A new exhibit highlighting Philadelphia’s remarkable history in the field of medicine from innovations dating to Colonial America to today’s world-renowned reputation for medical schools, teaching hospitals, research, pharmaceutical industry, and medical-related businesses opened today at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).
Airport CEO Chellie Cameron was joined by Mayor Jim Kenney, Philadelphia International Medicine Executive President and CEO Edgar Anistenes Vesga-Arias and Wawa Welcome America! Executive Director Michael DelBene in unveiling PHILADELPHIA A Global Medical Hub Since the 1700s. The exhibit, located in Terminal A-East and accessible to ticketed passengers, will be on display until June 2020.
“All of us know about Philadelphia’s historical significance as our nation’s birthplace and the first U.S. capital,” Cameron said. “This exhibit shares Philadelphia’s prominence as the seat of medical innovation dating to Colonial times and its status today as an epicenter for advancements in medicine.”
The exhibit is a collage consisting of 80 panels celebrating “medical firsts” that took place here such as the nation’s first hospital, medical school, and college for women doctors as well as the first successful brain surgery, heart surgery using a heart-lung machine and the discoveries of the rabies, rubella and hepatitis B vaccines. The exhibit also pays tribute to pioneers in the field of medicine who practiced in Philadelphia and underscores the region’s prominence as a global hub for pharmaceuticals and biotech companies and educational and research institutions.
“Philadelphia has been a pioneer in healthcare since the 1700s – from the creation of the first hospital, to identifying the mosquito as carrier of yellow fever to the discovery of the Philadelphia Chromosome and a cure for hepatitis B,” said Vesga. “And Philadelphia continues to lead the way in gene therapy and many lifesaving discoveries.”
The exhibit was unveiled as part of Wawa Welcome America’s! official program, which runs from June 27 thru July 4. Dr. Stanley Plotkin, renowned physician who developed the rubella vaccine and worked on the development of numerous other vaccines, was presented with a Mayoral Citation recognizing his extraordinary achievements. Dr. Plotkin is Emeritus Professor at the Wistar Institute and the University of Pennsylvania, both of which are featured in the exhibit.
