Medicine is not practiced in a vacuum; cultural and geographical context matter, and the community shapes both innovation and practice. Cleveland’s history reveals the remarkable collaboration of medical institutions and the public—it does not rest only in the hands of physicians or with distant hospital systems. Now, as then, health is everyone’s concern.
But how do we engage the public? And how can we make it plain that the public has rights--and power--to shape medicine? Historically, individuals had a greater share in shaping their care out of necessity. The Dittrick Museum's collection of herbals and medical remedies is a testament...