Unheard Voices of Care:
Filipino Nurses in America
Press Release 02/02/2026
Filipino Nurses Exhibit
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One of the country’s largest migration stories stands hidden in plain sight. It’s the tangled legacy of American colonialism, economic inequity and feminine norms that laid the foundation for an undeniable yet unspoken stereotype: Filipino nurses. The notion that every U.S. hospital has Filipino nurses or that every Filipino living here is either a nurse or involved in healthcare seems hyperbolic. But is it true? A new exhibit of photos, documents, uniforms, medical devices and family mementos from nurses newly arrived or native-born citizens descendant from the Philippines, delves into an overlooked but significant demographic.
Filipino Nurses Exhibit:
May 1-31, 2026
Location: International Museum of Surgical Science
1524 N. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, Illinois
Statistically, 4% of the nation’s nurses are of Filipino descent, while Filipinos make up only 1% of the U.S. population. Additionally, Filipinos make up 33% of foreign-born nurses, the largest number of any other country. Historically, American colonialism at the end of the 19th century ushered in an era of “benevolent assimilation” to the Philippines, with Pres. William McKinley promoting U.S. culture, values and professional education. This vision offered the allure of affluence, encouraged Filipinos to learn English and built an infrastructure of schools and institutions founded on American standards and principles.
In the years that followed, demand for nurses in the United States spiked, with global wars, the rise of Baby Boomers and the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid stoking the trend. The
Philippines provided trained, English-speaking workers who would accept lower pay and potentially substandard working conditions. Their homeland’s own struggling economy and the promise of the American dream fueled a steady migration that continues to this day. Notably, the story of this 130-year-old flow of humanity remains untold in mainstream media.
Even though 4 million Filipinos currently reside in the United States, historians, journalists and writers of record have deemed them invisible. That silence, however, is slowly eroding. As more Filipino nurses tell their stories, a fresh light opens over their pioneering trail, revealing
foundational threads that helped weave the tapestry that is America today.
Exhibit Themes
The exhibit will curate items that will speak to the disproportionate number of nurses in the
United States who come from or have roots in the Philippines. Here are several of these unique
and overlapping themes.
- Origins of Filipino nurses in America, considering how they are the highest number of
nurses from outside the United States. - A sense of time and place—rediscovering the roots of Filipinos here in the United
States. These artifacts will follow the history of the U.S. and its need for nurses. - Beneath the headlines: Telling untold stories. Beginning with salacious headlines such
as the Richard Speck killings and the murderous accusations of two nurses in Michigan,
items will also speak to stories that never made mainstream news. These stories reveal an untold history of Filipinos helping to weave the American tapestry. - Gender roles. Considered a female career for many decades, the profession of nursing
has evolved, as did societal views of women in the workplace. - Expansion from work life to home life, with clothing and household items tying back to
recognizable pockets of American history. - The Midwest. Many of the items will come from Chicago-area nurses and will juxtapose
disparate cultures, norms and physical living environments. - Part of the unseen story is being pushed into the frontlines of unknown diseases like
COVID and AIDS, which disproportionally affected Filipino nurses.
This powerful collection of artifacts and stories will attempt to bring these hidden narratives to light. Using the unique perspectives of Filipino nurses to illustrate the evolution of a people and the transition of hundreds of thousands from the Philippine islands to the United States.
FAQs:
How do I donate or loan items or artifacts to the Nurses Exhibit?
Click here to Donate or Loan Items or Artifacts
How can I sponsor this project with funds or in-kind donations?
Click here to Sponsor
How do I find out about upcoming events?
Visit our FAHSC website at http://www.fanhs-chicago.org.
How can I volunteer?
Email Angel Abcede, lead coordinator at AngelChgo@gmail.com.
Other questions?
Email Angel Abcede, lead coordinator at AngelChgo@gmail.com.
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SAVE THE DATES – FILIPINO NURSES EXHIBIT
Jan 17, 2026 – Kickoff of the Filipino nursing exhibit at the Closing Ceremony of the HaloHalo Exhibit at the Harold Washington Library –
Feb 17, 2026 at 7pm – Kickoff Zoom meeting of the Filipino nursing exhibit at the Closing Ceremony of the HaloHalo Exhibit at the Harold Washington Library –
Mar 27, 2026 – Deadline to donate or loan items such as photographs, videos and objects for the Filipino nursing exhibit.
April 11-12, 2026 – Special Preview of the Nurses Exhibit items at the FAHSC Museum at Mana Contemporary Chicago Suite 316 at 2233 S Throop St, Chicago, IL 60608
April 25, 2026 at 2pm – IL Humanities Road Story Telling with Ada Cheng at the FAHSC Museum at Mana Contemporary Chicago Suite 316 at 2233 S Throop St, Chicago, IL 60608
May 1-31, 2026 – Filipino Nurses Exhibit Open to the public at the International Museum of Surgical Science at 1524 N Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, IL 60610
CONTACTS:
Angel Abcede – Filipino Nurses Exhibit Overall Chair
Email angelchgo@gmail.com Phone (773) 459-6775
Merle Salazar – Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago (FAHSC)
Email merlupcn75@yahoo.com Phone (630)706-0300
Ginger Leopoldo – Circa Pintig
Email ginger@circapintig.org Phone (312)956-9489
FANHS - GREATER CHICAGO CHAPTER 