The Physician to Soldier Pipeline · Episode 4 of 14 · 20 min
Base Hospital
When the United States entered war in April 1917 the Army had 491 doctors on active duty; by the armistice 30,144 civilian physicians were serving. The base hospital unit, designed by a Cleveland surgeon, put six university hospitals in France in seventeen days. It was the series' clearest success, yet the units dissolved after the war and had to be rebuilt in 1939.
Who's who
- George W. CrileCleveland surgeon who designed the base hospital unit
- William C. Gorgas+1 more episodeSurgeon General who commissioned Crile's design in 1915
- Agatha Cobourg HodginsCrile's chief anesthetist; later founded the nurse anesthetists' association
- Harvey CushingHarvard surgeon who led Base Hospital No. 5
- Thomas W. SalmonPsychiatry consultant who brought British shell-shock doctrine
- Charles K. TeterCleveland dentist who co-developed nitrous oxide-oxygen anesthesia
Where it happens
- Cleveland, Ohio+1 more episodeHome of Lakeside Hospital and Crile's unit design
- Paris, France+5 more episodesSite of the Ambulance Americaine rotation in 1915
- Camp Greenleaf, Fort OglethorpeArmy medical training camp
- Carlisle Barracks, PennsylvaniaHome of the Medical Field Service School from 1920
Timeline
- January 1915Crile leads the first American surgical rotation in Paris
- August 1915Gorgas commissions Crile to design a 500-bed base hospital unit
- April 6, 1917United States declares war with 491 Army doctors on active duty
- May 1917Six affiliated base hospitals sail for the British Expeditionary Force
- November 11, 1918Armistice finds 30,144 civilian physicians in Army service
- March 17, 1939Surgeon General asks to rebuild the affiliated units
Still debated
Sources differ on Base Hospital No. 4's sailing date, and Hodgins' presence in the 1917 crossing is unconfirmed. Statistics for American shell-shock cases and the share of the medical profession in uniform could not be verified.
