Before Carroll County General Hospital was dedicated on Aug. 27, 1961, physicians in Carroll County were known to rush to the scene of a horse and buggy mishap, a farm accident or an automobile wreck to render emergency care. Newspapers were replete with stories of death and injury as a result of horse and wagon accidents. Many stories give account of a physician rushing to the accident or the victims being rushed to a physician’s home.
On June 20, 1947, the Democratic Advocate newspaper ran a story, “Three County Doctors Honored,” that reported: “Three physicians were honored for having given 50 years of service to the citizens of Carroll County at the monthly luncheon meeting Tuesday of the Carroll County Medical Society at the Charles Carroll Hotel in Westminster.
“The vice president, Dr. Reuben Hoffman, superintendent of the Henryton Sanatorium, presided at the meeting. Dr. Lewis K. Woodward was in charge of arrangements. There were about 40 present. Recognition was accorded the three physicians, who had given 50 years or more to their profession and gold medals were presented to them on behalf of the association by Dr. Woodward. Dr. J. J. Stewart has served 62 years, Dr. Joseph E. Bush, 51 years; and Dr. Charles R. Foutz, 50 years…”
At the time, the community room at the Charles Carroll Hotel, 117 E. Main St. in Westminster, was across the street from what was then the City Garage, now the home of Covalent. The community room was one of the primary meeting places in Carroll County – not unlike the role that Exploration Commons plays in the community today.
Often, doctor’ offices were in their homes. They made frequent house calls.
Indeed, the idea for a hospital in Carroll County was not discussed until after World War I. The idea never got off the ground. It was not until the 1950s, according to a file in my family’s papers, that the idea of raising money to build Carroll County General Hospital became a reality.
For emergency medical care, it was not until 1926 that the City of Westminster endeavored to hire four paid emergency drivers on a 24-hour basis. An ambulance service was not started in Carroll County until 1928, when “the Rotary Club of Westminster prevailed on the city government to buy the volunteers an ambulance.”
In a time when access to medical care and its spiraling costs are hotly debated, it might be timely to be reminded of the history and tradition of leadership that the medical community has played in helping Carroll County be what it is today.
One of the most celebrated medical families in Carroll County is the Woodward family. The Woodward family represents not just 50 years of service to our community, but four generations of physicians.
One member of the third generation of this preeminent medical family, Dr. Theodore E. Woodward, was nominated for the Nobel Prize for his work with infectious diseases, most notably typhus. He was awarded the Typhus Commission Medal for “exceptionally meritorious service” on Feb. 4, 1945, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He investigated Agent Orange in the Cambodian Parrot’s Beak area of Vietnam, in the middle of heavy combat, in 1971.
Dr. Theodore E. Woodward was a 1930 graduate of Westminster High School. He is one of our most celebrated Carroll County native sons. He died on July 11, 2005, at the age of 91.
According to an article written about Woodward on July 12, 2005, by Baltimore Sun writer Jacques Kelly, “He was chairman of the UM medical school’s Department of Medicine from 1954 to 1981, and earlier had conducted influential studies related to cholera, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, malaria and tuberculosis…”
In a 1990 interview with The Sun, Woodward said, “Early on, I had planned to come to Westminster to practice. But I needed more training, and the war came in, and I went into the Army in January 1941.”
“He left the Army in 1946 as a lieutenant colonel,” Kelly reported, “ and became an assistant professor at Maryland. Work begun during the war continued to bring recognition for Dr. Woodward – in 1961, the Louis Pasteur Medal was awarded by the French institute, and in 1973, the Army’s Outstanding Civilian Award. In 1990, he received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service to the armed forces.”
Dr. Woodward was a family friend. I have briefly mentioned him and his family in a few articles written many years ago about the history of the Carroll County medical community. Portions of the column have been published before.
Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. His Time Flies column appears every Sunday. Email him at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.