEVERLY NEYLAND | PHOTO: JOSH HAWKINS
After completing a pediatric residency through UCLA, Dr. Neyland found a job opening in
Las Vegas in 1974. The young doctor enjoyed solving medical puzzles. She remembers a
case where she 昀椀nally determined that a child had rickets, a vitamin D childhood de昀椀ciency
disease that had largely been overcome early in the 20th century. “I worked with someone at
UCLA and we found that the child had an old disease in modern times.” Neyland is proud of
the fact that generations of former patients now bring their children to her.
That Dr. Neyland became a faculty member and chair of the admissions committee
at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine, as well as chief of pediatrics at
both UMC and Sunrise Hospital, didn’t surprise Scott Denton, MD. He worked with her
at all three institutions and when they were both faculty at the Kirk Kerkorian School
of Medicine. He now works with Nevada Health Centers.
“She’s the perfect person to head something and to deal with kids,” Dr. Denton
said. “She’s just very calm and collected...Her patients and students love her.
She’s a real people person who uses humor to diffuse di昀케cult situations.
There are a lot of egos in the medical 昀椀eld and she’s able to handle that
when she’s leading a group...She always speaks her mind, but in a very
diplomatic, articulate manner, delineating her points well. She’s always
able to cut through the noise to get to the point.”
UNLV.EDU/MEDICINE
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