Medical Staff and Services
Hamot's First Doctors 1881-1901
In July 1881, Hamot Hospital secured the services of four doctors.
| House Physician | Dr. J.M. Lewis |
| Consulting Physicians | Dr. Charles Brandes |
| Dr. Henry Andris Spencer | |
| Marine Hospital Service | Dr. David Hayes Strickland |
There was no specialization within the small medical staff when the hospital opened in 1881. Treatment was given for all types of illness and disease, with or without the presence of a specialist.
Marine Hospital Service 1881-1901
Hamot provided medical treatment to the area's sailors through the Marine Hospital Service, a system in which the state reimbursed the hospital for their care. Beginning in 1881, the system continued throughout the 1910s.
Medical Education
Hamot began offering internship and residency programs at the hospital in the early 1900s.
Throughout the years, Hamot has offered residencies in the areas of medicine, orthopaedic surgery, pathology, radiology, general surgery, urology, plastic surgery, family practice, colon-rectal surgery, psychiatry, clinical pharmacology, obstetrics and gynecology.
Today, the Hamot Medical Center continues this tradition of education with residency programs in the areas of orthopaedics, neurology, emergency medicine and pharmacy, as well as an osteopathic internship.
Nursing at Hamot
Irene Sutleff was Hamot's first trained nurse. In addition to managing the hospital as superintendent, she was also responsible for providing nursing care to all of its patients.
In the beginning, she did this with the help of only one assistant and the aid of volunteers from the hospital's Ladies Union Auxiliary Society.
In years to come, Hamot's superintendents hired local women to assist them in providing patient care.
Hamot Hospital Nursing School 1890-1976
To meet the growing demand for nurses in the hospital and in private homes throughout the region, Hamot Hospital established a training school for nurses in 1890.
Graduates of the school supplied the demand for trained nurses in the local hospitals and private physician offices, as well as in private homes, for many years.
The Hamot School of Nursing continued to offer quality nursing education until it closed in 1976. During its 86 years of operation, the school proudly graduated 1,674 students.
Hamot School of Anesthesia
The close of the School of Nursing in 1976 did not mean the end of nursing education at the hospital. Hamot established a school for nurse anesthetists in 1965. The school continues to be a vital source of certified registered nurse anesthetists for Hamot, the Erie region and across the nation.
