A Brief History of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
The Good Samaritan Hospital of Baltimore was established as a chronic care hospital in 1969. At that time it was staffed primarily by Johns Hopkins physicians. Given its large geriatric patient population, Good Samaritan was the logical place to establish Hopkins' Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, which began operations upon the recruitment of Arthur A. Siebens, M.D., from Wisconsin in 1970.
Dr. Siebens established the first rehabilitation unit associated with Johns Hopkins. This unit was "concerned with the reintegration of convalescent and chronically ill and disabled patients into active living." Under Dr. Siebens' stewardship, the Good Samaritan/Johns Hopkins program became a recognized center of expertise in the rehabilitation of spinal cord injury, stroke, dysphagia (swallowing disorders), joint replacement and many other disabling conditions. Dr. Siebens was the chief of Rehabilitation Medicine for Hopkins from 1970 until 1993. His portrait can be seen at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the Osler building.
Originally a division of the Department of Surgery and later of the Department of Medicine, Rehabilitation Medicine became the Johns Hopkins University Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 1992. Dr. Barbara de Lateur was named the first Lawrence Cardinal Shehan Chair of the department in 1993. She quickly set about expanding the faculty, developing new services, and increasing the visibility of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation within the Hopkins Medical Institutions and the community at large. In February 1998 a 14-bed comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation unit was opened at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the Halsted building.
The Johns Hopkins Residency Training Program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation was established in 1999 with the goal of training physiatrists who will make outstanding contributions to their field. Hopkins' renowned basic medicine training (in the internship year) was integrated with broad and varied experience in the care of disabled individuals to make the new program a superb and unique training experience.
Today, the Johns Hopkins University Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation strives for excellence in the evidence-based diagnosis, care and treatment of patients with disabilities, while continuing its traditions of innovative research and excellence in teaching.
