Comment by the Author:

Having spent about six years of my life at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center in the 1970's, a great deal of the experiences related in this book took took place there, mentioned throughout the medical school chapters, as well as the internship chapters.

The venerable institution was founded in 1881. It was a major research and teaching hospital and one of the oldest and largest hospitals in Chicago, located on the South Side. It was a place which produced many innovations in cardiology, gastroenterology, endocrinology and other fields; many world renowned physicians worked there over the years.

At one time, it was one of the finest teaching hospitals in the country but it eventually fell on hard times as its patient population migrated to the North of the city and times changed. Its many buildings and pavillions and its 37-acre campus were eventually vacated and demolition began in the fall of 2009.

I am proud to have been part of Michael Reese during its "Golden Age."

Click here to see the Prologue to The Spattered White Coat, which best describes my feelings during the demolition.

.... Edmund Messina MD