User:Shollis90/Shreveport Medical Society

The early history of this society is somewhat obscure, due to records being lost or destroyed. The precursor of the Shreveport Medical Society was established in 1855 as the North Louisiana Medical Society. The first president was Dr. W. W. George, who also served two terms as mayor of the city and was one of the founders of the First Baptist Church.

During the Civil War, most physicians were away and no meetings were held until 1866, when the reorganized group became the Shreveport Medical Society. Most of the members were Confederate veterans, including the president, Dr. J. C. Egan. Dr. Egan probably performed the first laparotomy in North Louisiana. He also became the first president of the Louisiana State Medical Society.

One of the greatest disasters that ever befell Shreveport was the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1873. There were over seven hundred deaths alone in the late summer and early fall of that year. The Shreveport Medical Society formed a committee to seek the cause of the epidemic. Although unsuccessful in this respect, it did provide stimulus for major sanitation reforms.

The Shreveport Medical Society was instrumental in having ordinances passed as protective measures for health, including drainage, sewerage, and water supply. Together with other medical societies of the state, the Shreveport Medical Society was active in having a law passed creating a State Board of Medical Examiners and State Board of Health.

In 1895, meetings for the Shreveport Medical Society were held in Allen's Infirmary on the corner of Market and Travis Street in downtown Shreveport. Subsequently, they were held at the Shreveport Charity Hospital and later at the Confederate Memorial Medical Center. The Medical Society was in the office of the president for many years, then in various temporary quarters, and finally in a permanent home in the medical school.

The Society was a major factor in the founding of the Louisiana State University Medical School in Shreveport. Administrative functions of the society were performed on a part-time basis by busy physicians until a full-time executive director was acquired in 1989. Beginning with only a few physicians, the Shreveport Medical Society currently has over 650 members.

(1)History of the Shreveport Medical Society from 1882 to 1893 Inclusive, J.M. Bodenheimer, A.B., M.D., Historian Shreveport Medical Society, Shreveport, Louisiana.