{"id":132459,"date":"2026-05-22T01:54:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T06:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=132459"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:42:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:42:02","slug":"early-omaha-doctors-treated-lion-bites-battle-wounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2026\/05\/22\/early-omaha-doctors-treated-lion-bites-battle-wounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Omaha doctors treated lion bites, battle wounds\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When the Trans\u2011Mississippi & International Exposition opened its gates on June 1, 1898, Omaha transformed 200 acres between Sherman Avenue and 24th Street into a bustling showcase of the American West. Visitors poured in, arriving by a 10\u2011minute trolley ride from downtown or by two steam railways, prepared to experience the city\u2019s grandest event to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given the scale of the exposition, organizers anticipated the need for on-site medical care. Among the buildings erected for the fair was a fully equipped emergency hospital, providing an early example of organized emergency care in Omaha. John Wakefield, in his 1903 History of the Trans\u2011Mississippi & International Exposition, described the hospital as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA fine modern cottage, remodeled for the purpose with a wing added for an operating room. It was supplied with a modern ambulance and with complete hospital furnishings and instruments. A corps of physicians and trained nurses were always on duty, ready for instant service.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constructing the hospital cost $1,821 and maintaining it throughout the exposition required an additional $4,075.13.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stuart Avery Campbell, MD, led the hospital\u2019s medical team as the emergency hospital chief of staff, fresh from graduating with honors from the Omaha Medical College, Class of 1898. The college later would become part of UNMC, linking the exposition\u2019s emergency operations to Omaha\u2019s evolving medical institutions and highlighting the emergency hospital as a forerunner to more organized, modern emergency care in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the exposition\u2019s five\u2011month run, more than 2.6 million people visited the fair, and 3,095 of them sought care at the emergency hospital. Staff treated an average of 20 patients per day at a cost of just $1.31 per patient.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most common diagnoses reflected both the environment and the era:   <\/p>\n\n\n\n