The Charles F. Frey papers document his work during the 1960s and 1970s in the development of emergency services, training, and policies in Michigan as well as nationwide. He participated in these efforts through organizations such as the Michigan Emergency Services Health Council (MESH), The American College of Surgeons, the University Association for Emergency Medical Services, the Michigan Advisory Council, and the Washtenaw County Emergency Medical Service Health Council. The majority of the collection is related to MESH and the University Association for Emergency Medical Services as Frey was key in the establishment and development of those organizations. The contents of the collection are paper materials and are arranged in three series: Michigan Emergency Services Health Council, Emergency and Trauma Organizations, and Biographical and Personal.
Charles Frederick Frey was born in November 15, 1929, in New York, New York. He was raised in Scarsdale, New York and after graduating from high school moved to Massachusetts where he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College in 1951. Frey received a Medical Degree in 1955 from Cornell University Medical College. He married Jane Louise Tower in 1957 with whom he had five children: Jane, Susan, Charles, Robert, and Nancy.
From 1957 to 1959, Frey served in the U. S. Air Force, as Captain and Chief of Surgery in Homestead, Florida. During this time he was also doing his residency training at the New York Hospital, from 1956 to 1963, where he developed an early interest in studying pancreatic disease. His research in experimental pancreatitis brought him to the University of Michigan in 1964, as Instructor of Surgery. After a year of laboratory research Frey continued his clinical work and was appointed Assistant Professor of Surgery. Frey was also attending physician at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Ann Arbor and Wayne County General Hospital in Eloise, Michigan. Meanwhile, he continued researching and publishing on the topic of pancreatic disease as well as trauma and injury. Through his work with Paul Gikas and Donald Huelke he became interested and involved in pre-hospital and hospital care of trauma victims, particularly those related to motor vehicle accidents. Research on the topic, particularly for the local Washtenaw County area, showed deficiencies in pre-hospital care, trained personnel, communications, and other areas related to trauma victims.
Frey became actively involved with multiple organizations and professional societies to improve emergency care. He was on the Board of Directors for the American Association for Automotive Medicine, was a member of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the International Association for Accident and Traffic Medicine, the National Safety Council-College, and the Medical Education for National Defense program. Frey was secretary and later chairman for the Ann Arbor Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons from 1967 to 1970. Concurrently he was chairman for the Washtenaw County Medical Society Highway Safety Committee.
In 1968, Frey was promoted to Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Michigan's Medical School and to Professor of Surgery in 1972. During this time he was also appointed to the Executive Committee of UM's Highway Safety Research Institute where he continued his research into motor vehicle induced injuries and their prevention.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) was a national organization fostering research and efforts into developing systems and policy for emergency care nationwide. Through his work with the ACS, Frey led research and policy work in the state of Michigan and the Washtenaw County area. He became secretary and later chairman of the American College of Surgeons' Michigan Committee on Trauma (1968 -- 1974).
Local joint efforts with the Michigan State Health Department developed into the Michigan Emergency Services Health Council known as the MESH Council. MESH aimed to "coordinate the interests of all agencies and organizations in Michigan in improving the quality of emergency medical service throughout the state." The MESH Council provided recommendations to Michigan's executive and legislative bodies. MESH proposed and worked with improvements in transport, communication, training of rescue workers, hospital treatment, and planning. Frey was chairman of the organization from 1970 to 1974 while representing the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. One of the organization's achievements was getting full funding of emergency health services within the Michigan Department of Public Health.
Improvements in emergency education and training would be the focus of another organization Frey was presiding over. In 1970, he founded and was the first president of the University Association for Emergency Medical Services, a national organization of surgeons supporting the development of emergency medicine programs within Medical Schools and the recognition of medical specializations in trauma surgery and emergency department operations.
While actively working with these organizations to establish emergency management systems and improve emergency care in the state of Michigan, Frey pursued his clinical interests in pancreatic surgery and lab research, his clinical practice at the University of Michigan Hospital, and was Director of Surgery at the Wayne County General Hospital. In 1976, he left Michigan when he was appointed chief of surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Martinez, California, and was Professor and Executive Vice-Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of California, Davis.
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Sources Consulted:
Curriculum Vitae
News and Information Services (University of Michigan) Faculty and Staff Files
Frey, Charles, "A Participant in the Development of Emergency Medical and Trauma Services at the Local, State, Regional and National Level -- One Man's Story."
