Dr. Alfred Leroy Bookhardt, one of two pioneering physicians who founded the Guardian Care Nursing Home, now Guardian Care Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the first hospital for blacks in Orlando, died on Sunday, May 31. He was 85.
Bookhardt, a graduate of the University of Nebraska and Howard University where he received his medical degree, helped change the manner in which African-Americans were cared for with the opening of Guardian Care Nursing Home in 1966. In February, Guardian Care, along with the Central Florida community, honored Dr. Bookhardt for his sterling contributions to the care and treatment of blacks in Orlando.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Dr. Bookhardt,” said Orlando Senator Geraldine Thompson, in a statement. “The Central Florida Community has lost a pioneering physician who helped found the Central Florida Medical Society, the Guardian Care Nursing Home and the Guardian Care Development Apartment Complex. He impacted thousands of patients and professional colleagues and his legacy will persist for a long time to come.”
Funeral services for Dr. Bookhardt will be held on Sunday, June 8th at the Mt. Sinai Seventh Day Adventist Church, 2610 Orange Center Boulevard, Orlando, Fl 32805. Interment will take place on Monday, June 9, at the Washington Park Cemetery, in Orlando.
I remember as a kid there wasn’t many doctors that the blacks could afford but, Dr.Bookhardt and Dr.Cox were the two black Dr’s that would treat us.there were many office visits made to his office when it was on Tampa Ave.