by Anne Perry, Vice President
Board of Lady Managers &
member of Second Presbyterian Church
On Th
urs
day,
N
o
v. 30, The Presbyterian Board of Lady
Ma
na
gers
(BOLM)
will
gather
to cel
e
bra
te
1
40
years
of
ser
vice
hel
pi
ng r
esi
dents
of Ba
lti
m
ore with e
y
e,
ea
r
or t
h
r
oat ill
n
esses
o
btain
pr
o
per
med
ical care. Their unwavering support - which includes
volunteering, sponsoring fundraisers, contributing material goods and donating money - is uniquely
responsible for helping Towson's Greater Baltimore Medical Center become a high-quality healthcare system.
Today, BOLM remains stalwart in its mission to provide patient assistance for underserved populations. Pr
i
mar
i
ly
led
by
m
e
m
be
rs
of Se
c
o
nd
Pres
b
y
terian C
hurc
h,
the group meets quarterly to hear reports from the hospital's various departments, tour its new facilities and services and keep current on medical initiatives. BOLM also supports a variety of specialized medical services, such as the hospital's Richard E. Hoover Rehabilitation Services for Low Vision and Blindness and its
C
och
lear Im
pla
nt
pr
o
gr
a
ms
.
Unfo
rtu
nat
ely,
BOLM membership now consists of a scant number of
w
o
men who represent only a few
Presb
yt
eri
an ch
urc
hes in G
B
MC's
ser
vi
ce a
r
ea. The group is s
tr
uggling
to c
o
nti
nue the fine w
o
rk
that has endured for so long because of the
ded
ication of so many w
omen of the Presbytery of
Balt
i
mo
re.
That is
w
hy
t
he
1
4
0th a
nniv
ersa
ry is
so
ve
ry sp
ec
ial.
We are pro
ud
of
t
he c
are that h
as be
en pr
o
vi
ded
to
so
ma
ny who
may
n
ot
h
a
ve
othe
r wise be
en
a
ble
to be
hel
ped, and
of
t
he
part
nersh
ip that has e
xis
ted with s
uch a fi
ne i
nstituti
on
f
or
52
years.
BOLM's legacy began in the late 1800s, when
Dr.
J
ulian
J. C
his
h
olm, then the
D
ean
of
t
he
Med
ical Sc
h
o
ol
of
t
he U
n
i
versi
ty
of
Mary
la
nd, asked local Presbyterian Ministers to encourage their congregations to support the Balt
i
m
ore E
ye a
nd Ear I
nstitu
te, a small clinic he established in the carriage house of his home to
tre
at
pat
ients who w
e
re
t
oo p
o
or
to p
ay
f
or t
heir ca
re.
Dr. Chisolm and his wife at
ten
ded F
irst & Franklin
P
resby
terian Ch
urch b
ut
j
oi
ned
o
t
hers w
ho su
pp
o
rt
ed
t
he
newly established B
r
own
M
e
m
ori
al Park Avenue
Pre
s
b
yt
eri
an Ch
urch in B
ol
t
on Hi
ll.
Inspired to help by Brown's pastor, Mrs.
Pay
t
on R.
Har
ris
o
n i
n
vi
ted
f
o
urt
een
w
o
men from the congregation
to
m
eet in
her h
o
me -- and, with that first meeting, The P
r
esbyt
eri
an
B
oard
of
La
dy
M
a
na
gers was
established.
The group was active in their mission and quickly expanded to include
w
o
men fr
om
l
ocal
Pres
b
yt
eri
an ch
urc
hes
(some, now defunct) all
o
ver
the
Balt
i
mo
re area, including As
quit
h, B
r
own
Me
m
o
ria
l, C
e
ntral, Fi
rst & F
ra
nklin Stre
e
t, H
a
m
pden-W
o
o
dberr
y,
Li
ght
Stre
et,
Sec
o
nd, W
e
st
mi
n
st
er, F
ir
st U
nited,
La
fay
et
te S
quare, T
welfth S
tr
ee
t, Br
oa
dwa
y,a
nd Ass
oci
at
ed
Ref
o
r
m.
M
e
m
bers su
p
plied
pr
ovis
i
o
ns which
were eit
her
d
o
na
ted by
t
heir c
o
ngre
gati
o
ns
or contributed fr
om their
pers
o
nal
res
o
u
rce
s.
T
h
ey
also
v
ol
unt
ee
red their
t
i
me to
w
ork
on
t
he ward
s, and
kept rec
or
ds
of dis
pensary
visits a
nd su
rgeries
perf
o
r
med.
This cli
nic
s
oon
o
utgr
ew the car
ria
ge h
o
u
se a
nd, subsequently,
mo
ved
to several locations to accommodate the ever-increasing number of patients and staff hired to treat their ailments.
The clinic was later renamed the
Pres
b
yt
eri
an E
ye, Ear, and Throat Cha
rity H
osp
ital; and, although the
Presb
yt
eri
an wo
men no
l
o
nger
had
to w
o
rk the
war
ds
or k
eep r
e
c
or
ds, they
c
o
nti
nued for decades to su
p
p
ort
t
he
w
ork
Dr.C
his
h
olm
by sponsoring benefits and hosting fundraisers. In
May
1
9
60,
t
he
h
osp
ital was
notified
by
t
he Aca
d
e
mies
of
b
oth E
ye a
nd Ear,
N
ose a
nd
T
hr
o
at that u
nless it joined with a
ge
neral
h
osp
ital,
t
h
eir reside
n
cy
pr
o
gr
am
w
o
uld nol
o
n
ger
be a
ppr
oved.
At the same time, the Hosp
ital
f
or W
o
men
of
Ma
r
yla
nd
rec
e
i
ved
similar
n
otif
icat
i
o
n. So, after extensive planning and building, the
two
hospitals combined their facilities to form The Grea
ter Ba
lti
m
ore
Med
ical Cen
ter - one of the area's leading medical centers.
The
P
resby
terian
B
oard
of La
dy
Ma
na
gers i
n
v
it
es a
ny
l
ocal
Pres
b
yt
er
ian
wo
man who
m
ay be i
n
tere
st
ed in
s
upp
orti
ng
t
his fi
ne eff
ort
to c
o
nti
nue
t
he tra
dit
i
on
of
ser
vi
ce th
r
o
ugh ac
ts
of fa
ith, ge
ne
r
osi
ty and h
u
m
an c
o
ncern. If
yo
ur ch
urch
isn't
acti
ve
ly i
n
vo
l
ve
d - we ask, "S
h
o
ul
dn't it
b
e?"