During the April 21, 1918, dedication of White Memorial Medical Center — originally created to be a site of clinical education for medical students from the College of Medical Evangelists (now Loma Linda University) — the service was interrupted by an earthquake. Correctly naming this unexpected occurrence were random winners Andrea Briseño, Paul Wojtkowski, and Sue Macy. Please email pr@llu.edu to claim your prize, which must be picked up within 60 days.
When the earth shook, speaker Percy T. Magan, MD, quipped to the crowd of more than 2,000 people, “It takes a good-sized man to make a speech that will start an earthquake.”
Adequate clinical training for College of Medical Evangelists medical students had been a demand from the American Medical Association Council on Medical Education and Hospitals, and White Memorial provided that. A few years later, as the school made more and more improvements, the council would give the College of Medical Evangelists its first “A” rating.
Nathan Colwell, MD, secretary of the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals, had first visited the College of Medical Evangelists in 1912 and concluded that attempts at running a medical school should be abandoned. His advice, of course, was ignored.
Years later, Colwell later said at a banquet: “When the Seventh-day Adventists first started … a number of us felt they were doomed for defeat. I told them over and over again not to make a start. But today I must confess that their faith has triumphed over my unbelief.”
In the letter he wrote to the college giving it an “A,” Colwell offered his sincere congratulations.
In what year was this long-awaited rating given? Please email the answer to pr@llu.edu by midnight Tuesday, Oct. 7, for the chance to be a random winner. One answer per person.