University of Oregon Medical School anatomy class (date not known). Image courtesy of Oregon Health & Science University Historical Collections & Archives.

The History of Medicine in Oregon Project launched a website this month. The project was created by the Oregon Medical Education Foundation in 2001, and joined in succeeding years by Oregon Health & Science University and The Foundation for Medical Excellence, to document and interpret the history of medicine in what is now the state of Oregon and to present that history to the medical community as well as the general public.

During the first decade of the project, seventy oral history interviews were recorded with physicians, administrators, lawyers and others who greatly shaped the development of medicine in the state. I was approached, as a consulting historian, in late 2011 to advise the steering committee on how to move the project forward as well as to potentially develop a cohesive narrative for an eventual series of videos about medicine in Oregon.

My first meeting with the steering committee coincided with their decision to launch a website for the project and so my work has primarily focused on that goal. Since January, I have researched and written content for the site, including a timeline of significant events, people and legislation related to medicine in Oregon; little known medical trivia that places Oregon medicine within a national and international context; and a list of resources for historians of medicine. The website will be continuously updated with new content, so stop by often and follow the project on Twitter – @HOMinOregon.

~ Morgen Young, Alder LLC