Dr. Henry Hofmann Loos

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Dr. Henry Hofmann Loos, right there in Matagorda County. Now settle in, because this is a man who spent a lifetime building something, one brick at a time, and the last brick turned out to be a whole hospital.

Henry Hofmann Loos was born in 1887, and by 1908 he had himself a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University. That's just the opening chapter. In the summer of 1911, he was interning at the Government Hospital in Colon, Panama Canal Zone.

Johns Hopkins handed him an M.D. in 1912, and then he went back to Baltimore to intern for three and one half years at Saint Agnes Hospital, working under a man named Dr. Joseph Bloodgood. That name is worth remembering, because Dr.

Bloodgood is about to play matchmaker between one young physician and a whole stretch of Texas. See, down in Bay City, a surgeon by the name of Dr. Claude Jones had decided it was time to hang up the scalpel.

So Dr. Jones did what any sensible man does when he's got a vacancy. He wrote a letter.

He wrote to Dr. Bloodgood, requesting a replacement. Dr.

Bloodgood apparently knew just the man. Dr. Loos accepted the position and arrived in Bay City on December 5, 1915.

Now, he started out establishing a practice in Palacios, but whenever surgery was required, he had to make the trip to Bay City. That's the kind of dedication that doesn't announce itself loudly. It just shows up and does the work.

Then came World War I, and Dr. Loos answered that call too, serving in the Medical Corps in San Antonio. After being discharged from service, he moved with his family to Bay City.

He set up his practice in an office over the Matagorda Pharmacy and performed surgeries at Dr. Jones's old hospital. In time he moved his surgeries into his own office, then moved his patients right into his home.

A doctor's home becoming a place of healing. That's not a metaphor. That's just what happened.

In 1922 he moved the whole operation outside of town, two acres on what is now Marguerite Street. The building got annexed several times as the need grew, and a separate wing was added for African American patients. He was building something piece by piece, year by year, but Dr.

Loos had a larger vision still. During the 1930s, he began pushing for a county hospital. Not just a wing.

Not just an annex. A public institution that would serve everyone. He worked to build public support, and State Representative Paris Smith introduced a bill enabling communities to pass a bond establishing hospitals.

The voters passed that bond. In 1939, the county hospital board was established. And in 1940, Matagorda General Hospital opened its doors.

Dr. Loos also served as a deacon and treasurer of the First Presbyterian Church and was a member of the Rotary Club. He died in 1963.

There are men who practice medicine, and then there are men who build the place where medicine gets practiced, and then fight to make it belong to everybody. Dr. Henry Hofmann Loos, by most measures, was both.

What the marker says

Henry Hofmann Loos (1887-1963) graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1908 with a B.A. in the summer of 1911, Dr. Loos interned at the Government Hospital in Colon, Panama Canal Zone. He graduated with an M.D. in 1912 and interned for three and one-half years at Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore under Dr. Joseph Bloodgood. In Bay City, Dr. Claude Jones decided to retire from surgery and wrote to Dr. Bloodgood requesting a replacement. Dr. Loos accepted the position and arrived in Bay City on December 5, 1915. He established a practice in Palacios, but had to make a trip to Bay City when surgery was required. During World War I, Dr. Loos served in the Medical Corps in San Antonio. After being discharged from service, Dr. Loos moved with his family to Bay City. He established his practice in an office over the Matagorda Pharmacy and performed surgeries at Dr. Jones" old hospital. He later performed surgeries at his office and moved his patients to his home. In 1922 he moved the practice outside of town on two acres located on what is now Marguerite Street. The building was annexed several times and a separate wing added for African American patients. During the 1930s, Dr. Loos attempted to gain public support for a county hospital. State Representative Paris Smith introduced a bill enabling communities to pass a bond establishing hospitals. Voters passed the hospital bond and, in 1939, the county hospital board was established. Matagorda General Hospital opened in 1940. Dr. Loos was a member of the Rotary Club and deacon and treasurer of the First Presbyterian Church.