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Dartmouth Medical School Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Vital Signs

Then & Now

A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from a 1991 history of Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1893:

"From the beginning, the cases admitted to the hospital were predominantly surgical; medical cases were more likely to be cared for at home. . . . In its first three years, 278 patients were admitted for surgical diseases; by 1900, more than 300 procedures were performed each year, and in 1905 there were about 500 operations."

19,405
Operations performed at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in fiscal year 2010

24,165
Patients discharged in fiscal year 2010

119,663
Number of inpatient days in fiscal year 2010


A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from the 1957-58 DMS course catalogue:

"Medical Statistics 201 . . . aims to acquaint the student with the elements of statistical analysis as applied to medical and public health subjects. Topics studied include tabular and graphical presentation of data, population rates and ratios, life tables, curve fitting, correlation, and significance tests. Particular attention is given to modern methods of treatment of small samples."

1988
Year that Dr. Jack Wennberg established a center at DMS focused on the statistical analysis of health-care delivery patterns

$64 million
Funding for research in this field at DMS in FY2010


A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from the 1980 DMS admissions viewbook:

"When Nathan Smith founded Dartmouth Medical School [in 1797], it was still possible for one man to lecture knowledgeably on all aspects of medicine. . . . As the science of medicine became more complex, [the School] grew. . . . Today, DMS has 140 full-time faculty members; another 272 physicians and scientists are affiliated with the School and hold faculty rank."

969
Number of faculty today with a title of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor

1,216
Number of faculty today with an adjunct, research, instructor, or visiting title


A reminder of the pace of change, and of timeless truths, from the Fall 1981 issue of this magazine:

"New Hampshire had one of the highest cancer death rates in the country in 1970. Yet New Hampshire's cancer incidence was no higher than the national average. [An] extensive analysis . . . pinpointed inadequate cancer-treatment facilities and a need for more oncologists as being possible reasons for [the] high death rate. . . The first two floors [of Dartmouth's Norris Cotton Cancer Center] opened in 1972."

4
Norris Cotton locations today (Lebanon, Keene, and Manchester, N.H., and St. Johnsbury, Vt.)

209
Number of oncologists at Norris Cotton today


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Dartmouth Medical SchoolDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical CenterWhite River Junction VAMCNorris Cotton Cancer CenterDartmouth College