Edward G. Billings, M.D.

Dr. Billings, born in Valparaiso, Indiana, earned his medical degree cum laude from Indiana University School of Medicine in 1929 and later established the institution’s first medical outpatient clinic. In 1934, he founded the first formal division of consultation-liaison (CL) psychiatry at the University of Colorado Hospital and achieved board certification in psychiatry and neurology in 1936, followed by certification in internal medicine in 1937.

After World War II, Dr. Billings chose not to return to academia but instead made significant contributions to the private sector. He became a leader at Mt. Airy Psychiatric Hospital and played a key role in establishing the Mt. Airy Foundation in Denver. Additionally, he was instrumental in founding the psychiatric unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Denver. Dr. Billings emerged as a national figure in private psychiatry, serving as president of the National Association of Private Psychiatric Hospitals in 1961 and as speaker of the assembly of the American Psychiatric Association.