A Brief History  

Excerpts from an article written by Joseph M. Miller, M.D., marking the centennial of the Baltimore County Medical Association in 1997.

Five doctors from Baltimore County were in the founders’ group of the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of the State of Maryland in 1799, well before the birth of the county society. Dr. Charles M. Ellis, in his presidential address at MedChi in 1898, noted the disparity between a city and a country practice.  The city physicians had hospitals and dispensaries and could take advantage of post-graduate courses, consultations, and libraries.  

The practice of medicine must have been difficult in Baltimore County early in the 1890s. Specialists did not exist, there were no hospitals, and transportation was most limited.  Most doctors had little formal learning experience after medical school although a few had internships. Thus, many of these men felt the need of further medical education for the treatment of diseases for which they, as individuals, had little to offer.    

To change their particular medical environment, a small group of Baltimore County medical practitioners, persuaded of the advantages of the diffusion of knowledge and the cultivation of friendly relations, constituted themselves an association for the above purposes. They agreed to be governed by an adopted Constitution and Bylaws, in addition to the Code of Ethics of the American Medical Association. [i]    

The start of this century-old group was far from auspicious. Upon the invitation [ii]of five of their colleagues, 18 men assembled on April 15, 1897 in the Grange Hall at Towson. Subsequently, 41 members agreed to abide by the adopted rules by affixing their signatures to the agreement. The Association decided to meet in Towson or some other town in the county, which was accessible by steam or electric cars, on the third Thursday in each month at two o’clock pm from October to May. The dues were two dollars a year.    

One of the prime objectives of the new society was the promotion of public health. Dr. Jackson Piper, who became its first president at 69 years of age, tremendously aided this endeavor. At the July, 1897 meeting of the society, a resolution was passed calling attention to the fact that the health of Baltimore County residents was jeopardized by the presence of leaking cess-pits. The society requested county legislation to forbid the construction of cesspools that were not watertight.    

Towson (Towsontown until 1880) was the county seat of Baltimore County. This area was the richest and most populace site in the county during the last part of the 19^th century.[iii],[iv]. The York Turnpike ran through its center, the Northern Central Railroad extended along its western side, and a narrow gauge railroad connected the town to Baltimore. The ride to Baltimore could also be made on a horse-car railroad. This era was well before the appearance of the automobile.    

The area did not have a hospital so those patients needing such care had to be taken to Baltimore. Two institutions for mental care were, however, in the area. The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital was built on a 340 acre farm known as Mt. Airy, six miles from Baltimore on the York Road.  To connect with the recently extended Charles Street, an additional 35 acres were acquired.  The first patient was received in 1891, and at the present time, this hospital is one of the finest psychiatric institutions in the United States. [v]  

House calls in 1900 were made on horseback or by horse and buggy. James F.H. Gorsuch (Figure 4), born in Harford County, was a pupil of Dr. John J. Chilsolm.  Gorsuch graduated from the University of Maryland Medical School in 1876. He practiced in Fork, and at one time was president of the Harford County Medical Society. Later, he became one of the founders and then president of the Baltimore County Medical Association.  At first, Dr. Gorsuch made house calls on horseback but later used a one-horse buggy and then a team to travel about Fork and its environs. In 1910, he acquired one of the early automobiles.  He was a gifted orator and a political power in the county.[vi],[vii]    

The Baltimore County Medical Association’s monthly meetings were held at various locations- local hotels and halls, one of the small asylums or retreats, or in one of the homes of the physicians. Subjects of discussion included diseases of the day: typhoid fever, diphtheria, vaccination, thyroid lesions, rabies, and injuries from the explosion of firecrackers.    

The size of the society has paralleled the increase in population of the county. The number of inhabitants rose to almost 700,000 in 1990.  In 1961, the Association had 219 members and now, in 1997, the society numbers 1,173.  Hospital growth has also been comparable. In an area that once did not have a hospital bed, four large hospitals now offer 1,477 beds.    

The period following World War II was turbulent in many aspects.  African American physicians had repeatedly been refused admittance to MedChi, and it was not until April 1949 that the House of Delegates voted to admit them as full members. A letter to MedChi from the Baltimore County Medical Association states that as of March, 1953, Joseph H. Nichols, Joseph A. Thomas, and William C. Wade, all African American, were members.[viii] In 1969, African American physician, Theodore C. Patterson, a general practitioner in the Turner Station area of Dundalk, was elected president of the BCMA. In its first century, four women had been elected president: Margaret Sherrard (1960), Elizabeth Sherrill (1977), Esther Edery (1990), and Marianne Benkert (1993).  

The badge of authority of the Baltimore County Medical Association is an ebony cane with a golden head that is inscribed with the names of the presidents of the society.[ix] The cane, first presented to Dr. John S. Green, Jr. by Dr. George H. Hocking in 1946, was to be passed to succeeding presidents as they entered office.  This tradition was started as a symbol of unselfishness and a life devoted to humanitarian service.    

The seal of the society is a unique logo designed by Lee Einwaechter, a student in Catonsville High School.[x] The seal features the arch geographical outline of the county, a caduceus, and the year of the founding of the society.    

The Baltimore County Medical Association has witnessed innumerable improved methods of diagnosis and treatment.[xi] Born just two years after Roentgen discovered the X-Ray, the group has seen major advances in roentgenography, computerized axial tomography, and magnetic resonant imaging.  The county physician was liberated from his individual pharmacy by amazing developments in the pharmaceutical world. Vaccines prevented previously lethal diseases.    

Public service continued to be a hallmark of the society at mid-century.  The Family Life Program was introduced into the public schools as a pilot program in 1969 for the purpose of acquainting pre-adolescent children with the normal biological changes of puberty.  Immunization against Rubella was given to 6,500 school children in 1970.  The Family Life Program was later instituted in the 11^th and 12^th grades.    

Now, at 100, the Baltimore County Medical Association continues to exhibit the strength and integrity of its founders.  

References  

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