Social contract of academic medical centres to the community: Dr Howard Atwood Kelly (1858-1943), a historical perspective.

Academic medical centres have traditionally been bastions of teaching and research. Outreach to the community at large and involvement in community affairs have sometimes been lacking in the overall mission and activities of academic medical centres. This paper provides an historical perspective first on the numerous achievements of a physician and surgeon and then on the topic of involvement in community affairs by reviewing the many contributions of America's pioneer gynaecological surgeon and one of the four physician founders of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine in 1889 - Dr Howard Atwood Kelly.