Medical College of Virginia - X Ray Yearbook (Richmond, VA)

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COLLEGE BECOMES A STATE INSTITUTION Old Dominion Hospital The catalog for the session 1860-1861 tells of the first hospital building. Pa- tients had been housed within the Col- lege buildings since the beginning, but there had not been a separate hospital. In issuing this yearly announcement, the faculty feel they have cause to con- gratulate themselves and the friends of the institution, upon its position and prospects, resulting from the recent pas- sage of an Act of the Assembly, appro- priating the sum of $30,000 for its bene- fit. The Act further provides that before payment of the sum appropriated a deed conveying all the property of the College to the Literary Fund should be prepared by the Attorney General and approved by the Governor of the State, and exe- cuted by the College authorities. acknowledged and duly recorded. The Board of Visitors, at a meeting held on the 14th of March last, accepted the provisions of this Act, and gave the necessary authority for the execution of the deed. This measure has since been consummated, and the Medical College of Virginia is now not merely under the patronage of the State, but under its absolute ownership and control. The new hospital, referred to until 1893 as the College Infirmary, was built at a cost of $22,336,57 and opened in April, 1861. The building was brick, three stories in height exclusive of base- ment, and had a bed capacity of 80. The dean ' s report stated, There is a bath- room with water closets adjacent on each floor. The building is lighted by gas and heated by means of furnaces.

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oi«r%Q 32. Lyons Dental Building 33. Gymnasium 39. Monumental Church 40. MCV-West Hospital 42. MCV-North Hospital 44. A. D. Williams Memorial Clinic 45. Clinical Center Building 32. fc . 44. «B»i ' y.. J 28.

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Soon the Civil War erupted, and the College found itself playing an important role in the education of Confederate surgeons and in the hospital care of wounded and sick military personnel. One of the most noteworthy of the faculty contri- butions was that of Dr. James B. IVicCaw, who had lately joined the College as professor of chemistry. He organized the Chimborazo Hospital and served as surgeon-in-charge and commandant until he had the unhappy duty of surrendering the facility to federal control. Chimborazo, reputed to have been the largest military hospital ever organized until that time, treat- ed 76,000 sick and wounded soldiers during the four years of the war. The College was the only medical school in the Confederacy, still in existence, which graduated a class during each of the war years. During this period, approximately one third of those enrolled were grad- uated. Many soldiers assigned as hospital stewards had completed a year ' s work under a preceptor, or at another medical school, and while stationed in an; around Richmond took advantage of the opportunity to attend lectures and complete work for their medi- cal degrees. The class of 1862 included Dr. Simon Baruch, who has been quoted as having been amazed at being sent out to do major surgery without ever having lanced a boil. School of Pharmacy. An admirable opportunity is now offered to PharMACEUTI- , CAL Students and Druggist ' s Clerks to acquire an accurate ; knowledge of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, aiid of : Chemistry and Pharmacy, by attending the Lectures, delivered in the MEDICAL COLLEGE OF VIRGINIA, beginning Oct. ist, and closing in June; when, after passing a satisfactory exami- nation, the applieant will receive a DiPLOWfA, which will hold good in every State in the Union. By reference to the Schedule of Lectiires, it will be seen that the lectures on these subjects are consecutive, saving niuch time and trouble. ' ■ Fee FOR the Course, $50 ; Graduation Fee, $15, ]. B. McGAVi ' , Z?«wi. : Although pharmacy was taught from the beginning, authority for the granting of a de- gree was not granted until January 22, 1879, when by action of the General Assembly, the charter was amended to permit the College to confer the degree of graduate in pharmacy upon such candidates as-having completed two full courses of lectures on materia medi- ca, therapeutics, and on chemistry and phar- macy, and having been thoroughly examined by them and complied with such regulations as may be adopted by the faculty-shall be deemed worthy of distinction. The first graduates of the school of pharmacy were John E. Morris, James V. Ramos, and Charles J. Winfree all of Richmond. Thus the College began its program which was to ultimately include education for all the recognized health professions.