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Jeghers Medical Index
Dr. Jeghers
Dr. Caccamo

JMI Staff

The Road to St. Elizabeth

by Lori M. Gawdyda, M.L.S., A.H.I.P.

Introduction

The Jeghers Medical Index (JMI) began as a personal reference library. In 1931, during his medical education at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, Harold Jeghers was encouraged by his professors to use medical journals to prepare for competitive internship exams. "At that time," Dr. Jeghers noted, "medical students were considerably less aware of the basic medical literature than today's students."

Boston City Hospital

In 1935, Dr. Jeghers became chief medical resident at Boston City Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts and was on the faculty of Boston University with the rank of instructor in medicine. At that time, the medical resident played an important role in post graduate education since there were no full time clinicians rounding in the unit. He began to acquire journals and store individual articles in a file system under a useable but limited classification system by medical topics. He also reviewed back issues of medical journals at the medical library, copied the references and made notations. This collection became the basis for the JMI. It was an extremely useful teaching aid for ward rounds, conferences and grand rounds. By 1946, the JMI had grown to fill eight filing cabinets stored at his home.

Georgetown University School of Medicine

Dr. Jeghers moved to Washington, D.C., in 1946 to serve as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C. and Physician-in-Chief of Georgetown University Hospital. His journal collection would grow over the next 10 years to fill 22 filing cabinets. The collection was located in a room adjacent to his office. Dr. Jeghers obtained funding for a librarian, secretaries, medical students and residents to help classify and file material. He encouraged staff to build their own personal medical journal collections and to utilize them as an effective method for continuing self-education.

Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry

In 1956 the JMI moved to Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry, Newark, New Jersey, which would become the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Jeghers accepted the Chairmanship of the Department of Medicine. The acceptance of the position was contingent on support for the JMI. Dr. Jeghers wrote that, "A major attraction for my coming to Seton Hall was the opportunity to integrate more effectively the use of the medical library into the curriculum structure, the philospophy of self-education and techniques of teaching." [1]

St. Vincent Hospital

In 1966 the JMI moved to St. Vincent Hospital, Worcester, Massachusetts, where Dr. Jeghers had become medical director. He compiled a list of 200 journals and was assisted by premedical students in maintaining the JMI. This collection of medical literature was a gold mine for a community hospital. The JMI was increasingly used by house officers, as well as by members of the medical staff for solving clinical problems.

Case Western Reserve University

Many academicians went to St. Vincent Hospital to see the JMI in operation. The director of the Cleveland Health Sciences Library, Cleveland, Ohio, Robert Cheshier, M.L.S., traveled to St. Vincent Hospital with Leonard P. Caccamo, M.D., Director of Medical Education at St. Elizabeth Health Center, Youngstown, Ohio and J. Wheeler, M.D., associate dean of Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM), Rootstown, Ohio.

In Mr. Cheshier's words, “The system was absolutely mind-boggling. It looked to all of us like this guy was the most obsessive compulsive individual we'd ever met”. [2] The JMI's value was obvious to the three visitors. Because Dr. Jeghers was planning retirement, the three visitors considered engaging a medical school in accepting the JMI. Dr. Jeghers felt that a community hospital would be a better fit because of the JMI's clinical orientation.

St. Elizabeth Health Center

The JMI became a consortium project of the Cleveland Health Sciences Library, NEOUCOM and St. Elizabeth Health Center. In August of 1980, the JMI moved to St. Elizabeth Health Center and was located next to the Department of Medicine.

Today, the Jeghers Medical Index maintains a collection of over one million articles. In addition, over 115,000 historical medical articles published prior to 1965 have been scanned and are electronically searchable.

The Jeghers Medical Index continues to be a valued resource for historic and current medical information used by physicians, residents, medical students, nurses, researchers and other staff members in the local community. This historic medical index is an outstanding tribute to Dr. Jeghers' dedication to the practice of medicine and medical education.

1. Jeghers HJ. The Medical Index Project 1935-1973 Summary of its Development and Utilization Comments on its Future Potential,1973 Jul, personal manuscript.

2. Swick T.: A Unique Guide to Medical Information. American College of Physicians Observer 1985 5(2): 12-13.

Information for Road to St. Elizabeth in part comes from Poggione, M.: The Jeghers Index: A Unique Medical Resource. Convergence 1991 12(1):11-13.