Ogden Surgical Society, 1946
Dr. Clark and Dorothy Rich
Dr. George Fister
The Ogden Surgical Society was founded in April of 1946, by Dr. Ezekiel Dumke, Dr. Clark Rich, and Dr. George Fister at the Dee Hospital. Their objective was to further the advancement of medicine locally by bringing in some of the best speakers in the medical field. At the first meeting, local physicians crowded into the lecture room of the Dee Hospital to hear Dr. C.B. Huggins, a cancer expert from the University of Chicago.
After the success of the first meeting, the Surgical Society began meeting at the Ben Lomond Hotel. Additional sessions were heled in 1948 at the Orpheum Theater next door to the hotel. As the society grew, the conference was moved to the Weber State campus, the Union Station, and finally the Egyptian Theater where the meetings are still held today.
Registration is open to all licensed physicians, and attendees come from nearly every state. Prior to 1985, local physicians closed their offices during the conference, and hospitals closed operating rooms except for emergencies so that doctors could attend. Speakers have come from all over the world, including Canada, Brazil, Sweden, and Russia.
Today the society offers accredited continuing medical education sessions and workshops not only to physicians, but also nurses, advance practice clinicians, social workers, and EMS professionals. The name of the society was changed in 1988 to the Ogden Surgical-Medical Society to better reflect their membership. It is the longest serving continuing medical education society west of the Mississippi River.
Dr. Ezekiel and Edna Dumke
Dr. O.E. Grua, Dr. Alton Ocshner, Dr. Junior Rich