Since 1853 Knoxville’s physician medical society, the Knoxville Academy of Medicine (KAM), has been serving the needs of East Tennessee’s physicians. The pioneer physicians of Knox County were also farmers, ministers, teachers, business men, and civic leaders. The first and most notable Knox County physician was Dr. Samuel Carrick. Dr. Carrick originally came to this area to become the first pastor of the Lebanon-in-the-Fork Presbyterian Church and later established the First Presbyterian Church in Knoxville. In 1794 he became the President of Blount College (later the University of Tennessee).
There were no medical schools in America until just prior to the American Revolution. Anesthetics were not used until about 1840. After the start of the 19th century Knoxville became a growing frontier town and began attracting more physicians. There were only three medical schools in the entire country at this time. Tennessee had a small minority of men who had received an M.D. degree and they developed a movement for the organization of a state medical association
The five charter members from Knox County at the organization of the state association in 1830 were Drs. J.G. M. Ramsey, Donald McIntosh, James King, William J. Baker and Joseph C. Strong. In May 1845 twelve physicians from six counties of East Tennessee met and organized the Medical Society of East Tennessee. In 1853 the state society invited the physicians of Tennessee to organize local societies and in 1856 the state legislature chartered the Knoxville Medical Society giving it all the powers that had been granted to the Medical Department of the University of Nashville.
In 1857 Knoxville physicians met in the Knox County Court House for the purpose of organizing a medical society. Otis F. Hill, MD was the first president of the Knox County Medical Society, now known as the Knoxville Academy of Medicine.
During the Civil War many medical associations were disrupted and their members dispersed. In 1871 the East Tennessee Medical Society was reorganized, along with the reorganization of the Knox County Branch of the East Tennessee Medical Society. In 1884 it was reorganized under the authority of the Tennessee State Medical Association. After the turn of the century, increased interest in medical legislation developed and the medical society frequently invited the state legislators from Knox County to attend their meetings to discuss legislation which would protect and improve both the medical profession and public health and welfare.
In 1926 our society physicians organized the “E” Club whose primary objective was to familiarize young doctors with the code of medical ethics of the AMA—the “E” standing for ethics. The historic James Park home was purchased in 1945 for the medical society. In 1946 the medical society name was changed to the Knoxville Academy of Medicine and published its first Bulletin. The Academy established and housed a medical museum in the 1950s which was transferred to the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee in 1986 and then moved to East Tennessee State University where it remains.
The Knoxville Academy of Medicine Foundation was established in 1989 and is the philanthropic arm of the Academy. The KAM Foundation has provided funding for many community programs. Some of these programs have included Free Flu Shot Saturday, East Tennessee Health Discovery Center, Habitat for Humanity, the Serenity Shelter, TMA Physicians Health Program, and purchasing fans for the needy during the hot days of summer. In Spring 2004 the Foundation Board of Governors voted to end its Free Flu Shot Program in order to establish Knoxville Area Project Access (KAPA), a comprehensive healthcare plan for low-income uninsured citizens of our community and is housed at the Knoxville Academy of Medicine. KAPA is a physician-led effort which coordinates needed health care services in cooperation with multiple community health partners.
In 2002 KAM sold the 200 year-old Park home and purchased a professional building off Kingston Pike in West Knoxville at 115 Suburban Road. The building now houses the Knoxville Academy of Medicine, Knoxville Academy of Medicine Placement Service, and Knoxville Area Project Access.
Today the Knoxville Academy of Medicine is busy representing physicians and their patients as the legacy continues from those who paved the way to make a difference in our community and state.
Medical Men and Institutions of Knox County Tennessee 1989-1957, authored by S. J. Platt, MD and Mary L. Ogden,