The Medical Society of Erie County was founded on September 1, 1821, by the first physician in Erie County, Cyrenius Chapin, MD. It began as a means of fulfilling a requirement of New York State law, since all physicians within the state were required to belong to a local medical society at that time. Through the years, the Medical Society of Erie County has been marked by innovative physician leaders who paved the way for the development of Buffalo. Notably, by 1903, Buffalo had the lowest death rate of any city of its size in the world based on the impact of Buffalo’s health commissioner during the typhoid pandemic, Ernest Wende, MD. Furthermore, leaders of the Medical Society of Erie County founded the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and played a critical role in the development and advancement of Buffalo’s regional hospitals, both yesterday and today. As we confront today’s global pandemic, we are pleased to note that Erie County’s current health commissioner, Gale Burstein, MD, MPH, is also a distinguished member of the Medical Society of Erie County.