August 29

Today is the anniversary of the death of Louis Gdalman, a pioneer is pharmacy. 

In the 1930s, Louis Gdalman established a poison information service at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago.  Hospital pharmacists provided poison information to the physicians and nurses working in the emergency room.  By the early 1950s, Gdalman had established an extensive library of information on the management of poisoning and had developed a standard data collection form.  He personally provided a 24-hour poison information service and often took calls at home.  In 1953, the American Academy of Pediatrics and Dr. Edward Press together with Louis Gdalman established the Chicago Area Poisoning Control Program expanding the service to include treatment and referral centers at 11 local hospitals.  Louis Gdalman was the only pharmacist involved in the program.  

Today that center is the Illinois Poison Center.  In 2011, the Illinois poison Center handled 86,680 calls.

As Director of Pharmacy Louis Gdalman continued working at Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital until his retirement in 1975.  In 1967, Gdalman was named Hospital Pharmacist of the Year by the Illinois Council of Hospital Pharmacists. He was a charter member of the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists, the first hospital pharmacist to chair the State Pharmacy Board, and the only pharmacist elected a Fellow of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. He was named emeritus professor of internal medicine and pharmacology at Rush University and as emeritus senior scientist at Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital. During his career, he lectured at various other institutions, including Northwestern University and Illinois Masonic Hospital.  

Thank you to the Chicago Tribune, Rush University and the American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy for information that contributed to this posting.