I'm An American -- Béla Schick

On January 19, 1941 Dr. Béla Schick discussed democracy and healthcare with Dr. Henry B. Hazard of the US. Department of Justice. Schick claims, “Only once you have seen the effects of war on children can one understand what it really causes.” He refers to stories of starving Austrian refugee children being brought to Hungary during WWI. He compares the environments of minors living in war-torn Europe and tranquil America. He explains the reason for growing medical advancement in America as opposed to Europe. Dr. Schick warns that although the United States is safe, has resources, high living standards and is isolated from Europe, the symptoms threatening democracy are still present. Dr. Béla Schick was born on July 16, 1877 in Balatonboglár, Hungary. Rather than the join the family grain business, the aspiring pediatrician quoted the Talmud: “The world is kept alive by the breath of children” to persuade his father in allowing him to pursue his education in medicine. Béla Schick received his medical degree from Karl-Franzens-Universität in Graz, Austria. He became an assistant in the Children’s Clinic in Vienna, and later an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Vienna University. In 1905, Schick coined the term “serum sickness”; which we now describe today as allergies. The young pediatrician conducted numerous important studies on scarlet fever, tuberculosis and infant nutrition. However in 1910, he gained international notoriety when he developed the Schick test. The Schick test determined if a child was susceptible to diphtheria, an airborne bacterial infection; making it easier for doctors to treat the most vulnerable. His medical discovery eventually led to the eradication of the childhood disease worldwide. In 1923, Dr. Schick emigrated to America after accepting the position as Pediatrician-In-Chief at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital. He became an American citizen the same year. Dr. Schick went on to work spontaneously at other hospitals and colleges in New York; as well as hold his post at Mount Sinai until his retirement in 1943.