[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 44 (Thursday, March 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E500-E502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    COMMEMORATING DOCTOR'S DAY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF COUNTRY DOCTORS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ASA HUTCHINSON

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2001

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate March 30, 
Doctor's Day, and the essential role that the medical profession plays 
in our country. Although we all visit doctors regularly, many times we 
fail to properly recognize their dedication to keeping us healthy.
  I grew up in rural northwest Arkansas, where small-town doctors have 
historically played an especially important role in health care. In 
fact, the community of Lincoln, Arkansas, is home to one of only two 
museums in the United States dedicated to the country doctor. The 
Arkansas Country Doctor Museum educates the public about the heroism of 
country doctors in Arkansas and preserves the history of medical 
practice in the Ozarks.
  On this day when we remember the importance of the medical 
profession, I would like to salute the role that these country doctors 
have played in the well-being of our nation. We often remember these 
country doctors for their warm bedside manner and their home visits, 
but we cannot forget that they were involved in the welfare of entire 
communities and often sought higher medical education to better serve 
their patients.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me today in honoring 
the great tradition of country doctors throughout our country. I submit 
into the Congressional Record a copy of Dr. Anthony DePalma's article 
``Y2K: A Legacy of the Country Doctors,'' which appeared in the 
December 1999 Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society.

     [From the Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society, Dec. 1999]

                  Y2K: A Legacy of the Country Doctors

                      (By Anthony T. DePalma, MD)

       On Friday, May 14, 1999, a memorable millennium medical 
     moment celebrating the

[[Page E501]]

     Y2K legacy of the country doctors occurred in Lincoln. 
     Physician Emeritus of Washington Regional Medical Center of 
     Fayetteville met at the Arkansas Country Doctor Museum. The 
     museum, founded in 1994 by Dr. Harold Boyer, of Las Vegas, is 
     one of two country doctor museums in the United States. Dr. 
     Boyer honored his dad, Dr. Herbert Boyer, who was a country 
     doctor in Lincoln.
       The museum's mission is eloquently stated: ``The Arkansas 
     Country Doctor Museum is committed to honoring, preserving 
     and educating the public about the history and heroism of the 
     country doctor in Arkansas, the unique history and culture of 
     the Ozark area and the history of medical theory and 
     practice.'' It is in this spirit that Dr. Joe B. Hall 
     ``organized a special event for his colleagues in the 
     Physician Emeritus group.'' The outcome, a symposium, 
     ``Lessons for the New Millennium From the Legacy of the 
     Country Doctors,'' was presented by Physician Emeritus, 
     Washington Regional Medical Foundation and the Arkansas 
     Country Doctor Museum at the Lincoln Community Building.
       Drs. Herbert Boyer, Edward Forrest Ellis, William Hugh Mock 
     and P.L. Hathcock practiced in Washington County, and were 
     honored at this historic event. Dr. Jack Wood spoke of 
     recollections of his honored dad, Dr. Jesse Wood of Ashley 
     County. The honored country doctors reflect a common concern 
     of a noble, medical profession: commitment, care, conviction 
     and compassion in alleviating mankind's ills and sufferings. 
     Their dedication to patients and profession has been told in 
     years of community service.
       Dr. Herbert Boyer (Nov. 13, 1886-June 12, 1978) practiced 
     for more than 60 years.
       Dr. Edward Forrest Ellis (Aug. 18, 1863-Aug. 7, 1957) first 
     practiced in Hindsville. He practiced there for 10 years and 
     in 1896 moved to Springdale where he practiced until 1904 
     when he moved to Fayetteville. He practiced there until the 
     time of his death.
       Dr. William Hugh Mock (July 24, 1874-July 18, 1971) 
     practiced a life-time in Prairie Grove.
       Dr. P.L. Hathcock (Dec. 31, 1878-Aug. 27, 1969) practiced 
     in Harrison in 1901 and moved to Lincoln April 10, 1902. He 
     moved to Fayetteville in 1921 and practiced until he was 83 
     years old.
       Dr. Jesse Thomas Wood (Dec. 25, 1878-Sept. 8, 1969) 
     practiced in his hometown of Fountain Hill about 10 years and 
     in Crossett for about 10 years before returning to Fountain 
     Hill in 1943 to resume practice until three years before his 
     death.
       Additional ``Lessons for the New Millennium From the Legacy 
     of Country Doctors'' are related in the following 
     biographical excerpts:
       The Lincoln Clinic started by Dr. Lacy Bean in 1936 evolved 
     first as a maternity clinic and later an emergency center. 
     Dr. Bean practiced here 10 years. Dr. Herbert Boyer, who 
     practiced there until the early 1970s, followed him. Through 
     the generosity of Dr. Boyer's son, Dr. Harold Boyer, a 
     dermatologist, his Las Vegas colleagues and others, the 
     Arkansas Country Doctor Museum came to fruition. Thus, the 
     museum establishes continuity with the past, which is so 
     important to the future of medical practice.
       Dr. P.L. Hathcock followed the advice of his physician 
     father, Dr. Alfred Monroe Hathcock, to settle in a small town 
     and ``work up.'' He practiced a short time with him in 
     Harrison (U.S. Census 1900 population 1,517) after graduating 
     from Vanderbilt University Medical School in 1901. As 
     previously noted, he opened an office to practice in Lincoln 
     (U.S. Census Star township [sic] population 728).
       Long before continuing medical education became mandatory, 
     the country doctor attended postgraduate sessions at 
     metropolitan medical meccas. They knew the value of education 
     for themselves, family and community. Apropos of medical 
     education for men and women, ``Women finally were accepted as 
     full fledged medical practitioners in the nineteenth and 
     twentieth centuries, but not without a struggle.''
       Dr. Ellis faced this discriminatory medical dilemma when a 
     daughter declared an interest in becoming a doctor.
       ``Despite his love of medicine he did not see it as a 
     proper occupation for women and absolutely forbid an older 
     daughter, Martha, to enter medical school. However, by the 
     time Dr. Ruth was ready to decide on a career, the world had 
     changed and he encouraged her.'' She graduated in 1933 from 
     The Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, formerly The 
     Female Medical College of Pennsylvania. Legally organized in 
     1850, the medical school was the first one approved for women 
     in the world.


                             Parallel Lives

       Two of the honored country doctors, P.L. Hathcock and Jesse 
     Thomas Wood, have significantly parallel lives reflecting the 
     important legacy of family and education. Both were born the 
     same year, 1878, six days apart and were raised in small 
     towns. Both became country doctors and each had two sons who 
     became physicians. Dr. P.L. Hathcock's sons, Preston Loyce 
     and Alfred Hiram, became general practitioners with their 
     father in Fayetteville. A son-in-law, Dr. Ralph E. 
     Weddington, also practiced with them at the Hathcock Clinic. 
     In 1957, Dr. Alfred H. Hathcock moved to Batesville, his wife 
     Mary Louise Barnett Hathcock's hometown, to practice 
     medicine. His son, Alfred Barnett, was an orthopedic surgeon 
     specializing in hand surgery at the Holt-Krock Clinic in Fort 
     Smith. Dr. Alfred Barnett Hathcock's son, Stephen, ``Sixth 
     Generation M.D. Blends Conventional Medicine with Alternative 
     Remedies,'' practices in Little Rock.
       Dr. Jesse Thomas Wood's sons, Julian Deal and Jack 
     Augustus, became general practitioners in Seminole, Okla. 
     Jack left for a general surgery residency. Upon completion of 
     his training, he joined Dr. J. Warren Murry in Fayetteville. 
     Currently, Dr. Jack Wood's son, Stephen Thomas, a third-
     generation M.D., is following his father's footsteps as a 
     general surgeon in Fayetteville. Dr. P.L. Hathcock and Dr. 
     Jesse Thomas Wood died 12 days apart in the same year, 1969.


                           Educators Among Us

       Educational and leadership threads were woven in the 
     country doctor's legacy to us. Among those contributing to 
     their profession and community were Drs. Ellis, Mock and P.L. 
     Hathcock. Drs. Ellis and Mock were both members of the 
     Arkansas Board of Medical Examiners and presidents of the 
     Arkansas Medical Society. Drs. Ellis, Mock and P.L. Hathcock 
     were active on school boards. Dr. Ellis served 15 years on 
     Fayetteville's school board and four years as chairman. Dr. 
     Mock was president of the school board that built the first 
     important school structure in the Prairie Grove district. Dr. 
     P.L. Hathcock, at 18, was superintendent and taught at the 
     Silver Rock school he attended as a child. When Dr. P.L. 
     Hathcock practiced in Lincoln, he was a member of the county 
     school board.
       The venerable country doctor is remembered as having a one-
     on-one relationship with patients. However, he was also 
     interested in community health and welfare. Dr. Harvey Doak 
     Wood (Jan. 8, 1847-May 13, 1938) organized the Washington 
     County Health Office in 1913 and was public health officer in 
     1913-1917. The importance of public health can be appreciated 
     in a statement he made.
       ``May I mention but one instance of the progress in medical 
     practice in the 62 years that has given more comfort and a 
     higher appreciation of the greatest of all professions is the 
     perfection of a diphtheria antitoxin that has saved the lives 
     of millions of human beings.''
       Incidentally, Dr. Wood was the 50th president of the 
     Arkansas Medical Society; his patents included the Wood 
     splint, a modification of the Hodgen splint with myodermic 
     traction; and he coined more medical words than anyone else 
     in his time. Dr. P.L. Hathcock also served as Washington 
     County health officer for several years. With respect and 
     deference to Dr. P.L. Hathcock, who did not like his initials 
     spelled out, this author has refrained from doing so.
       Fayetteville Ordinance 181 established a city board of 
     health in 1906. Dr. Andrew S. Gregg (1857-1938), a country 
     doctor and two term city alderman, was a two-term city health 
     officer at the time of his death. He also served on the 
     Arkansas State Board of Health. Because of a national 
     emergency in 1944 and being without a health officer, 
     Ordinance 877 was passed and approved April 3, 1944, 
     designating the mayor as health officer. Ordinance 881, 
     recreating the separate office of city health officer and 
     repealing Ordinance 877, was passed Aug. 21, 1944. The 
     importance of a public health officer at the city and/or 
     county jurisdictional level cannot be underestimated. 
     ``Continued economic and population growth in Northwest 
     Arkansas is related to the pattern and standards of existing 
     public health practice.''
       ``Lessons for the New Millennium From the Legacy of Country 
     Doctors'' fortunately have been recorded in literature, 
     painting, poetry, radio and TV. Examples are: ``Horse and 
     Buggy Doctor,'' a historical account of the times, author 
     Arthur E. Hertzler, M.D. (1870-1946), is the embodiment of a 
     country doctor's life. The story was written in 1938. Milburn 
     Stone, an actor who portrayed Doc Adams in the TV show 
     ``Gunsmoke,'' was asked to write the preface to the edition 
     commemorating the author's 100th birthday:
       ``. . . For I feel certain that Dr. Hertzler was invited 
     into heaven, where he can spend his time watching baseball 
     games and sharpening his championship skill with a target 
     pistol. Yet, he may have been offered an option. Perhaps, 
     having conquered Kansas winters, he may have challenged hell. 
     Possibly he is riding around that region in a battered old 
     buggy drawn by an unpredictable horse, soothing the fevered 
     inhabitants and calling the attention of Satan and his staff 
     to the stupidity of attempting to standardize everything.''
       Sir Samuel Luke Fildes' (1844-1927) painting, ``The 
     Doctor,'' exhibited in 1891 depicts a doctor seated near a 
     sick child lying across two chairs at home. He is attentively 
     observing her while the parents look on. ``The Doctor'' also 
     captures a ``house call'' scene, which ultimately blossomed 
     as a ``home health care'' perennial.
       ``The Healer,'' a poem by John Greenleaf Whittler (1807-
     1892) to a young physician, with Dore's picture of Christ 
     healing the sick, elicits a comment from Sir William Osler 
     (1849-1919): ``A well-trained sensible family doctor is one 
     of the most valuable assets of a community, worth to-day, as 
     in Homer's time, many another man. . . .'' ``Few men, live 
     lives of more devoted self-sacrifice than the family 
     physician.''
       ``Dr. Christian,'' airing 1937-1953, was the first radio 
     medical soap later adapted to TV. Actor Jean Hersholt (1886-
     1956) played Dr. Christian, a humanitarian. ``The good doctor 
     was aided by his loyal nurse, Judy Price (Rosemary De Camp), 
     who opened each show by picking up her phone with a perky, 
     `Dr. Christian's Office!' ''

[[Page E502]]

                                Summary

       Succinctly, lessons for the new millennium from the country 
     doctors are embodied in their spirit.

     

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