Brewster Ladies' Library presents The State of Medicine: When Brewster Became Brewster

The state of medicine in Brewster at the turn of the 19th Century will be explored from the perspective of both the patient and physician. Three “cases” from the autobiography of Capt. Elijah Cobb will be examined.

The first case is his injury as a boy, the second is the injury of his brother and the third is fever, with the subsequent deaths of his friends in a foreign port.

The cases provide examples of general medicine, emergency medicine, and causes of death. The general state of medical knowledge of the time will be reviewed and the effectiveness of the medical care available will be discussed.

This program is offered in partnership with the Brewster Historical Society. More info here: https://www.brewsterhistoricalsociety.org/brewster-historical-society-calendar/medicine

About the Presenter

After completing medical school, Ron Jones finished a Family Medicine residency in the Twin Cities before moving to a small town in western Minnesota. There, he practiced in the county's single clinic and hospital, including running a weekly outreach clinic with limited resources. He also served as the county coroner.

After four years, Ron transitioned to full-time Emergency Room work at a small southern Minnesota hospital, primarily on the night shift, for 14 years. A six-month sabbatical involved working in multiple small-town Minnesota ERs. His experience was generally in rural medicine until a shift to Urgent Care in the Twin Cities shortly before the start of the Covid pandemic. He worked in Urgent Care until retiring in 2021.