Viola Startzman left a lasting legacy in the area

Hyrcanus and Nelle Heatherington-Startzman lived in Caldwell, Ohio, where Hyrcanus operated a harness shop. On June 15, 1914, Nelle delivered a baby girl they named Viola Virginia.

Viola Startzman was educated in the Caldwell public school system. By all accounts she was a brilliant student and excelled in all subjects. At the age of 15, she was the only Noble County student to be invited to Columbus for a statewide scholastic contest where she took first place. In her senior year, she outpaced all other Noble County students on final exams.

Startzman was particularly fond of biology and had early aspirations of becoming a physician. She decided to attend college on a premed track and chose The College of Wooster. Like her high school days, she excelled at Wooster. She was voted president of the Women’s Self-Government Association Judicial Board in 1934, and her senior year, she was awarded the Galpin Award as the school’s most outstanding female student. She graduated in 1935.

For post-grad studies and medical school, she chose Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She completed her master’s degree in one year but needed to raise money for medical school.

For the next six years, she worked for the City of Cleveland’s biological lab. When she had the necessary funds, she applied for Western Reserve Medical School. Her first application was rejected. The school felt she was too old to enter the program, but she persisted and was finally accepted.

Startzman entered medical school in 1942 and graduated in 1945. She had achieved her goal of becoming a physician, and at age 31, she was anxious to get started.

Her chosen specialty was pediatrics, and she took a position at Baby’s and Children’s Hospital in Lakeside. By 1947 she was assistant director of the pediatrics department. In 1948 she headed a team of physicians to treat children with erythroblastosis fetalis, a fetal blood disorder. Today, it is treated with drugs, but in 1948 it was treated with a total transfusion of the baby’s blood — a radical and delicate procedure that saved many lives.

In 1950 Startzman decided she was ready to have her own private practice and decided to set up that practice in Wooster. She worked out of the old Wooster Hospital on North Market Street, now a part of Central Christian Church. By 1951 she was chief of pediatrics there.

In 1952 she chaired the committee on Wayne County’s response to the National Blood Drive, sponsored by Wayne County Medical Society. That same year another big hospital came calling.

Dr. Robert Mercer of the Cleveland Clinic invited Startzman to co-chair the upstart pediatrics department. It was her dream job, one she couldn’t turn down, so she closed up shop in Wooster and moved back north. She would become the first female clinician at Cleveland Clinic, paving the way for many more female doctors who followed in her footsteps.

While associated with Cleveland Clinic, Startzman maintained her connection to Wooster, and in 1953 she accepted a position on the board of the city's new Mental Guidance Center. In 1954 she married Dr. James E. Robertson, a physician at Beeson Clinic on Market Street in Wooster. In 1955 it was announced Startzman was moving to Wooster. She intended to spend three days at Cleveland Clinic and the remainder of the week at home in Wooster, with no plans for an office in Wooster.

The commute to Cleveland may have taken a toll on Startzman, for in 1956 she accepted an offer from The College of Wooster to become director of student health services, a position she would hold for the next 23 years.

During this time she would oversee epidemics of influenza that would see Hygeia Hall, the campus hospital, filled to the brim with ailing students. Cases included mononucleosis, muscle strains, cuts and bruises, et cetera. But she was dealing with youth, and that was in her wheelhouse.

Startzman was an in-demand speaker, bouncing between Caldwell, Wooster and greater Cleveland. She would speak at commencement ceremonies, social groups, church groups and public gatherings of all kinds. Her focus was always on problems of the youth. Topics were frequently about behavioral issues, drug abuse and sexuality.

She spearheaded the effort to create a free clinic in Wooster to serve the under-insured in the area. It opened in 1973, and it is still serving the public. It was named in her honor.

Startzman retired from The College of Wooster in 1979 but continued to be involved with public health, remaining on the board of the Viola Startzman Free Clinic until the end of her life.

Viola Virginia Startzman-Robertson was a remarkable woman. Her contributions to public health continue to change lives in a positive way. She received many awards throughout her lifetime. She was included in “Who’s Who in American Women” in 1961, was The Daily Record’s Citizen of the Year in 2001 and was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame by Gov. Robert Taft in 2002.

On Aug. 28, 2013, Viola Startzman-Robertson, at the age of 99, passed into the ages, leaving behind a legacy that will impact lives for years to come.

“Looking Back” is a feature from Mike Franks, a local historian. He can be emailed atmlfranks@gmail.com.