Monday, March 23, 2020

Dr. James Jackson, primer médico avecindado en la ciudad de Miami (por Joaquín Estrada-Montalván)

Oficina médica (1905-1916)
 del Dr. James Jakson 
190 SE 12 Ter. Miami
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El Dr. James Jackson (1866-1924)  está considerado el primer médico con residencia oficial en la ciudad de Miami, donde se asentó definitivamente, junto a su esposa, en septiembre de 1896.

El matrimonio Jackson vivió los primeros tiempos en el Miami Hotel, propiedad de Julia and Harry Tuttle, luego habitaron en una casa que se encontraba en el lugar que ocupa actualmente el Teatro Olympia. Posteriormente compraron a Julia Tuttle un terreno (hoy día SE 12 Ter casi esquina Brickell Bay Drive), donde construyeron su primer hogar. En 1905, el Dr. Jackson construyó su oficina médica, contigua a la casa, en la misma esquina.


Encabezó la apertura el 25 de junio de 1918, durante una severa epidemia de influenza, del Miami City Hospital, siendo su primer director. Este centro de salud que abrió sus puertas con trece camas, es hoy el Hospital Jackson, nombrado así en memoria del Dr. James Jackson, seguidamente de su fallecimiento en 1924.

Además de su entrega como doctor, entre sus no pocos aportes a la ciudad, se pueden mencionar que fue el primer presidente del Miami Rotary Club, presidente del Dade County Medical Society, miembro de la American Medical Association, estuvo entre los fundadores locales de YMCA, presidente del Bank of Bay Biscayne... (Ver Miracle Founder. Dr James M Jackson Jr)


Así lo describe William M. Straight, M.D., en su artículo James M. Jackson, Jr. Miami's First Physician:
Jackson was fussy about his dress but not fopish. In the winter he wore dark suits, a vest and a dark hat. In summer he preferred white palm beach suits, stiffy starched shirts (fresh morning and evening), a starched linen wing collar, a four-in-hand pique tie with a stickpin in the knot (as the custom then was), and white socks and shoes. An idiosyncrasy vividly recalled by several pioneers was his stiff-brimmed, white straw, sailor hat from which he removed the crown to provide better ventilation. Another element of dress which impressed his patients was the customary flower in his lapel, often a white jasmine. He was an inveterate cigar smoker and preferred a five cent cigar known as the "Cinco." He often referred to these as "stinkos" and with considerable accuracy. When he entered a patient's house it was his custom to leave the cigar resting on the porch rail or the edge of the porch floor. Often upon his departure he would forget to retrieve it and you could follow Jackson's path around town by spotting the cigar butts. 
He was a man of medium height, slender build and a warm enthusiastic disposition. He walked with a quick step and had a quick decisive mind. Yet as he walked the streets of Miami he found time to speak a few words to both friend and stranger. One pioneer who as a child lived near Jackson's home recalls his facility at remembering the names of all of the children and his willingness to talk with them when they met him on the street. He seemed to enjoy life and was a master at telling rib-ticklers when the occasion presented itself. He was unpretentious and equally at home presiding over the board meeting of the Bank of Bay Biscayne or sitting at the bedside of an indigent patient. He had but one standard of service for all, his very best.

Más información en:

Dr. Jackson’s House & Office Moved from Downtown Miami to Southside

History. Jackson Health System

Miracle Founder. Dr James M Jackson Jr

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