HOVELS, HACIENDAS AND HOUSE CALLS
The Life Of Carl H. Gellenthien, MD

      In 1924, a young medical student arrived at Valmora Sanatorium in New Mexico having been told that he had less than two years to live. That young man was Carl H. Gellenthien who not only lived beyond that time but is still alive today and is the oldest practicing physician in New Mexico. Gellenthien went back to school and later returned to work at Valmora and eventually became the director of the institution. Doctors were scarce in Northern New Mexico so he found that his duties encompassed much more than running one of the country’s best known and most progressive tuberculosis sanatoriums. He soon was serving as doctor for the medical needs of the area. However, his practice was also national as he was called in as consultant in many cases including that of President Eisenhower. Active in regional and national medical societies, Dr. Gellenthien’s influence extended far beyond the local practice which despite his growing fame, he never left or neglected. Mrs. Beimer, a professor at New Mexico Highlands University, has done an outstanding job of research and written a book which is both informative and entertaining.
     
      --Marcia Muth, Book Chat, Enchantment, April 1986