 |
| Jefferson County Medical Association Top Row--- W.R. Ross, O.A. Suttle. J.A. Clark, A.W. Modert, J.W. Hamilton, S.A. Thompson, Moss Maxey, L.C. Morgan, A.M. Frost Bottom Row--- Robt. R. Smith, H. M. Swift, Wm G. Parker, C. J. Poole, Chas. Hall |
 Jefferson County Dental Association Top Row: |
|
In 1870, almost all physicians were unlicensed. In most jurisdictions, anyone could hang up a shingle and practice medicine. The early physicians of Jefferson County were men who had studied under preception for a number of years and recieved such instructions and information as their preceptors could impart. This equipped them just about as well as if they had attended a medical school in those early days, because practically all the information they could receive at the schools was through lecture courses. These schools had no labratories, autopsies were not permitted to discover the causes of death, and subjects for disection could only be secured by robbing newly made graves. There was no law in Illinois prior to 1877 to prevent any one from practicing medicine who so desired, as no license was required. The Illinois Medical Practice Act of 1877 and Illinois State Board of Health interpretations of their statute became important models for numerous states. The requisite for this license was they should be a graduate of an approved medical school, or should have been actively engaged in the practice of medicine for ten years prior to the passage of this law. |
|
The first hospital in Mt. Vernon was a temporary one set up in the
Appellate Courthouse after the 1888 Cyclone. |
 Excelsior Sanitarium The first permanent hopital was the Excelsior Sanitarium opened in 1895 by Drs. Frank and Will McClain. |
 Egyptian Hospital Opened c.1909 and closed between 1915 and 1920 |
 Thompson Hospital |
 Good Samaritan Hospital Opened in January 1944 and used the Thompson Hospital building until a new hospital was built in May 1952 The hospital built in 1952 was demolished after a new hospital was built at 1 Good Samaritan Way, Mount Vernon, IL This is a photo below of the new SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital. 
|
 Jefferson Memorial Hospital Originally the offices for the Mt. Vernon Car Manufacturing Co. The building was converted into a hospital in 1947 and closed in 1979 |
 Tuberculosis Sanitarium Opened in 1951 and closed in 1974 |
For corrections or additions, please contact me: Sandy Bauer