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

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Tulane University School of Medicine Charity Hospital is credited with being the first institution of its kind in the country, having been established in January 1736, almost 100 years prior to the founding of The Medical College of Louisiana. 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, including 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 capabilities of housing 1,000 patients, although some patients were sleeping on pallets on the floor or sleeping two to a bed. Interestingly 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 at 1,130; however, the lack of nursing personnel has forced the closure of several wards, resulting in an acutal 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 was estimated to cost $6,000 and was not complete until the end of 1843. In 1845, a Constitutional Convention specified that the Medical College of Louisiana was to become the Medical Department of The University of Louisiana. Two years later, additional funds were appropriated to erect buildings for the new university. The original building was returned to the state to be used by the newly established law department. A much larger building was erected adjacent to the original medical building for use by the medical department. Charity Hospital 1934 - 1939

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History Of Tulane Medical School gW ulane Medical School had it ' s auspicious beginning as the Medical College of Louisiana in September Mi I 1834. Three brash young medical men, all less than 26 years of age, initiated the beginning of medical mjy 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. R.R. Ingalls and E.B. Smith. Dr. Thomas Hunt 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 Latin and Greek classics. The idea of providing medical education without this foundation was utterly incomprehensible. Furthermore, the Creoles regarded all American universities with disdain and considered them hardly on a par with the European universities. When the medical school first opened it ' s doors in Janurary 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, other borrowed 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 during the next several years, while the faculty attempted to secure the necessary funds for constructio n of a permanent structure to house the fledgeling school. In 1836, the governor of the state attempted to help the medical faculty obtain funding for the erection of a school building. A measure appropriating $60,000 for this purpose was proposed and passed by the Senate, but was defeated 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 bulding on a lot belonging to the state, on Common Street between Baronne and Dryades Streets. There were two conditions 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 parish would be admitted annually to the medical school for the next ten years. The senator and representatives from each parish were to name each candidate. The state also reserved the right to reclaim all properties at the end of the ten year period. The fact that this new bill gave the faculty of the new school professional priviledges at Charity Hospital 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 community 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 gradually evolving into one of the top such facilities in the country.

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At the time of it ' s founding, the number of medical students consisted of a grand total of 11. From 1834 to 1859, the number of students grew from 1 1 to 276. Just prior to the Civil War in 1861, the number of students increased dramatically to 404 because of political and sectional hostility which induced Southern students to abandon Northern Colleges. When the war broke out. most students joined the war effort in such numbers that, in 1862, only 94 students were enrolled. Federal occupation of New Orleans forced closure of the medical school later that year. In the fall of 1865, the school reopened its doors with 185 students enrolling. However, because of the devastation wrought by the Civil War and the subsequent reconstruction, the medical school faced its most trying times. The school struggled financially for its very existence until 1884, when the wealthy New Orleans merchant Paul Tulane bequeathed $1,250,000 for the establishment of a university. The state legislature then placed all departments of the University of Louisiana under the newly renamed Tulane University of Louisiana. This donation enabled Tulane to once again assume front rank among American medical schools. By the early 1890 ' s, rapid growth of the medical school had established the need for new facitlities. In 1893, a new building, the Richardson Memorial Building, was built on Canal Street to house the medical school. Although this building was heralded as one of the best equipped medical buildings of its day, by 1907 further expansion was needed. At this time Alexander Hutchinson bequeathed a large sum of money in memory of his wife Josephine. This fund was used to construct a new Richardson Building on what was to become the Uptown Campus. This building would now house all preclinical departments. Facilities of the old Richardson Building were enlarged for clinical teaching purposes and the building was renamed the Josephine Hutchinson Memorial. Meanwhile the school was continuously attempting to raise its standards. When the medical school was initially opened, the school year had lasted only four months and only two full courses of lectures were required to graduate. Since only one set of lectures existed, the students were expected to take the same course twice. Admission to lectures were gained with a ticket purchased at a price of $20. This was the sole means by which the professors were paid. Additional fees included a matriculation fee of $5 and a diploma fee of $30. Incidental expenses included the purchase of two arms for disection of 25 cents each, and two legs at 15 cents each. At this time, the only requirement for admission was the ability to finance one ' s education. Class of 1910 in the Anatomy Lab Classroom for bandage instruction Gradually, the annual sessions were lengthened from the original four months to four and one-half months in 1879, then to six months in 1893. In later years, the length of these sessions was furthered extended until it evolved into what it is today. It was also in 1893 that an educational qualification for admission was first required of all students. The minimum qualification for admission was a second grade teacher ' s certificate of a superintendent of education. Also, to further strengthen educational standards, attendance at three, instead of two, annual sessions was required. In 1899, this was lengthened to four obligatory sessions. By the early 1900 ' s it became apparent that a high degree of disparity existed between different medical schools. In 1908. Abraham Flexner was selected by the Carnegie Foundation to undertake an analysis of the state of medical education. He made a study of 155 American and Canadian medical schools, beginning at Tulane in the winter of 1908. Flexner published his report in 1910, describing shocking and deplorable conditions in many medical schools. This opened the eyes of the public and the medical community such that the Flexner report was, in effect, an obituary for a great many medical colleges. Within a few years almost half of the colleges had disappeared, mostly due to adverse publicity.