Northwestern's Dispensaries and Outpatient Clinics

Research Tips

As part of the Galter Health Sciences Library's new exhibit, Photographing Pediatrics, Special Collections Librarian Ron Sims compiled a pictorial history of the dispensary and clinics at Northwestern. Here is part one of the article, which was originally published in Galter Health Science Library’s, Library Notes newsletter:

http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/news/index.cfm/2011/6/6/A-Brief-History-of-Northwesterns-Dispensaries-and-Outpatient-Clinics-Part-1-18591925

Waiting Room, South Side Dispensary, Davis Hall, c1910

This helpful article explains the relationships and name changes of institutions associated with Northwestern's medical past, including the Chicago City Dispensary, the Medical Department of Lind University, Chicago Medical College, Mercy Hospital, Davis Free Dispensary, and the South Side Dispensary. 

For more information on the Photographing Pediatrics exhibit and a previous exhibit, An American Original: John Benjamin Murphy, M.D. check out this CAMA blog post from earlier this summer:

http://chicagoareamedicalarchivists.blogspot.com/2011/06/galter-health-sciences-library-hosts.html

Isabella C. Herb, 1869-1943

CAMA Historical Figures/Facilities Project

Anesthesiologist and instructor Isabella C. Herb was born in Clyman, Wisc., on 5 November 1869. She married Charles Albert Herb but after only a few years of marriage, he was killed in an accident in 1888. Herb obtained her medical degree from Woman’s Medical College of Northwestern University in 1892. She completed a year internship at the Mary Thompson Hospital for Women and Children in Chicago and was Assistant to the Medical Staff until 1894, as well as working as their Dispensary Physician and Superintendent. In 1897, she practiced as an anesthetist and pathologist in Augustana Hospital in Chicago. There she worked with Lawrence Prince, M.D., the major developer of open drop ether and chloroform anesthesia. 

 The story continues after the jump...

Caption: "Isabella Herb, M.D., chief anesthetist at Presbyterian Hospital, demonstrates ethylene-oxygen equipment to (center and right) Jay Bailey Carter, M.D. and Arno B. Luckhardt, M.D. Dr. Luckhardt discovered the anesthetic property of ethylene gas with the assistance of Dr. Carter, who had volunteered to be the first human subject for his experiments. An actual patient would be lying down when the anesthesia is administered." Image Call Number: P5236. From the Rush University Medical Center Archives.

Announcing CAMA's Ninth Medical History Symposium, October 28, 2011!

Event : Medical History Symposium, 2011

Mark your calendars!

The next Chicago Area Medical Archivists Medical History Symposium will be held Friday, October 28, 2011. It will be graciously hosted by the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology. Thank you to CAMA member and secretary, Felicia Reilly, for coordinating the event!

The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology is located in Park Ridge, IL, about fifteen miles northwest of downtown Chicago. For more information on their institution, please visit their wonderful website:

http://www.woodlibrarymuseum.org/

Since October 2002, CAMA has sponsored a medical history symposium hosted by member institutions. Past symposia have featured presentations by archivists, librarians, physicians and nurses, institutional exhibits, roundtable discussions and facility tours. The presentation topics are usually centered on local medical or nursing history.

The presentation slots are filling up quickly, and we plan to have a full-day's worth of speakers. If you have a speaker or topic in mind for the symposium, please contact CAMA!

chicagomedicalarchivists@gmail.com

Keep an eye on the CAMA Blog for upcoming news on this event as details unfold!