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DAVISON BUILDING IN 1929 — The medical school building, later named for Dr.
W. C. Davison, the school's first dean, was the first facility constructed in the
now-expansive Medical Center complex. In the foreground are railroad tracks used to
deliver construction materials.
Dr. Julian Ruffin:
'I Enjoy Leisure, But Patients Need Doctors’
As the year 1970 marked the fortieth
anniversary of Duke Medical Center, it
also marked the end of 40 years of service
to Duke by Dr. Julian M. Ruffin,
professor of medicine, when he retired in
September.
Dr. Ruffin, a member of the original
medical faculty, came to Duke in 1930,
because, in his words, "North Carolina
had no other four-year medical schools
and I felt it would be a great challenge to
help build such an institution."
He added, "If my decision to join the
Duke faculty did nothing more than
permit me to work along side people like
Dr. W.C. Davison, Dr. Deryl Hart, Dr. Al
Shands, and Dr. David Smith and the
many others, then it would have been a
wise move."
A native of Norfolk, Va., Dr. Ruffin
received his B.A., M.A., and M.D. degrees
from the University of Virginia and
served as a house officer at Bellevue
Hospital In New York City from 1926 to
1928. Before coming to Duke, he spent
two years on the medical staff of George
Washington University.
Dr. Ruffin was director of the
Out-Patient Clinic at Duke from 1930 to
1965, overseeing its development as a
diagnostic and treatment facility that
today has an annual patient load
numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
In addition he served for 20 years as
chief of the division of gastroenterology
in the Department of Medicine.
In 1934, Dr. Ruffin and some of his
colleagues published a series of papers
discussing the effect of diet on the
experimental production and
management of pellagra, a vitamin
deficiency disease. They also were
instrumental in establishing the minimum
daily requirements of the B complex
vitamins.
In 1967, the Southern Medical
Association honored Dr. Ruffin with the
Seale Harris Award in recognition of his
work in gastroenterology! He is also a
recipient of the Friedenwald Medal given
by the American Gastroenterological
Association in recognition of his record as
an outstanding clinical investigator.
Although he is now 70, Dr. Ruffin is
continuing private practice in Durham.
He is retaining his connections with Duke
by teaching in the public clinic and seeing
patients as a consultant.
At an age when many men would
welcome relief from the rigors imposed
upon them by the professional world. Dr.
Ruffin shuns retirement.
"Don't get me wrong," he explained.
"I enjoy leisure. But patients need
doctors, and after a man has practiced
medicine as long as I have, I guess I need
them, too."
DR. JULIAN RUFFIN
Medical Complex
Continues Growth
When Duke Hospital and the Duke
School of Medicine opened in 1930 with
400 patient beds and a total of more than
1,000 rooms, few people thought the
facility would need to be expanded
during their lifetimes.
But, as early as 1939, construction was
begun on the first of many additions to
the Medical Center complex.
Actually, the first project finished
after the Hospital opened was the nurses
home (now Baker House) in 1932, but it
had been part of the original plan.
The Private Diagnostic Clinic wing
where both PDC's remain today, was
built at the end of Duke's first decade to
provide nnore space for private patients
and physicians' offices from funds
supplied by the Duke Endowment and
Duke University.
Next to be constructed was the W. B.
Bell Research Building, started in 1940
with funds from the Private Diagnostic
Clinic, the Rockefeller Foundation, the
Dorothy Beard Research Fund, and the
Duke Endowment. Expansion of the
structure later came from the National
Institutes of Health, the Markle
Foundation, and Duke University.
The Erwin Road Nurses' Dormitory
(now Hanes House Annex) was built in
1943 with money provided by the Duke
Endowment and the U. S. Public Health
Service.
The Elizabeth P. Hanes House for
Nurses was established in 1950 with a gift
from Mrs. Frederick M. Hanes (whose
husband was professor of medicine at
Duke until his death in 1946) and
additional funds from the North Carolina
Medical Care Commission.
Next in order of construction is the W.
S. Rankin Out-patient and PDC wing,
often called the 1954 addition, which
now houses the areas around Reed and
Hanes wards. The addition was financed
by the PDC's, the Duke Endowment, and
the N.C. Medical Care Commission.
The Gerontology and Diagnostic and
Treatment (D & T) sections were built in
1963 with money supplied by the
National Institutes of Health, the PDC,
and the Duke Endowment.
The Main Entrance Building,
completed in 1967, provided more
patient care facilities and an greatly
expanded emergency service.
(continued on page fifteen)