Harris County Medical Society commercials (4)

Identity elements

Reference code

AVA-IC004-001

Level of description

File

Title

Harris County Medical Society commercials (4)

Date(s)

  • approximately 1981 (Creation)

Extent

one 12" phonograph record (4:12 minutes)

Name of creator

(1903-)

Administrative history

Founded in 1903 to improve medical standards and health care in Harris County. Advocated for the creation of the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners in 1907, creating the state’s first standards for training and education of physicians and midwives. Over the years, it has run many public health and awareness campaigns for illnesses such as polio and AIDS, and functioned as a facilitator for emergency response resources in times of crisis. It has also spearheaded the formation of organizations such as the Houston Academy of Medicine, the HAM-TMC Library, the Gulf Coast Blood Center, and the Health Museum, and sponsors the John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award for physicians whose careers embody the Oslerian ideals of medical excellence, ethics, and humanity.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

This Harris County Medical Society sound recording comes from a 12" phonograph record. It contains four commercials, each one minute in length, regarding an upcoming vote for the location of the new Jefferson Davis Hospital. The segments cite increased traffic; duplication of administrative, maintenance, and personnel costs; and the geographic location of existing paitents as reasons to oppose a new facility in the Texas Medical Center and support a hospital on the present site. While the claims are mostly the same, each segment offers a slightly different way to frame the argument. The segments evoke radio programs such as quiz shows and mysteries. While the claims are mostly the same, each segment offers a slightly different way to frame the argument. Each segment concludes with a variation of the refrain "On July 26 vote for the new Jefferson Davis Hospital on the present site. Vote 'for' the hospital issue on July 26." Each segment runs approximately one minute, with a total recording time of 4:12 minutes.
Segment 1 (0:01) "The truth about Jefferson Davis Hospital" poses "Did you Know?" questions and concludes responses with "That's the Truth About JD."
Segment 2 (1:01) "The Case of the Dislocated Hospital" poses a mixture of questions and statements and invites "you the taxpayer to solve the case." This segment offers additional statistics and other information about the patients served by the hospital.
Segment 3 (2:06) uses the framing "Your Dr. Recommends...." to make the case.
Segment 4 (3:05) "Here's the case of tax vs. fiction on the hospital issue" frames opponents' arguments as "Fiction has it..." and then tells the audience "Fact has it...."

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Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

Digital copy made available by the Texas Medical Center Library

Physical access

Sound

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Creative Commons License 4.0, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs. Images are to be used for educational purposes only, and are not to be reproduced without permission from The TMC Library, McGovern Historical Center, 1133 John Freeman Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, mcgovern@library.tmc.edu, 713-799-7899

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

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Uploaded finding aid

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Specialized notes

  • Processing information: Digitization supported by South Central Academic Medical Libraries Consortium (SCAMeL) Speedy Startup funds, 2022.

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