About HCMA

The Hartford County Medical Association is a professional membership organization of the physicians who render medical care unto the people of Hartford County.

The Association was loosely organized in 1784 and formally chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly in May of 1792. The Association members met on September 25, 1792 to organize and accept the charter. It is this date, which we now recognize as the official birth date of the Association.

In its first century of service, the Association and its members played significant roles in founding the Hartford Deaf and Dumb Asylum, the Retreat for the Insane (now the Institute of Living), the Hartford Hospital and the Old People’s Home.

During the early days, Hartford County physicians worked to establish a standard for licensure, compile a medical library and set codes of conduct for its members.

In 1844-45 Dr. Horace Wells, a member of the Association, discovered modem anesthesia. In 1861 the members offered their professional services free to the families of soldiers serving in the “army of volunteers.”

Through these early years, members of the Association were credited with the development of hospitals and medical schools throughout the country. Their contributions to medical science are acknowledged as being central to the development of the practice of medicine in America as we know it today.

Currently, the Association has over 1,200 physician members. They represent every specialty of medicine and are affiliated with the 12 hospitals in Hartford County. The Association elects delegates to the Connecticut State Medical Society and is affiliated with the American Medical Association.

The primary goal of the Association is “to assure the highest possible quality of medical care for all people” (see mission statement).

The Association’s business is conducted under the direction of a volunteer Board of Directors, which receives reports from its numerous standing committees.