Academy for Practical Medicine
Under the name of the Academy for Practical Medicine , new clinics and medical institutes were to be built and old ones expanded in Frankfurt am Main at the beginning of the 20th century . The Lord Mayor of Frankfurt, Franz Adickes , was particularly committed to these plans and hoped that the academy would bring him one step closer to his goal of founding a Frankfurt university. The plans for an academy were discarded, but parts of them were implemented and formed important preparatory work for the establishment of the University of Frankfurt .
prehistory
After the discovery of a diphtheria serum by Paul Ehrlich in 1895, it became necessary to examine the serum preparations put on the market by the state. The "Institute for Serum Research and Serum Testing" was initially subordinate to the Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases , but was relocated to Berlin-Steglitz as an independent institute . Since the institute had to take on more and more tasks, it had to be enlarged. Lord Mayor Franz Adickes advocated the relocation of the institute to Frankfurt. The goal of his career was to found a university in Frankfurt, with the establishment of medical institutes in Frankfurt, the foundation stone for a university hospital should be laid.
In 1897 a draft was presented to the city council for relocation. The “Institute for Experimental Therapy” was to get a building site free of charge, the city also wanted to pay the construction costs of 125,000 marks and an annual grant of 10,000 marks. In return, the institute should take over the bacteriological examinations of the hospitals. In addition, courses for doctors should be organized by the institute.
In 1899 the “Kgl. Institute for Experimental Therapy ”opened under the direction of Ehrlich. The main task was the control of serum preparations. A bacteriological-hygienic department was also attached to the institute, which was headed by Albert Neisser . The institute mainly conducted research in the field of immunity .
Planned institutes and funding
It was already clear when the Institute for Experimental Therapy was relocated that specialist clinics were needed in Frankfurt. These clinics should also be used to train doctors. The redesign of the city hospital should be the occasion for the formation of the "Academy for Practical Medicine". In July 1902 the city council announced that large private donations would be available for the establishment of the academy if the medical institutes and hospitals were merged. The founding of the academy could have happened without much financial help from the city.
In the report of the city council, the already existing institutes for pathology and anatomy of the Dr. Senckenberg Foundation , the Institute for Experimental Therapy, the municipal hospital with medical, surgical and dermatological wards and the psychiatric clinic . A women's clinic , an eye clinic, an ENT clinic and a children's clinic would be missing . A physiological-chemical institute, a pharmacological institute and a hygienic institute were missing to train doctors. The first two institutes were to be paid for by the Theodor Stern Foundation . The hygienic institute should be connected to a food inspection office and paid for by the city. A main building for the academy was to be built with donations from Franziska Speyer . A modern sanatorium should be paid for by Charles Hallgarten .
In December 1902, no fundamental contradiction was raised in the debates of the city council, but there were a number of objections. A formed committee should further develop the plans. Negotiations with the various foundations took place until 1904.
According to the committee's report from July 1904, the following conditions had arisen: The Georg and Franziska Speyer foundation was ready to take over the establishment and maintenance of an academy building in which administration rooms, a library and an auditorium were planned. This building, called Georg-Speyer-Haus , was to be built together with the chemical, physiological and pharmacological institute. The Senckenberg Foundation was ready to erect a building for the anatomy with dissection rooms, lecture hall and morgue. The " Carolinum " foundation of Louise von Rothschild was supposed to build a building for the dental clinic, which was already operated by the foundation, and the clinics for ear, throat and nose diseases. An already existing eye clinic should also be taken over by the academy. The city hospital was to be expanded to include a hospital for gynecology and obstetrics, children, children with skin diseases, private patients and prostitutes . In addition, an epidemic barrack , nurses' house and administration building should be added. In addition to Hallgarten, Otto Braunfels also donated money for these facilities.
End of planning
The fully elaborated plans were presented again to the city council. While the 1902 meeting of the Academy had approved in principle, there was now great opposition. In addition to the academy in general, there was mainly criticism of the planning of the financing. Instead of a central academy, decentralized district hospitals were called for. The decision was postponed and further documents were requested. In September 1904 the “Ärztliche Verein” wrote a pamphlet in which it praised the planned advanced training courses, but an academy was not to be established. The association concluded that patients were better accommodated in local hospitals than in special clinics. 41 health insurances also signed the letter.
The academy was discussed again in the meetings in October. The public continued to occupy itself with the topic, on which the city and private individuals have now published articles in the newspapers. Part of the city council tried to rebut the arguments of the opponents in the newspaper, an anonymous report by a doctor spoke against the academy, saying that he was afraid that his work would be devalued if there were medical professors in Frankfurt. Elsewhere, an academy was declared unnecessary, and the state's interference in the academy was too great. Almost all doctors in Frankfurt spoke out against the academy.
It was not until August 1905 that the committee was able to make a majority decision. He came to the conclusion that an academy of this kind was not suitable for Frankfurt. He refrained from submitting applications for the construction of the buildings and hiring teachers.
aftermath
Despite the failure of the plans, further development of the advanced training courses and the establishment of the pathological institute of the Senckenberg Foundation and two other institutes were pursued. The Georg and Franziska Speyer Foundation wanted to continue setting up one of them. Furthermore, the plans for the special clinics were retained. The city wanted to pay for the necessary costs.
Other voices in the committee are against the establishment of special clinics and instead wanted to build hospitals in Frankfurt-Bockenheim and in the northeast. In April 1905 it was decided to build new special clinics.
Another five years passed before the plans were implemented. The Georg-Speyer-Haus was converted into the Institute for Chemotherapy and placed under the direction of Ehrlich.
In 1907 the pathological institute was completed. The physically attached Neurological Institute was subordinated to Ludwig Edinger and from now on researched the nervous system . In the same year a medical and a dermatological clinic were completed, a year later the children's clinic and the gynecological clinic. The hygienic institute started operations in 1909, as did the dental clinic. In 1910 the clinics for throat and nose diseases, those for ear diseases and the eye clinic as well as a therapeutic agent followed.
Some hospitals and institutes were later incorporated into the Frankfurt am Main University Hospital .
literature
- Ludwig Heilbronn: The foundation of the University of Frankfurt a. M. Josef Baer & Co., Frankfurt am Main June 1915, The Medical Institutes, p. 57–71 ( online in the internet archive archive.org [accessed September 2, 2015]).
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Kluke: The Foundation University Frankfurt am Main 1914-1932 . Waldemar Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1972, ISBN 3-7829-0128-2 , first book: The foundation of the university; Chapter 1: Prehistory - Former Scientific Institutions and University Plans, p. 23 ff .