Medical Heritage
One of the three main tenets of the Southern Medical Association Alliance is the preservation of medical heritage across the 17 Southern states.
Our founders and Past Presidents had a vision in 1924 when Mrs. Seale Harris of Birmingham organized and chaired the Committee to write the Constitution and Bylaws that were adopted in 1925 when Mrs. E. Cary of Dallas, Texas became the first SMAA President.
Their vision took shape and was shared by others when the first SMAA Auxiliary project, the publication of a pamphlet on Jane Todd Crawford, was done in 1929.
In 1930, under President Mrs. S.A. Collum, membership was asked to gather “the medical romances of our Southland” and a Research Committee was formed. A year later they had the biographies of 26 physicians from 11 states to present. From 1936 until 1986 this committee was called the Research and Romance of Medicine Committee. The red anthurium was its “official flower” and much valuable medical material was collected and catalogued. World War II interrupted some of these activities as all service work was devoted to the war effort.
In 1933 at the 10th annual meeting of the Women’s Auxiliary to the Southern Medical Association in Richmond, VA, SMA President, Dr. Irvin Abell of Louisville, Kentucky, said, “One phase of your work which makes an especial appeal to me is that which you have done and are doing in accumulating historical data in a field that has long been neglected…..we are a new country and but beginning to realize the value of a systemic record of the lives and attainments of those who have contributed to the march of medical progress. The individual whose priority achievement or whose contribution to medicine is outstanding is assured of a proper place in medical literature, while the everyday hard work of the average doctor receives but little notice and yet the …contribution of the latter class must of necessity form the bedrock upon which the superstructure of medicine is built. In seeking out and preserving the records of this latter class, you are doing that which will entitle the auxiliary to nation-wide recognition and gratitude, and at the same time give concrete evidence that its establishment was not without vision.”
By 1952 the Research and Romance Committee reported that a 400 pound steel file of materials was being shipped from chairman to chairman and that 240 booklets listing the materials available for loan had been sent to the 17 state councilors. The Auxiliary Room at Headquarters was much needed and established in 1958!
The Dr. and Mrs. Milford O. Rouse trophy for the best overall medical heritage project was first awarded in 1968.
Throughout the years the mission and goals of the Southern Medical Association and the Alliance have been interconnected. As we move into the future, we continue to build on our common foundation, finding new ways to share our commitments to medicine, the medical family, and the promotion of positive images in our communities through service, education, and recognition of the contributions of local physicians.
