Academic medical centres have traditionally been bastions of teaching and research. Outreach to the community at large and involvement in community affairs have sometimes been lacking in the overall mission and activities of academic medical centres. This paper provides an historical perspective first on the numerous achievements of a physician and surgeon and then on the topic of involvement in community affairs by reviewing the many contributions of America’s pioneer gynaecological surgeon and one of the four physician founders of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine in 1889 – Dr Howard Atwood Kelly.
AllenPMSetzeTK. Howard Atwood Kelly (1858–1943): his life and his enduring legacy. Southern Medical Journal1991; 84: 361–368.
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KellyHA. The examination of the female and the catheterization of the ureters under direct inspection. Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital1893; 4: 101–105.
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KellyHA. My work on diseases of the urinary tract in women. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology1896; 33: 15–20.
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KellyHA. An improved vesical speculum. American Journal of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children1900; 41: 1–8.
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Kelly HA. Rubber cushions for general surgical, gynecological, and obstetric use. The Medical News, 9 April 1904, pp.1–4.
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KellyHA. Incontinence of urine in women. Urology and Cutaneous Review1913; 17: 15–16.
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The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ACOG Committee Opinion #437 July 2009.
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Proceedings of University Day, University of Pennsylvania, 1907.
