Toma Ciorbă (15 January 1864 – 30 December 1936) was a

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

-born

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n physician and hospital director. Born in

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

, then the capital of the

Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate (, ) was a part of the Russian Empire from 1812 to 1917. Initially known as Bessarabia Oblast (Бессарабская область, ''Bessarabskaya oblast'') as well as, following 1871, a governorate, it included ...

, after 1918 a part of

Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...

and now the capital of

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

, he was the first of six children and his father was a soldier. In 1875, he entered Bessarabia's leading secondary school, and in 1885, he began studying at

Kiev University Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

's medicine faculty. In 1893, after graduation, he returned to his native city to work as a physician in the health service. In 1896, he planned and opened an infectious disease hospital, of which he became director. It was the first specialized medical facility in the province, and Ciorbă, in addition to being administrator, worked as a bacteriologist and a teacher to young nurses and midwives. He encountered resistance both from the authorities and from the increasing number of private doctors, and found it difficult to purchase equipment and medicine. He lived modestly and did not charge poor patients, indeed often paying for their medicines or sending them wood for their stoves. He was invited to work in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, but declined. He promoted an anti-

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

vaccine, creating a laboratory for its production, and began a program for the compulsory vaccination of children against the disease.

Iurie Colesnic Iurie Colesnic (born 12 August 1955 in Dereneu, Călăraşi) is a technical literature corrector, former publishing director, literary historian, politician and writer of the Republic of Moldova. Biography Iurie Colesnic was born on 12 August ...

, ''Chișinău: Enciclopedie'', p. 150. Editura Museum, 1997, In addition, he introduced vaccine therapy in the treatment of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

.Toma Ciorbă
at the Toma Ciorbă Chișinău Infectious Disease Hospital In the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, he served as a field doctor in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

. Afterwards, he initiated a provincial society for

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

nurses, and managed the building of a Red Cross clinic. He retired as hospital director in 1932.Andrei Brezianu, Vlad Spânu, ''Historical Dictionary of Moldova'', p. 85-6. Scarecrow Press, 2007, Today, both the Chișinău Infectious Disease Hospital and a nearby street bear his name.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciorba, Toma 1864 births 1936 deaths Physicians from Chișinău People from Kishinyovsky Uyezd Moldovan bacteriologists Serologists Romanian hospital administrators Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Medical faculty alumni Military doctors of the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War