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West Virginia Independence Hall to host “Civil War Medicine” lecture on Sept. 25, 2003

Matthew Lively, doctor of osteopathy, will present a talk, “Civil War Medicine,” at the West Virginia Independence Hall Museum in Wheeling on Thursday, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Lively will explain to visitors the two-to-one ratio that existed between soldiers dying from disease and infection as opposed to those dying on the battlefield. He also will explore several advancements in the prevention and treatment of diseases made during the course of the war. “The extensive use of anesthesia, the development of triage and an effective ambulance system are just some of the examples of advancements in battlefield care that were borne out of the Civil War,” he said.

Lively has been an assistant professor of internal medicine and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the West Virginia University School of Medicine since 1998. He also is the clinical assistant professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. Lively has written several articles for medical journals, presented numerous medical lectures and has appeared on the program “Doctors On Call,” a show produced by WVU and West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

For more information about the Sept. 25 lecture, call Gerry Reilly, director of West Virginia Independence Hall, at (304) 238-1300.

West Virginia Independence Hall, originally built as a federal custom house in 1859, served as the home of the pro-Union state conventions of Virginia during the spring and summer of 1861 and as the capitol of loyal Virginia from June 1861 to June 1863. It also was the site of the first constitutional convention for West Virginia. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1988, the museum is owned and operated by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, with the cooperation and assistance of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the exception of major holidays, and is located on the corner of 16th and Market Streets in Wheeling. The facility is closed on Sundays in January and February.

The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division. The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

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Ginny Painter
Director of Public Information
West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History
The Cultural Center
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Charleston, WV 25305-0300
Phone (304) 558-0220
Fax (304) 558-2779
[email protected]