The New York Hydropathic and Physiological School, was opened in 1853, and is a groundbreaking institution for it was the first medical school to approach the challenges of medicine from a holistic and natural perspective.
Firstly, this medical school was the first of its kind to place emphasis on patients overall living conditions and healthy diet as a focal point in order to achieve optimum health and wellness. The school’s founder, Dr. Russell Thatcher Trall, was a very open minded and progressive doctor for the time—admitting over 50% of females into his first doctoral class. At a time when doctors were relying heavily on faith, unbalanced humours, and “noxious spirits”; Dr.Trall discovered that the traditional route that Western medicine was taking was that of synthetic treatments. These treatments almost always treated symptoms without acknowledging their underlying causes. A good example of this being Mrs. Winslow’s “soothing syrup”, a concoction of several mind-altering substances, (namely morphine and cocaine), which was accepted as a natural cure-all remedy. Toothache? Narcotics will do the trick. Upset stomach? Nothing some “soothing syrup” can’t handle.
Dr. Trall heavily refuted this approach to medicine; as such he opted to explore new medical treatments and therapies that were unknown to the vast majority of medical practitioners at the time—namely due to class and sex divisions that separated society into separate spheres. Thus, The New York Hydropathic and Physiological School earned its reputation as a bastion of free-thought and progressive attitude as it pertained to science and medicine—another testament as to the site’s significance.
As time progressed a groundbreaking discovery occurred in the field of medicine—the discovery of Hydropathic treatments, and mainly Veganism, as a means of helping patients heal and cope with all sorts of ailments. Dr. Trall himself authored more than one cookbook featuring healthy vegan recipes. The cookbooks were more than just recipes but rather prescriptions of sorts. Different recipes corresponded to different ailments and thus Dr.Trall is looked backed on as the godfather of the modern Vegan approach to healthy living.
Hydropathic medicine is still a blossoming field of medicine, (which paved the way for medical fields that led to the study of Osteopathic medicine and Physical Therapy), and is used as a therapeutic means for people suffering from arthritis, strokes, nerve damage, neurological diseases, and in today’s day and age—a range of psychiatric treatments for patients suffering from PTSD and general anxiety disorder.
This was a monumental achievement in the world of medicine due to the fact, that in earlier times, after a patient was discharged from the direct care of a physician/hospital they were sent home to fend for themselves—without follow ups, therapy of any sort, or further preventative care. As scientific data has proven, a significant amount of patients who were admitted to hospitals [at the time] ended up returning for the same or worsened conditions; (in today’s day and age this is less common due to technological advances as well as liability issues holding doctors more accountable for patient sickness relapse.)
While the NYHP School’s discovery of hydrotherapy was groundbreaking due to its ability to treat inflammation and joint pain, the unintended consequences were even more profound. Hydrotherapy opened-up an entirely new basket of “natural” treatments—that in Eastern and African parts of the world had already been used, however due to the patriarchal “gentlemanly” dominated field of medicine in the US at the time, such breakthroughs did not occur. Therefore, in the field of physical therapy, and nutrition there was seriously lag in The United States. Once patients began receiving post-trauma care it became clear that it wasn’t just up to one single doctor to determine the positive outcome of a patients prognosis but rather a holistic approach to medicine and health—the same approach that became extremely popular in the US just a century later; and even more so in our current time due to the advent of social media and aggressive marketing and branding aimed at fitness “influencers” and models etc.
Today at 15 Laight Street, the original location of the New York Hydropathic and Physiological School, is the same building that was once a medical school—only now it is office space; and under construction. While the external facade of the building does not give any indication as to the building’s history, the many signs advertising medical offices on its exterior remind the passerby that although real estate can change, some societal needs wont.
Overall The New York Hydropathic and Physiological School was more than just a former medical school, it was the first to emphasize things such as “…rhetoric, drawing, music, dietetics, and calisthenics” as a focal point to human health. It revolutionized the entire Western way of medicine in the United States, and even in today’s day and age this approach to medicine is irrefutably strong; This is exactly why this site has so much significance in our contemporary times.
citations
TRALL, R. T. (1853, 08). NEW YORK HYDROPATHIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL SCHOOL.Water – Cure Journal (1845-1861), 16, 45. Retrieved from https://remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/91180942?accountid=8500
NEW YORK HYDROPATHIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL SCHOOL. (1853, 09). Water – Cure Journal (1845-1861), 16, 64. Retrieved from https://remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/docview/91200393?accountid=8500
“Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D. Hobart and William Smith Colleges.” Hobart and William Smith Colleges, www.hws.edu/about/blackwell/articles/nyc.aspx.
https://amhistory.si.edu/archives/AC0060_physicalculture.pdf
“Russell Trall.” Russell Trall – Health Facts, www.ndhealthfacts.org/wiki/Russell_Trall. (AUGUST, 2012)
( https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-d39c-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99-advertisement picture)