Rudolf Jedlička - Samaritán v bílém plášti – Dvořák Aleš (2019)

The life and work of the founder of the Jedlička Institute, Rudolf Tomáš Jedlička (1869 Lysá nad Labem – 1926 Nový Svět) – a pioneer of modern medicine, surgeon, founder of independent radiology and radiotherapy, and rehabilitation. Most people associate his name primarily with the Podolí Sanatorium and especially with the institution for physically disabled youth that bears his name (the Jedlička Institute, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary). However, few today realize that he was among the most significant doctors of the early 20th century and was already advocating for the diagnosis and treatment of tumors using X-rays. He also became renowned for employing new surgical techniques, establishing Czech medical radiology, and was the first in Bohemia to use radium salt, immediately after it was isolated by Marie Curie-Sklodowska. He built an institute aimed at reintegrating disabled and mutilated children and adults into life in such a way that they would be as self-sufficient as possible and not burden the social system. From a capacity for only 10 children, it grew into an institution with 540 rooms and offering beds for 120 patients. In 1926, Rudolf Jedlička's health was affected not only by the consequences of radiation exposure, the effects of which were underestimated at the time.