Who was Henry D. Chadwick?
Dr. Chadwick developed tuberculosis and spent 18 months recovering at the Trudeau Sanatorium in Saranac Lake, NY. After his recovery, he decided to retire from general practice and focus on administrative medicine in public health and particularly in the field of tuberculosis, beginning as the first superintendent of a sanatorium in Pittsford, VT. From 1909-1929, Dr. Chadwick supervised the construction of a state sanatorium in Westfield, Massachusetts and stayed on as superintendent.
It was during his time in Westfield that Dr. Chadwick made some of his most important contributions in the field of juvenile tuberculosis. He established what became known as the Chadwick Clinics, a program that examined public school students for evidence of early tuberculosis from 1924-1934. Dr. Chadwick, along with Dr. Alton Pope, stressed the use of the tuberculin test, also known as the von Pirquet test, as the most practical method for detecting infection, with or without clinical symptoms of disease. Through the Chadwick Clinics, the tuberculin test would be administered, and children who had a positive reaction would be x-rayed. Children with an unusual x-ray result would have a physical examination for a final diagnosis, and nutrition workers would meet with parents to discuss the child’s needs for food, rest, and other health habits to ensure a complete recovery. Doctors would follow up with children with suspected and confirmed infection annually for follow-up examinations and x-rays. This 10-year study, which included over 400,000 Massachusetts school children, also helped establish the baseline of childhood tuberculosis infection that other studies could use as comparison.
Dr. Chadwick had a long and illustrious career in public health. He served as the Comptroller of Tuberculosis in Detroit, State Commissioner of Public Health in Massachusetts, President of the Waltham Training School for Nurses for 15 years, the Board of the Channing Home for Tuberculosis, President of 3 Massachusetts-based tuberculosis associations (Hampden County, Newton, and Cambridge), President of 2 constituent state associations (Michigan, Massachusetts), President of the American Sanatorium Association (now known as the American Thoracic Society) and President of the National Tuberculosis Association. Academically, he was a lecturer at the University of Michigan, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health, and President Emeritus of the Massachusetts Tuberculosis and Health League.
The first Chadwick medal was given to Dr. Chadwick in 1964, when he was 90 years old, in recognition of his contributions in the study and treatment of tuberculosis.
Sources:
Badger T. L. (1971). Memorial. Henry Dexter Chadwick, M.D. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, 82, xlix–lii.
Chadwick, H. (2014, April 2). Henry Dexter Chadwick (1872-1969). WikiTree. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chadwick-1066
Pope, A. S., Sartwell, P. E., & Zacks, D. (1939). Development of tuberculosis in infected children. American Journal of Public Health and the Nation's Health, 29(12), 1318–1325.
Wakefield, P. (1930). Children's tuberculosis program in Massachusetts. New England Journal of Medicine, 203(4), 168-172. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm193007242030407
Henry D. Chadwick was born in Bocowan, New Hampshire and grew up working on the family farm. From an early age, he was inspired by the family doctor to pursue a career in medicine. After completing grade school, he worked in pharmacies, apprenticed himself to physicians in Concord and Boston, and received private tutoring in order to prepare for the medical school entrance exams. Chadwick entered Harvard Medical School in 1891, becoming one of the last students to enter medical school without attending college, and graduated cum laude in 1895. Upon graduation, Dr. Chadwick began practicing medicine in Waltham.
In 1898, Dr. Chadwick became a member of the Waltham Board of Health, and thus began his career in official public health administration. That same year, he was called into active military service as a contract surgeon in the Spanish-American War.