This image serves as a link to the
interview with Dr. William Schreiner in
UC Libraries Mediaspace.
The entire Winkler Center Oral History Collection is now easily available in a streaming form
through the abovementioned website.

We are proud to announce the completion of the first interview in The Christ Hospital Health Network in collaboration with the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions Oral History Series; our first interview subject was one of Cincinnati’s most prominent physicians who is also considered to be “The Doctors’ Doctor”, Dr. William Schreiner.  The entire interview is now available in a streaming format through the UC Libraries mediaspace.

Graduate Class Photograph of
A. William Schreiner III, 1949

Dr. Schreiner was born in Cincinnati on February 15, 1926. He attended Walnut Hills High School as part of the class of 1944 before matriculating at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Schreiner continued his education at UC’s medical school, finishing the program in 1949 at the age of twenty-three. He then completed an internship at Cincinnati General Hospital, which was followed by a residency in Internal Medicine. Dr. Schreiner was the last chief resident for to serve under Dr. Marion Blankenhorn at Cincinnati General Hospital.

 

Dr. Marion A. Blankenhorn,
circa 1950

[Dr. Blankenhorn] was the quintessence of my opinion of an internist. He was a …professional man, a very kind man, …awesome in some respects; he was theatrical, he would walk in the room in the [open wards at the Cincinnati General Hospital]…and put his nose up in the air…and he’d go “I smell typhoid fever and it’s right back there”, and he was right! He had this ability to tie things together so well…an incredible clinician, very observant…and an extremely good teacher.

– A. William Schreiner III, MD, FACP

Schreiner also served in both Korea and Japan during the Korean War, where he was stationed at the 21st Station Hospital and became Chief of Medicine due to his training under Dr. Blankenhorn; he also consulted at the 3rd Army Hospital in Korea and eventually was transferred to the Tokyo Army Hospital where he was the Chief of Gastroenterology.

“We were the clearing house for the whole southeast command, so everything from the Philippines, Korea…, Japan, would all come to the Tokyo Army Hospital.”

– A. William Schreiner III, MD, FACP

Following the War, Schreiner worked at both the Dayton and Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Hospitals, where he established routine morning reports from the resident staff.  Dr. Schreiner was also instrumental in the planning and development of The Christ Hospital’s residency program in the late 1960s; one of the countless residents to complete the program was Dr. William Camm (UCCOM Class of 1977, Member, Winkler Center Advisory Board), who served as the interviewer for Dr. Schreiner’s oral history. Schreiner served as the Director of the Internal Medicine Department and Residency Program until his retirement in 1993.

The Christ Hospital shares the Winkler Center’s mission to preserve Cincinnati’s rich medical history for future generations of medical researchers and historians and we look forward to collaborating on many more interviews throughout 2016.

I want to thank Dr. Schreiner for sitting down and telling us his wonderful story of how he came to The Christ Hospital and made such an impact.   You have been a great teacher, mentor, clinician, and most importantly a friend to many of us. The physician staff, as well as all the past, present, and future employees and patients of The Christ Hospital, owe you a debt of gratitude for all you have done to make this institution what it is today. Thank you for sharing your story.

– William Camm, MD, ’77

This image serves as a link to the official UC Digital Resource Commons (DRC)
record for the interview.

The Winkler Center thanks Dr. William Camm especially for his instrumental role in the creation of this collaborative oral history series; his enthusiasm and dogged determination has helped transform this project from concept to practice in less than three months!

To view all of the oral history interviews in the Winkler Center collection, please click here. Also, for more information, to view a collection, or for a tour of the Winkler Center, please call 558-5120 or email chhp@uc.edu to schedule an appointment.