Tulane University School of Medicine - T Wave Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

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THE HISTORY OF TULANE MEDICAL SCHOOL Tulane University School Of Medicine - 1834

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ste INMEMORIAM CHARLES A. WILDER, JR. 1959-1984 Chuck was one of the special people. One in that group that you collect over a lifetime. One of the few that mean everything to you. Chuck loved life, and loved sharing it with friends. I ' m really going to miss him. - A Friend

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HISTORY OF TULANE MEDICAL SCHOOL Tulane Medical School had i ts auspicious beginning as the Medical College of Louisiana in September 1834. Three brash young medical men, all less than 26 years of age, initiated the beginning of medical education in Louisiana. They were Thomas Hunt, who was to become the first dean of the medical school, Warren Stone and John Harrison. In addition to these three founders, the faculty of the school consisted of four other local physicians: Augustus Cenas, Charles Luzenberg, T. R. Ingalls and E. B. Smith. Dr. Thomas Hunt, Dean 1834 - 1835 and 1852 - 1862 Dr. John H. Harrison Dr. Warren Stone Establishment of the school was met with considerable opposition from the Creoles, whose ideas concerning medical education were based on the European system which stressed academics well grounded in the Latin and Greek classics. The idea of providing medical education without this foundation was utterly in- comprehensible. Furthermore, the Cre- oles regarded all American universities with disdain and considered them hardly on a par with the European universities. When the medical school first opened its doors in January 1835, it became the first medical school in the Deep South and the fifteenth oldest in the country. The Inaugural address was given by Dean Hunt in the First Presbyterian Church. In addition to this church, various other bor- rowed quarters were used for lectures. A lecture room in the State House and wards in Charity Hospital also served as classrooms. These temporary facilities were the only ones available for use dur- ing the next several years, while the facul- ty attempted to secure the necessary funds for construction of a permanent structure to house the fledgling school. In 1836, the governor of the state at- tempted to help the medical faculty ob- tain funding for the erection of a school building. A measure appropriating $60,000 for this purpose was proposed Eind passed by the Senate, but was defeat- ed in the House. It was not until 1843 that any definitive action was taken. On March 22 of that year, a law was passed permitting the medical faculty to erect a building on a lot belonging to the state, on Common Street between Baronne and Dryades Streets. There were two condi- tions attached to the law: first, the faculty should donate their services to Charity Hospital without pay for ten years and second, that one student from each par- ish would be admitted einnually to the medical school for the next ten years. The senator and representatives from each parish were to name each candi- date. The state also reserved the right to reclaim all properties at the end of the ten year period. The fact that this bill gave the faculty of the new school professional privileges at Charity Hospitcil created an uproar among the town ' s medical practitioners. The opposition was based on the belief that the medical school would be given a monopoly over medicine and surgery at Charity. When it was made clear that this was not to be the case, the medical com- munity joined together, resulting not only in the best medical care the city had ever seen, but also providing the school with a clinical teaching hospital that was gradu- ally evolving into one of the top such facilities in the country. Charity Hospital is credited with being the first institution of its kind in the coun- try, having been established in January 1736, almost 100 years prior to the founding of the Medical College of Louisi- ana. The hospital initially opened with a total of five beds and served not only as a hospital, but also as an asylum for the indigent of the city. The original hospital was located on a site in what is now known as the French Quarter and has since occupied four other buildings, in- cluding the present facility which was opened in 1939. Throughout the early 1800 ' s, Charity was one of the largest hospitals in the world. It had the capabi- lity of housing 1,000 patients, although some patients were sleeping on pallets on the floor or sleeping two to a bed. Inter- estingly enough, it was said that there might be two patients to a bed, but they each had the opportunity to take a hot bath . At the present time, the number of beds is given as 1,640. However, the lack i of nursing personnel has forced the clo- sure of several wards, resulting in an actu- al number somewhat below this figure. Meanwhile, having obtained legislative approval for professional privileges at Charity Hospital, the faculty immediately set about drawing up plans for a building to house the medical school. This building