| Bailey K. Ashford | |
|---|---|
Colonel Bailey K. Ashford |
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| Born | September 28, 1873 Washington D.C., United States |
| Died | September 10, 1934 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Place of burial | Puerto Rico National Cemetery in Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1893–1923 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands held | United States Army Medical Corp |
| Battles/wars | |
| Other work | Ashford was a founding member of the Puerto Rico Anemia Commission |
Colonel Bailey K. Ashford (September 28, 1873 - September 10, 1934) was a soldier, physician and author. A pioneering physician, Ashford organized and conducted a parasite treatment campaign, which cured approximately 300,000 persons (one-third of the Puerto Rico population) and reduced the death rate from this anemia by 90 percent.
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Ashford was born in Washington D.C. was one of five children in the family of Dr. Francis Ashford, a prominent physician. His general education was obtained at the public schools and at Columbian University in Washington D.C.(now George Washington University). In 1896, he graduated from the Georgetown University Medical School and, during this period served as resident physician in several area hospitals.[1]
As a recently commissioned lieutenant in the United States Army Medical Corps, he accompanied the military expedition to Puerto Rico in 1898.[2]
Serving as the medical officer in the general military hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico, he was the first to describe and successfully treat North American hookworm in 1899. He was a tireless clinician and conducted an exhaustive study of the anemia caused by hookworm infestation, which was responsible for as many as 12,000 deaths a year. From 1903–1904, he organized and conducted a parasite treatment campaign, which cured approximately 300,000 persons (one-third of the Puerto Rico population) and reduced the death rate from this anemia by 90 percent.[1]
Captain Ashford was a founding member of the Puerto Rico Anemia Commission and, by special authority of the Secretary of War, served on the Commission from 1904–1906.[2]
In 1911, his proposal for an Institute of Tropical Medicine (Later renamed School of Tropical Medicine) in Puerto Rico was approved by the president of the Puerto Rican Senate, Antonio R. Barceló who presented the necessary legislation that gave Governor Horace Towner and his cabinet, the economic resources to create the school.[3] After serving as a commander of the Army Medical Department’s First Division during World War I, Colonel Ashford was assigned to San Juan and campaigned for the development of “a real school of tropical medicine in the American tropics”. The School of Tropical Medicine of Puerto Rico[4] was formally dedicated in 1925. After a 30-year Army career, Dr. Ashford assumed a full time faculty position at the School and continued his interest in tropical medicine. Together with doctors Isaac González Martínez and Ramón M. Suárez Calderon, he continued to carry out his experiments in regard to anemia. The University of Puerto Rico campus at Rio Piedras, the building of the Institute of Tropical Medicine (see drawings[5]) in Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, is one of the few examples of the Neo-Plateresque architectural style in the Island.
In his honor, the main avenue in the San Juan, Puerto Rico district of "El Condado", bears his name as well as the Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital, also in Condado, Puerto Rico. His home in Condado, Puerto Rico is being renovated.[1] In 1941, The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, establish the "Bailey K. Ashford Medal". The awarded for distinguished work in tropical medicine to worker in his or her early or mid-career. The first person to receive the award was Lloyd E. Rozeboom. The medal is awarded every year, and more than one award may be given.[6]
Ashford died on September 10, 1934, in his home in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His remains were interred in Puerto Rico National Cemetery in the city of Bayamón.[1]
His writings include: Anemia in Puerto Rico published in 1904; Uncinariasis in Puerto Rico published in 1911; and A Soldier in Science published in 1934.