apy, and the Central Council for the Care of Crip- ples. His clear and logical exposition before the Select Committee of the House of Lords is said to have carried the greatest weight in deciding the Committee to reject the osteopaths’ claim for recognition. As a man, Elmslie lacked the warmth of Robert Jones, whose friend and admirer he always was. He was not easy to know—but his reserve did not prevent him inspiring the greatest enthusiasm and devotion in his pupils, which they still retain.
second year of residency at the Pennsylvania Crippled Children’s Hospital in Elizabethtown, he decided that working with crippled children was to be his specialty.
In the fall of 1936, Dr. Engh moved to the Washington, DC area and began his practice, which was to continue until his retirement in 1976. He started as assistant to another physician, but he was impatient to do more work with crip- pled children and saw a glaring need for such services. The area had no facilities that special- ized in orthopedic deformities, which were far more common in the past than they are today.
Poliomyelitis was a major problem, and club foot, dislocated hips, osteomyelitis, and curvature of the spine also contributed to the need for recon- structive surgeons and long-term hospital care.
Dr. Engh opened his own practice in 1938, in his home in Alexandria, Virginia, but he had a desire to own a clinic or hospital. He bought land in Arlington and established offices, which he called the Anderson Clinic. He also established a crippled children’s program through the Arlington Health Department. Previously, such children, especially in rural areas, were being seen only once or twice a year, and few operations were being done. At Dr. Engh’s center, the patients were seen weekly and received therapy. In addi- tion, he instituted community-based clinics for handicapped children at Gallinger Hospital (now DC General Hospital) in Washington and at Arlington Hospital in Arlington.
Dr. Engh traveled throughout the metropolitan Washington area to see patients at a half-dozen hospitals, frequently taking his wife and three children with him on weekends.
In the 1940s, Dr. Engh converted the physical- therapy floor of the Anderson Clinic into an 18- bed hospital, complete with iron lungs, to treat victims of poliomyelitis, because of the desperate need for beds for such patients. The construction of an entire hospital for orthopedic surgery fol- lowed a few years later. The original hospital was totally a volunteer effort, backed by the Arlington Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Builders and Plumbers Association, and other organizations; it was built with donated materials and labor, on land donated by Dr. and Mrs. Engh. In the 1950s, the hospital’s name was changed to the National Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, new wings were added, and services were expanded. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the hospital was designated by the federal government to serve as a pilot 97
Who’s Who in Orthopedics
Otto Anderson ENGH
1904–1988
Otto Engh was a native of Johnstown, Pennsyl- vania. One of six sons of immigrants—his father, a foreman in a steel mill, had come from Sweden, and his mother from Norway—he and his broth- ers were given the middle name of Anderson, which had been their father’s name before he emigrated and changed it to Engh.
After receiving an undergraduate degree in science from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, Otto Engh worked as a high-school science teacher and athletic coach in Johnstown. In 1935, he married Sara, who was also a teacher. He was a talented musician; he almost became a professional performer, but his wife encouraged him to pursue his medical career.
Dr. Engh received his medical degree from Temple University, Philadelphia. During his
demonstration project on rehabilitation. The hos- pital remains a private, non-profit institution.
Dr. Engh served as President of the Virginia Orthopedic Society, the District of Columbia Orthopedic Society, and the Alexandria Medical Society. He was Chief of Staff at Alexandria Hospital as well as at the National Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation.
Dr. Engh was a distinguished orthopedic surgeon and a leader in the field of orthopedics.
He is particularly remembered in his community for his early work with children who were crip- pled by poliomyelitis, his founding of the National Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabili- tation, and the Anderson Clinic, a practice that continues under the direction of his two sons.
Otto Anderson Engh died at his home in Falls Church, Virginia, on April 11, 1988. He was survived by his wife, Sara, of Falls Church, Virginia; three children, Charles A. Engh, MD, of Arlington, Virginia, Sara Engh Reger of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and Gerard A. Engh, MD, of Alexandria, Virginia.
world and art books in which pictures of defor- mities, braces and crutches appeared.
98 Who’s Who in Orthopedics
Sigmund EPSTEIN
1880–1970
Dr. Sigmund Epstein practiced orthopedics in New York City for a lifetime. He was graduated from Cornell School of Medicine in 1903, and died in retirement at the age of 90. He was a cul- tivated gentleman with a pleasant interest in the arts and literature. During the latter part of his life, he acquired a large collection of photographs of masterpieces from museums throughout the
Wilhelm Heinrich ERB
1840–1921
Erb’s fame was made possible by hard work over a long period of time, with close attention to detail.
The son of a woodsman in the Black Forest, Erb studied at Heidelburg. His interest in clinical neu- rology developed when he worked for Friedreich.
Erb was a prolific writer; on returning from his holidays, he usually produced a new piece of work. In all, he wrote 237 papers and several books, one of peripheral nerve diseases, a text- book of spinal cord diseases, and another on electrotherapy. In 1880 he succeeded Friedreich at Heidelburg. He founded a journal, and was first President of the Society of German Neurologists in 1907.
Erb did much to give clinical examination of the nervous system its present form. He pointed out the significance and value of pupillary and tendon reflexes. He is remembered for his account of brachial plexus injuries.
In manner he was brusque and intense, and offended people by language unusual in academic circles; he was more respected than loved.
Medical administration, education and local politics were subsidiary interests. He died, it is
