Overview | 1983-Present

The first anesthetic was administered at Strong Memorial Hospital in January 1926, shortly after the hospital opened. At that time nurse anesthetists administered anesthesia under surgical supervision. In the early 1950’s anesthesia services at Strong were provided exclusively by a group of 13 nurse anesthetists under the direction of Mrs. Helen Geiss, the chief nurse anesthetist. 

In 1950, Dr. Robert Sweet was recruited as the first Chairman of the newly formed Division of Anesthesiology which was part of the Department of Surgery. He was the only physician member of the division and he directed and supervised the nurse anesthetists who were very pleased when he arrived. Dr. Sweet left Rochester in 1952 to Chair the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Nicholas Greene was appointed Chairman of the Division in 1953. Shortly after he arrived, he appointed two faculty members, Drs. David Vernon Thomas and Alastair J. Gillies. Dr. Greene also recruited Dr. Robert M. Lawrence, a University of Rochester medical student and two other residents from the surgical house staff and established an anesthesiology residency program. A couple of years later he returned to Yale and brought Dr. Gillies and two of the residents with him.

Dr. Robert Lawrence was the first anesthesiology resident to complete our program. After completing his residency, Dr. Lawrence joined our faculty where he had a long and distinguished career and provided significant contributions in both the fields of Anesthesiology and Respiratory Therapy.

Dr. David Vernon Thomas took over the leadership of the Division upon Dr. Greene’s departure. One of his major accomplishments was to change the practice of the chief surgical resident specifying the anesthetic plan. This responsibility definitely belonged in the hands of an anesthesiologist. During his tenure, Dr. Thomas became the first full professor of Anesthesiology and the Chairman of the Department of Surgery gave him full autonomy over the Division of Anesthesiology. However, the Dean did not support Dr. Thomas’ requests to establish an independent department so he left the Medical Center in 1959.

Dr. Alastair J. Gillies came back to Rochester in 1959 to assume the role of Professor and Chairman of the Division of Anesthesiology. By the 1960s, the unique contributions of the specialty of anesthesiology were being recognized nationally. In 1962, Dr. Frank Colgan administered the anesthetic for a successful heart surgery on a three pound premature baby at the University of Rochester. An article covering this amazing story was published in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper. In 1969, Dr. Gillies was successful in developing a plan to create an independent Department of Anesthesiology that was approved by the leadership of our Medical Center.

During his tenure, Dr. Gillies recruited a number of excellent faculty members and encouraged the development of an excellent clinical department and residency program with a wide variety of cases being done. He established a research program and several faculty members participated in both basic science and clinical research.