Category Archives: Winkler Center

The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library Selected to Host Traveling Exhibition about Native Concepts of Health and Illness

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Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Powwow, Mashpee, Massachusetts, July 2010. Courtesy National Library of Medicine/Bryant Pegram

Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Powwow, Mashpee, Massachusetts, July 2010. Courtesy National Library of Medicine/Bryant Pegram

The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library has been selected in a competitive application process to host Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness, a traveling exhibition to U.S. libraries.

Native Voices explores the interconnectedness of wellness, illness and cultural life for Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. Stories drawn from both the past and present examine how health for Native People is tied to community, the land and spirit. Through interviews, Native People describe the impact of epidemics, federal legislation, the loss of land and the inhibition of culture on the health of Native individuals and communities today.

As one of 104 grant recipients selected from across the country, the Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library will host the traveling exhibition July 23 through Aug. 30, 2018.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) developed and produced Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness. The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, in partnership with NLM, tours the exhibition to America’s libraries. Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness was displayed at the NLM in Bethesda, Maryland, from 2011 to 2015. To learn more and view content from the exhibition, visit http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices.

Suzanne L. Singer

Suzanne L. Singer

Related Events

In association with the Native Voices exhibit, related events have been scheduled to explore the topic of Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness. The first scheduled event is keynote speaker Suzanne L. Singer scheduled for 5-7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 26, in the CARE/Crawley Atrium (Medical Sciences Building, 231 Albert Sabin Way). Throughout August, lectures that cover such topics as “The Contribution of Native Voices to Medicine through Botany,” “Breaking Bread: A Perspective of Fry Bread and Native Health” and “Preventing Tuberculosis while Regulating Indigenous Bodies” have been scheduled in the Stanley J. Lucas, MD, Board Room, E level of the Medical Sciences Building near the Kresge Circle.

A full schedule of events is listed online.

Continue reading →

Artifact from the Future: Summer 2018 UC Scholars Program

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The Winkler Center would like to thank Nandita Baxi Sheth (DAAP) and the University of Cincinnati Scholars Program for seeking the Center’s participation in the Summer 2018 Scholars Program titled Artifact from the Future: A Trans Disciplinary Critical Inquiry Experience.

The UC Scholars Program brought Hughes STEM High School 10th and 11th grade students to the University of Cincinnati for a two-week residential, immersive summer critical thinking experience that:

  • built skills through problem based and experiential learning activities
  • provided exposure to multiple UC Colleges and Programs, degrees, and careers
  • provided on campus residential living experience
  • introduced community and industry partners
  • developed mindfulness and self-care practices
  • developed collaborative, leadership, and study skills

The program planned all these learning activities and experiences through a lens of thematic inquiry.

The theme of inquiry for the summer ‘18 Scholars was a deep consideration of the future. Using a wide-range of multimedia and disciplinary approaches including the anthropocene, speculative fiction, science fiction, afrofuturism, and technology, students delved into prospective world scenarios and dystopian futures, and were charged with developing artifacts from that future.

One stop for the scholars was the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions.  There, curator, Gino Pasi, gave a workshop for the students which included an introduction to archives, curatorship and public history, and a brief overview of what it is the Winkler Center actually does. Students then were introduced to health science-related artifacts from the past.

Student examines a kymograph (an early blood pressure montoring device) at the Winkler Center

Students are introduced to artifacts at the Winkler Center

After that, four teams of scholars were created and each team received an artifact to examine, describe, and then use in a story, play, poem, or some other written work to be presented at the end of the workshop.  The Winkler Center objects given to the students included the “iron lung,” an electro-convulsive therapy unit, a baby incubator from the 1950s, and a “quackery” cure-all from the 1930s called the Electraply. Amazingly each team described and guessed the proper uses of each artifact without any hints or clues.

 

A team examines the Iron Lung.

Students work to describe there artifacts.

Another team examines the “Electraply” device

We hope the students enjoyed not only their Winkler Center experience, but also the rest of their time here at UC. We hope to see them here in the future. For more on this year’s scholars program see:  https://www.rtefakt.org/

May 3 Cecil Striker Society Annual Lecture to Highlight Pediatrics in Cincinnati

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cchmc

The Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions and the Cecil Striker Society for the History of Medicine will host the 9th Cecil Striker Society Annual Lecture from 5-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 3, in the Kresge Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building, 231 Albert Sabin Way.

michael farrell

Michael Farrell, MD

This year’s lecture, titled “Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Impacting the Health of Children in Our Community and the World: The Past, Present and Future,” will focus on the contributions and historical relevance of pediatrics in the Cincinnati region with a primary focus on Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center (Children’s Hospital).

Michael Farrell, MD, and Bea Katz, PhD, will serve as co-lecturers for the event. Dr. Farrell is currently professor of pediatrics in the College of Medicine. He served as director of the Pediatric Residency Program until 2001 and chief of staff at Children’s Hospital until 2015. His major interests are general pediatrics, the history of medicine and gastroenterology/nutrition. Bea Katz, editor of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (2008) by Arcadia Publishing, has chronicled the history of Children’s Hospital for 30 years, first as a writer in the hospital’s Marketing and Communications Department and later, post-retirement, as an independent author and researcher.

bea katz

Bea Katz, PhD

The evening will include the talk and audience Q&A from 5-6:30 p.m. Immediately following will be a reception from 6:30-7:30 p.m. outside the Winkler Center. In addition, an exhibit highlighting the pediatric history of Cincinnati will be on display in the Stanley J. Lucas, MD, Board Room.

The Cecil Striker Lecture is free and open to the public, but RSVP’s are requested by April 27 to (513) 558-5120 or chhp@uc.edu. Continue reading →

Ira Abrahamson Jr., M.D.

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Well, we lost another one. It is with sadness that we report the passing of our friend Dr. Ira Abrahamson, Jr. last Saturday, March 10.

At Ira’s home, June 2017

Personally, it is Dr. Abrahamson’s humor and amiability that I will remember most–so just a quick story before the more formal obituary, which I hope Ira would appreciate.

I had only been at the Winkler Center about two weeks when Dr. Abrahamson showed up with several family members to see his collection and the small exhibit we have on his life and career. I was nervous meeting my first Winkler Center donor, but he immediately set me at ease. He reminded me that the hand of his I had just shaken was a hand also shaken by two popes from whom he had received papal blessings (he had the photographs to prove it). He then tried to convince me that the blessings bestowed on him by those pontiffs now had been conferred on me. I said “if that’s the case, then give me your other hand so I can shake it…why leave anything to chance?” He laughed. I felt better. We would share jokes from that point forward whenever he would visit the Winkler bringing in more materials or just friends with whom to share his many accomplishments. We’ll miss him.

The following obituary was sent to all faculty/staff of the College of Medicine on Wednesday, March 14. It is reprinted here with permission from the UC College of Medicine Dean’s Office.

Dr. Abrahamson attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a swimming scholarship. He received his medical degree from the UC College of Medicine in 1948, as did his sister, Margaret, in 1946 and his son, Richard, in 1987. He completed his internship at Cincinnati General Hospital and his residency at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary. He served for a year in the U.S. Coast Guard and then in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953 during the Korean War. Following military service, he returned to his native Cincinnati to practice with his father, Ira Abrahamson Sr., MD, who also was an ophthalmologist and on faculty at the College of Medicine.

A member of our faculty since 1964, Dr. Abrahamson rose to full professor before being named an emeritus professor in 2004.
Dr. Abrahamson became one of the first ophthalmic photographers in the world and invented several techniques to photograph the eye. Many of his images were used in his books on ophthalmology and eye care. He also traveled around the world lecturing, teaching and providing vision care to disadvantaged children.
Dr. Abrahamson received numerous honors in his lifetime, including the College of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award in 2008 and the President’s Award of Excellence in 2014 from the University of Cincinnati. In 2001 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the University of North Carolina, and in 2000 he was named an Outstanding Philanthropist by Boston Children’s Hospital. He was inducted into the Medical Mission Hall of Fame in 2007 for his contributions to advancing the quality of life of others around the world. He even had audiences with three popes: Pius XII, Paul VI and John Paul II.

Dr. Abrahamson had a tremendous impact on vision care, education and research for more than 60 years. He worked tirelessly to eliminate preventable blindness in children, not only here in Cincinnati but around the world. In 1995, he created the Abrahamson Pediatric Eye Institute at Cincinnati Children’s. Working with the Cincinnati Rotary Club, the institute started the Vision Screening Program through Rotary International where 800 local chapters eventually joined in the program to detect vision problems in young children.

“Declaring that the street currently knowns as Shillito Place shall hereby receive the honorary secondary name of “Dr. Ira Abrahamson Way by legislative action of the May and City Council in honor…” Dr. Abrahamson getting his street, October, 2016

Dr. Abrahamson receives the University of Cincinnati President’s Award for Excellence from previous UC President, Santa Ono, 2014

 

Billie Broaddus

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Billie Broaddus with Heloisa Sabin at the Albert B. Sabin Historical Marker Dedication, June, 2013

The Winkler Center was saddened last week to learn of the passing of former Health Sciences Librarian and Director of the Cincinnati Medical Heritage Center (Winkler Center), Billie Broaddus. Billie is remembered fondly by the colleagues who knew and worked with her. “She often used the ‘iron fist in the velvet glove’ and was able to achieve much through that approach,” remembered Senior Librarian Sharon Purtee.

From 1961 to 1971 Billie worked at the University of Kentucky Medical Library. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a B.S. in History in 1973 and a M.S.L.S in Library Science in 1974. She began work at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Library in August, 1974 as Head of Reference. She later became the Coordinator of Information Services and then Head of the Health Sciences Library. Serving a dual role in 1981, she directed both the Health Sciences Library and the History of Health Sciences Library. Later that year, she applied to become director of the historical collections, a job in which she could merge her love of history with her library experience.

She held the position of Director, University of Cincinnati Medical Heritage Center until her retirement in 2003. Billie was professionally active in several organizations, including the Medical Library Association, and served on many professional committees. She was elected President of the Midwest Chapter/Medical Library Association in 2001. Billie was also a member of the Archivists and Librarians in History of the Health Sciences and the Ohio Academy of Medical History, the American Association for the History of Medicine, the Ohio Academy of Sciences, the Society of Ohio Archivists and the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine History Committee.

During her tenure as Director of the Medical Heritage Center, the archives of alumni and faculty including, Drs. William Altemeier, Charles D. Aring, Stanley Block, Benjamin Felson, Martin Fisher, and Robert Kehoe were all added to the repository’s holdings. Forging personal relationships with the Sabin family, she was instrumental in bringing the Albert B. Sabin Papers to the Center. In addition, Broaddus supervised the centralization into one repository of the many decentralized historical collections of the departments within the College of Medicine.

She was adamant too that because the Heritage Center served a different audience than the Health Sciences Library, the two institutions keep somewhat distinct identities. In the early 1990s as the UC Libraries developed an online presence for its collections, Broaddus made sure the Heritage Center was given its own webpage. Under Broaddus’s leadership, the Medical Heritage Center became a preeminent resource center for the history of the health sciences. She served the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Libraries for almost 30 years and was appointed Librarian Emerita when she retired from the University of Cincinnati in February 2003.

Another colleague, Edith Starbuck, remembers “Billie was a generous colleague [who] shared her knowledge and skills without hesitation…[she] also knew how to bring history to life with her wealth of knowledge and ability to tell the stories about the individuals whose information and artifacts were housed in the Heritage Center.

Read about Preserving Taft, the Writing of E.B. White and the Digital Scholarship Center in Source.

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source vol 16 no2Read Source, the online newsletter, to learn more about the news, events, people and happenings in UC Libraries.

This latest issue of Source includes a feature on the work of the Preservation Lab and their collaboration with the Archives and Rare Books Library on a collection about William Howard Taft. Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian, talks about how libraries need to adapt for the future. Kevin Grace, university archivist and head of the Archives and Rare Books Library, writes about a collection centered around children’s books author and co-writer of The Elements of Style, E.B. White. A grant from The Andrew Mellon Foundation in support of the Digital Scholarship Center’s research on machine learning and data visualization in multiple disciplines in the humanities and beyond is announced. Dean Wang and Liz Scarpelli, director of the University of Cincinnati Press are interviewed about the progress of the Press one year in. Gino Pasi, archivist and curator for the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions, writes about a set of historical and important surgery films recently digitized and made available. Other articles announce the Libraries’s Adopt-a-Book program and the 2016/17 Annual Progress Report.

Read these articles, as well as past issues, on the web at http://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/source/ and via e-mail. To receive Source via e-mail, contact melissa.norris@uc.edu to be added to the mailing list.

Save the Date: Cecil Striker Society Annual Lecture May 3

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The Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions and the Cecil Striker Society for the History of Medicine will host the 9th Cecil Striker Society Annual Lecture on Thurs., May 3, 2018.

Michael Farrell

Michael Farrell

This year’s lecture will focus on the contributions and historical relevance of Pediatrics in the Cincinnati region with a primary focus on The Children’s Hospital.  Michael Farrell, M.D. and Bea Katz, Ph.D. will serve as our co-lecturers for the event. Dr. Farrell is currently Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He was Director of the Pediatric Residency Programs until 2001 and Chief of Staff at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center until 2015. His major interests are general pediatrics, the history of medicine and gastroenterology/nutrition. Bea Katz, Ph.D., the editor of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (2008) by Arcadia Publishing, has chronicled the history of Children’s Hospital for 30 years, first as a writer in the hospital’s Marketing and Communications Department and later, post-retirement, as an independent author and researcher.

Their lecture is entitled Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Impacting the Health of Children in Our Community and the World: The Past, Present and Future and will be held from 5:00-6:30pm in Kresge Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building, 231 Albert Sabin Way. A reception will immediately follow the lecture from 6:30-7:30pm held outside of the Lucas Boardroom; with an accompanying exhibit inside of the Lucas Boardroom highlighting the pediatric history of Cincinnati.

bea katz

Bea Katz

Originally formed in 1976, the initial purpose of the Society was to promote and perpetuate an interest in the history of medicine and all related disciplines in the health care field. Currently, the lecture helps to engage the local community in topics related to the history of medicine; brings people together who have a common interest in the history of medicine; and fosters positive attention to the Winkler Center through publicity and scholarly activities.

__________________________

The Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions gratefully recognizes the generosity and foresight of the following individuals and organizations who have provided significant support to establish the Cecil Striker Lecture Endowment Fund.  This endowment fund is a vital permanent resource to strengthen the annual lecture program.

Presenting Sponsor

Dr. and Mrs. Carl Fischer

Dr. and Mrs. Theodore W. Striker

Dr. John E. Bossert

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center


Supporting Sponsor

UC Health

Additional support provided by Dr. and Mrs. Michael K. Farrell and Cecil L. Striker, PhD.

To discuss a gift to the Winkler Center, contact Christa A. Bernardo, Director of Development, at (513) 556-0055 or christa.bernardo@uc.edu.

Wallet Hip, Seinfeld, and Dr. Charles Thomas Wehby

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Pg. 1, City of Cincinnati Ordinance # 56, 2017. Click to read.

Last week, the Winkler Center received word that in March 2017 a street in Cincinnati had been renamed in honor of Dr. Charles Thomas Wehby, a 1938 UC College of Medicine graduate. Wehby had a general practice office for many years on Broadway between 4th and 5th streets in downtown Cincinnati and served the community as a general practitioner from 1939-1983. His medical practice was noted for its willingness to serve all members of the community regardless of race, ethnicity, or one’s ability to pay. The city ordinance naming the northwest corner of Broadway Street at 4th St. “Dr. Charles Thomas Wehby Corner” also states that Wehby had “donated machines and medical antiques to the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.” Hmmm? Could those machines or antiques have made their way to the Winkler Center?  It’s possible; but not surprisingly, I uncovered no documentation of a donation. As an archive, the Winkler Center is not alone in its frustration of documentation growing sparser the older the donation. Years ago items often were donated with nothing more than a handshake.

Intriguing as this all was, what intrigued me more on the ordinance was a listing of Dr. Wehby’s research interests. It states that Dr. Wehby “published numerous medical articles and made many contributions to medical science including his discovery of ‘wallet hip’ or wallet syndrome which was published in the Ohio State Medical Journal, 1968.” Wait a second? WALLET HIP!?! WHAT?!? WALLET SYNDROME!?!

We all laughed and scoffed a bit back in the late 1990s at that episode of Seinfeld where George Costanza develops sciatic nerve issues from carrying around a huge wallet. I have to admit that as a wallet carrier at the time, the idea of someone developing lower back issues from frequently sitting on a large lump in one’s back pocket made perfect sense to me. I just didn’t think it was a real medical thing.

So thank you Dr. Wehby not only for the compassion you showed the city in your desire to treat its sick regardless of their circumstance, but also for setting the world straight on Wallet Hip!  We are indebted…and so are our L5s and S1s.

The only data the Winkler holds on Dr. Wehby is an old alumni card kept by the College of Medicine which contains addresses, date of birth, other contact information, etc. So in lieu of any image or further information on Dr. Wehby, enjoy a few minutes of George Costanza’s lumbar destroying wallet found here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoPf98i8A0g. We think Dr. Wehby would have enjoyed it too.

Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association

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The Ohio Pharmacist, highlighting the unique black recruiting program.

Recently, the Henry R. Winkler Center received a donation of materials that are now titled the Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association: Diversity Recruitment History Collection. It is one of the Winkler Center’s long overdue first steps in attempting to document African American involvement in the city’s health professions.

The Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association, also known as CinPha is an organization of African American Pharmacists in and around the Cincinnati area. In 1975, Ruby Hill and other black pharmacists in Cincinnati formed the organization due to poor recruitment of minorities into the University of Cincinnati, more specifically, the College of Pharmacy. The group was also formed as a professional organization which would allow African Americans an opportunity to network, build professional relationships, and stay current on trends and developments in the pharmacy profession. CinPha is the oldest African American pharmacy organization in the city. Originally known as the Cincinnati Black Pharmacists Association, in 1984, Dr. Robert L. Thomas became the organization’s president and the name was changed to Cincinnati Pharmaceutical Association CPhA. In February, 1989, the acronym “CinPha” was adopted to represent the association.

The primary objectives of the association include:

  • Maintaining minority representation in the profession of pharmacy
  • Educating the general public on matters regarding pharmacy and health care with a focus on the minority population
  • Maintaining interaction with other groups and organizations in order to promote the practice of pharmacy and health care in general
  • To provide a forum for updating the membership on issues, concepts and developments pertaining to pharmacy
  • Support and maintain a code of ethics for pharmacists.

Jerry Rucker, the collection’s donor, was a graduate of the UC College of Pharmacy and practiced his career as a registered pharmacist. He collected the materials in this collection and served as the president of CinPha for several years. We thank Mr. Rucker for his donation and look forward to the collection growing in the future.

Jerry Rucker’s copy of a program from the annual Norris ‘ Bus’ Gordon scholarship dinner/dance.

One of the first advertisements from the UC College of Pharmacy targeted toward minority students.

This blog was written by Charles Talarico.

 

Dr. Philip Wasserman

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The Winkler Center was honored a few weeks ago to host Sherry Wasserman, her sister Naomi Hordes, and Naomi’s husband Jess who were here to donate a photo album which was presented as a gift to Sherry and Naomi’s father, Dr. Philip Wasserman, who for many years was the Director of the Clinical Laboratory at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati

The book, which staffers had professionally bound and printed, primarily focuses on Dr. Wasserman, but also contains numerous images of the Jewish Hospital Clinical Laboratory before and after its expansion in the 1950s; it’s staff, doctors, and nurses; and activities that occurred at the lab primarily in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Dr. Philip Wasserman began work as a pathologist at the Jewish

From L to R, Naomi Hordes (nee Wasserman), Sherry Wasserman, and Lori Harris, Assistant Director of the Health Sciences Library and the Winkler Center.

Hospital in 1937. He was made Director of the Clinical Lab in 1941 and stayed in that position until he retired from it in 1979.  Though officially retiring as Lab Director, Dr. Wasserman continued to work as a general pathologist.

During his tenure at the lab, Dr. Wasserman oversaw its expansion, development, and growth from a small department employing a “handful” of people to one which employed nearly 200.  Wasserman was well-regarded also as a progressive thinker. He established a residency program bringing foreign physicians to Cincinnati for training and was far ahead of his time especially as it related to integration. He was noted for hiring people of any color, creed, or ethnicity, so long as they could accomplish the job, a somewhat novel idea in Cincinnati in the 1950s.

Images in the book were taken by Jane Hutzelman who worked at the lab as a clinical photographer. She created the photo history and presented it to Dr. Wasserman upon the completion of the new lab in the 1950s.  The book is inscribed “To Dr. Wasserman: as a token of our appreciation for the wonderful laboratory.”

Not only will this photo history be a wonderful supplement to the Jewish Hospital Collection here at the Winkler Center, but so too will it be a testament to the work and career of Dr. Wasserman.

An image from the book–the Wasserman girls with their father at the old Clinical Laboratory, Jewish Hospital, c. 1955

 

We thank Sherry Wasserman, Naomi Hordes (nee Wasserman), and Carol Deanow (nee Wasserman)  for considering the Winkler Center when it came time to find a home for this family treasure.

Works Used

“In Remembrance,” Cincinnati Medicine November, 1998.