From the Rush Archives: World Pharmacists Day (Sept. 25), Louis Gdalman and Poison Control
by Nathalie Wheaton on 2020-09-24T08:00:00-05:00 in Archives, History | 0 Comments-Post contributed by Rush Archives Work Study Student Kirsten Petrarca, Doctoral Student in Audiology, Rush University.
September 25 is World Pharmacists Day! World Pharmacists Day was initiated by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) in 2009, "to encourage pharmacists to use this day to organize activities that promote and advocate for the role of the pharmacist in improving health in every corner of the world."
In honor of World Pharmacists Day, the Rush Archives spotlights Louis Gdalman, RPh, former director of the pharmacy section of the Department of Internal Medicine at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center (RPSLMC).
Gdalman was a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy who joined the staff at Rush’s historic St. Luke’s Hospital* in 1930.
In 1958, Gdalman organized the first Poison Control Center, which became the master Poison Control Information Center for Chicago. In 1969, he was named chairman of the State Board of Pharmacy and appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Council.
In addition to his accomplishments at the Medical Center, Gdalman was also a professor of medicine and pharmacology at Rush Medical College. Upon his retirement in 1975, Mr. Gdalman was recognized by the Board of Trustees with the rank of emeritus on the Medical Center staff and emeritus professor at Rush Medical College.
CAPTION: Louis Gdalman, RPh, helping an intern, from NewsRounds, September 1975, page 4. At the time of his retirement in 1975, NewsRounds highlighted Gdalman and his accomplishments in his profession, poison control, and at Rush. [1]
This year marks the 90th anniversary of Gdalman joining the St. Luke’s Hospital staff and the 45th anniversary of his retirement!
To learn more about Louis Gdalman and the first Poison Control Center, visit “Life-Saving Poison Control Centers Have Origins at Rush” from the Rush InPerson blog, August 13, 2018. [2]
The Rush Archives highly recommends the Radiolab (WNYC) episode, "Poison Control," for an in-depth look at Gdalman, the creation of poison control centers and their lifesaving function. [3]
Want to learn more about the history of Rush or the Rush Archives collections? Explore the Rush Archives website, or contact the archivist, Nathalie Wheaton, MSLS.
All documents and photographs belong to the records collections of Rush University Medical Center Archives, Chicago, Ill. Contact the archivist for permissions and full citations.
*Presbyterian Hospital and St. Luke's Hospital merged in 1956, to become Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital. Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital merged with the newly reorganized Rush Medical College in 1969, to become Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center (RPSLMC). RPSLMC was renamed Rush University Medical Center in 2003, to better reflect its status as a leading academic research center.
[1] https://archive.org/details/newsrounds19751975rush/page/n87/mode/2up
[3] https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/poison-control
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