Texas Health Atlas

Texas Medical Timeline

Texas Medical Timeline 1853 A group of physicians organized the Texas Medical Association in 18 counties to advance medical practices and to improve public health. 1856 The Texas legislature enacted a law that enabled county courts and municipal corporate authorities to quarantine people for medical conditions when necessary. 1861 The Austin State Hospital, the first mental health facility in Texas, began treating under the original name of State Lunatic Asylum. 1866 The first medical journal in Texas, the Galveston Medical Journal, began publishing until 1879. St. Mary’s Hospital, originally named Charity Hospital , opened in Galveston as the state’s first private hospital. 1867 Thousands of Texans died from a yellow fever epidemic . 1871 The Texas Dental Association was established. 1879 Legislation was passed to create the state health department led by the governor and a state medical officer. This law was the foundation of a statewide quarantine system and gave authority to the department to address sanitation issues. The Texas Pharmaceutical Association was established to promote and improve educational standards for pharmacists. 1888 The Texas State Sanitary Association began to publish Texas’ first specialty journal, the Texas Health Journal, which promoted improvements in public health. 1889 The Texas legislature passed the Texas Pharmacy Act to establish the first regulations for the practice of pharmacy. 1890 The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) became the first academic medical center in Texas. The John Sealy Hospital Training School for Nurses opened in Galveston as the first nursing school in Texas. In 1897, the school became the first in the nation to be associated with a university, the University of Texas. 1893 The School of Pharmacy was founded at UTMB. 1897 Marie Delalondre Dietzel became the first woman in Texas to graduate with a medical degree. 1900 The University of Dallas Medical Department was established. In 1903, it affiliated with Baylor University and in 1969 became the independent, private institution Baylor College of Medicine. The Texas Optometric Association was founded one year before optometry was recognized as a legal profession in the United States. The New York Times reported a smallpox epidemic in Texas. 1901 The Texas legislature authorized the establishment of the State Epileptic Colony in Abilene to house and care for persons with epilepsy who had been kept in jails, asylums, and other facilities. In 1919, the legislature broadened the colony’s scope and changed its name to the Abilene State Hospital. 1903 Legislation was passed to create the Texas Department of Public Health and Vital Statistics, changing its name from the Texas Quarantine Department. The Pasteur Institute of Texas was created as a branch of the State Lunatic Asylum (now the Austin State Hospital) to diagnose and treat rabies in human patients. In 1958, the institute ceased to exist and became laboratories in the State Department of Public Health. 1904 Governor Samuel Lanham issued a statewide warning about a yellow fever epidemic. 1905 The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston was originally established as the Texas Dental College . The school became part of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 1972. In Jacobson v. Massachusetts, the US Supreme Court decided that states may establish mandatory vaccination laws. 202 TEXAS MEDICAL TIMELINE 1906 The federal Meat Inspection Act gave authority to the US Department of Agriculture to regulate the interstate meat industry in order to protect public health. The US Congress passed the federal Pure Food and Drug Act, the “Wiley Act,” to prevent companies from making, selling, or transporting foods and drugs with poisonous substances or inaccurate labels. 1907 The first Texas Medical Practice Act created a medical board to oversee medical practices in the state. 1909 The State Board of Health was founded with seven physicians. The Texas legislature passed the Texas Nursing Practice Act to regulate the licensing of nurses. 1910 The legislature passed the Sanitary Code requiring physicians to report all contagious and infectious diseases. 1911 The US Army instituted the first compulsory typhoid vaccination program for troops of an army division stationed in Texas, about 18% of the entire army. The dramatic reduction of incidents of typhoid fever prompted the army to require vaccination of all soldiers later the same year. 1912 The US Congress established the Children’s Bureau within the Department of Labor to promote fair treatment and improved health of infants and children through programs such as helping communities to improve sanitation of water and milk supplies . 1916 The City of Austin began to...