Hospital of Universal Benevolence
Aerial view of Universal Benevolence Hospital and Medical School in the early 1920s.
The predecessor of Guangji Hospital was a smoking cessation center, which was founded by missionary Dr. Meadows in 1869. In 1871, Dr. Galt officially changed its name to Guangji Hospital. In 1881, Main took over the hospital. During his tenure, he not only developed the general hospital but also established many branch hospitals and medical schools, such as Men’s and Women’s Leprosy Hospital and the Lung Sanatorium, Guangji medical school, which became one of the best in China.
In order to maintain the operation and sustainable development of hospitals and medical schools, Dr. Main hard to obtain help from various foundations, such as the Mission to Lepers, Rockefeller foundation. From 1914 to 1926, he continued to write letters to the Rockefeller foundation.
Letter to the foundation
In the summer of 1911, Hospital established the earliest self-provided power plant in Hangzhou and built its own generator; It also introduced the first X-ray machine. Generators, X-ray machines and water towers were known as the "Three Treasures of Hospital of Universal Benevolence ".'
As the president of hospital, Dr. Main is also a famous doctor with brilliant skills.
“In 1895, Dr. Main successfully performed an amputation operation on a female patient after chloroform anesthesia. After surgery, the patient recovered well. Dr. Main personally instructed a carpenter to make a wooden prosthetic for her. With the aid of a prosthetic, the patient stood up for the first time after years of illness. Before this, Hangzhou people had almost never heard of "amputation surgery", which had a great impact on the medical circles in Hangzhou and even in Zhejiang.” ～ Hospital history records: Guangji hospital to the second Zhejiang medical hospital