Brooklyn hospitals and health services organizations collection
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Abstract
The Brooklyn hospitals and health services organizations collection contains records of various Brooklyn hospitals and health services organizations, many of which were affiliated with charitable organizations or religious denominations and provided care to Brooklyn's disadvantaged and underserved citizenry.
Historical Note
In colonial New York, only a small number of almshouse infirmaries existed to care for the sick, while the mentally ill were usually imprisoned or placed in poorhouses. It was not until the early to mid-19th century, when the New York City area's dependent and poor population increased dramatically, that hospitals and other health services organizations, such as homeopaths and maternity wards, began to emerge. In Brooklyn specifically, the earliest hospitals included the Kings County Hospital, which grew out of an almshouse infirmary in 1831, and the Brooklyn City Hospital, which was incorporated in 1845. One of Brooklyn's first mental institutions was also established in Flatbush in 1845.
Most health services organizations that were established during this period were affiliated with charitable organizations, religious denominations, or ethnic groups, and had meager resources with which to care for patients. Hospitals, for instance, provided shelter, meals, and only minimal medical care, usually administered by poorly trained staff in unsanitary conditions, while mental health institutions suffered from extreme overcrowding. Because of the social stigma attached to such institutions, middle and upper class citizens usually received medical care in the privacy of their homes.
Popular attitudes toward public health institutions began to change in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Advances in conventional medical science, aided by the professionalization of nursing, began to improve the quality of care offered by hospitals and other infirmaries. As affluent citizens were urged by their physicians to use the ever-improving medical facilities, the number of hospitals in New York City began to rise. In 1908, there were 63 general hospitals in New York, and by 1930 there were 125.
Likewise, the emergence of the mental hygiene movement also spurred an increase in the quality of care offered to New York's mentally ill, who were admitted to the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, the world's largest mental hospital, or were transferred to improved psychiatric wards at hospitals throughout New York State. By the 1930s, 25,000 New York City residents resided in state mental institutions. Homeopathic practice, too, had substained a substantial following between 1860 and 1900, with over 100 homeopathic institutions operating in the city at the turn of the 20th century.
Congruous to the improvement of the city's public health facilities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was the increase in public awareness of social issues relevant to public health, such as sanitation, preventive practices, and temperance. Education on these issues was facilitated by a growing number of advocate groups and charities established by the city's affluent citizenry and religious denominations.
By the early 20th century, the widescale professionalization of medical practice in New York City had firmly taken root, though several significant alterations would continue to be made to the city's public health system throughout the 20th century.
Sources:
- Cordasco, Francesco. "Homeopathy," in The Encyclopedia of New York City, ed. Kenneth T. Jackson (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; New York: New York Historical Society, c1995), 554-555.
- Opdycke, Sandra. "Mental Health," in The Encyclopedia of New York City, ed. Kenneth T. Jackson (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; New York: New York Historical Society, c1995), 749-750.
- Opdycke, Sandra, and David Rosner. "Hospitals," in The Encyclopedia of New York City, ed. Kenneth T. Jackson (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; New York: New York Historical Society, c1995), 560-563.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by institution name.
Scope and Contents
The Brooklyn hospitals and health services organizations collection contains records of various Brooklyn hospitals and health services organizations, many of which were affiliated with charitable organizations or religious denominations and provided care to Brooklyn's disadvantaged and underserved citizenry.
Many types of institutions are represented in the collection, including general hospitals and dispensaries; women and children's hospitals; hospitals and dispensaries serving a specific religious denomination or ethnic group; specialized hospitals and dispensaries; mental institutions; terminal care facilities; rehabilitation centers; homeopathic hospitals and dispensaries; medical societies and preventive health organizations; and medical colleges and nurse training schools.
Materials in the collection consist mainly of annual reports and yearbooks containing essential summary information on an organization, including historical sketches; lists of board members, officers, and medical staff; constitutions, bylaws, and articles of incorporation; reports of various officers; financial statements; medical and surgical statistics and reports; lists of subscribers, members, and contributors; details regarding monetary donations; and rules for the admission of patients. While the annual reports and yearbooks do contain general information on individuals who received care from a particular organization, specific names are withheld.
Additional materials in the collection include constitutions and bylaws, rules of procedure, progress reports, medical manuals, catalogs, member and alumnae lists, newsletters and bulletins, brochures, and various ephemeral literature.
The following organizations are represented in the collection, listed by institution type:
General Hospitals and Dispensaries:
Bedford Dispensary and Hospital (also represented under its previous names, including the Bedford Dispensary Association and the Bedford Dispensary)
Bethany Deaconess Hospital Society
Brooklyn Central Dispensary
Brooklyn City Dispensary
Brooklyn Eclectic Dispensary
Brooklyn State Hospital (also represented under its previous name, the Long Island State Hospital)
Bushwick Hospital
People's Medical and Surgical Dispensary
Prospect Heights Hospital (also represented under its previous names, including the Brooklyn Homeopathic Lying-In Asylum; the Brooklyn Homeopathic Maternity; the Brooklyn Maternity; and the Prospect Heights Hospital and Brooklyn Maternity)
Samaritan Hospital of Brooklyn
St. Catherine's Hospital (materials partly written in German)
St. Martha's Sanitarium and Dispensary
St. Mary's General Hospital
St. Peter's Hospital
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
Triboro Hospital
U.S. Base Hospital No. 37, A.E.F. (a unit of the Kings County Hospital that was active during World War I)
Women and Children's Hospitals:
House of St. Giles the Cripple
Memorial Hospital for Women and Children
St. Charles Hospital (also known as the Brooklyn Home for Blind, Crippled, and Defective Children)
St. Christopher's Hospital for Babies
Salvation Army Brooklyn Nursery and Infants' Hospital
Denominational and Ethnic Hospitals and Dispensaries:
German Hospital Society (materials mostly in German)
Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn
Lutheran Hospital Association of the City of New York and Vicinity (materials mostly in German)
Maimonides Hospital of Brooklyn (Jewish)
Swedish Hospital
Specialized Hospitals and Dispensaries:
Brooklyn Diet Dispensary
Central Throat Hospital and Polyclinic Dispensary
Long Island Throat and Lung Hospital and People's Dispensary Association
Mental Institutions:
Kings County Lunatic Asylum
Terminal Care Facilities:
Faith Home for Incurables
Rehabilitation Centers:
Inebriates' Home for Kings County
Homeopathic Hospitals and Dispensaries:
Brooklyn Eastern District Homeopathic Dispensary
Brooklyn Homeopathic Dispensary
Brooklyn Homeopathic Hospital
Brooklyn Homeopathic Lying-In Asylum (also represented under its subsequent names, including the Brooklyn Homeopathic Maternity; the Brooklyn Maternity; the Prospect Heights Hospital and Brooklyn Maternity; and the Prospect Heights Hospital)
Central Homeopathic Dispensary
Gates Avenue Homeopathic Dispensary
Medical Societies and Preventive Health Organizations:
Brooklyn Association for Mental Health
Brooklyn Temperance Society
Brooklyn Tuberculosis and Health Association (also represented under its subsequent names, including the Brooklyn Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association and the Brooklyn Tuberculosis and Lung Association)
Committee on Prevention of Tuberculosis (a unit of the Brooklyn Bureau of Charities)
Homeopathic Medical Society of the County of Kings
Hospital Saturday and Sunday Association of the City of Brooklyn
Jeri Finesilver Cancer Foundation (affiliated with the Brookdale Hospital Medical Center)
Kings County Pharmaceutical Society
Sons of Temperance of North America's Grand Division of Eastern New York
Visiting Nurse Association of Brooklyn
Woman's Temperance Society of Brooklyn
Women's Health Protective Association of Brooklyn
Medical Colleges and Nurse Training Schools:
Associated Alumnae of Brooklyn Training Schools for Nurses (an organization comprised of alumnae from Brooklyn's several nurse training schools)
Brooklyn Homeopathic Hospital Training School for Nurses
Medical College of the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
Memorial Hospital for Women and Children Training School for Nurses
New York State School for Training Nurses (also represented under its subsequent names, the New York State School for Nurses and the Prospect Heights Hospital School of Nursing)
Subjects
Organizations
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Brooklyn hospitals and health services organizations collection, ARC.141, Box and Folder number; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Portions of this collection were the gift of St. Martha's Sanitarium and Dispensary, 1897; the House of St. Giles the Cripple, 1915; the Prospect Heights Hospital and Brooklyn Maternity, 1927; Sally Forbes, 2004; B.J. McAfee, date unknown; the Jeri Finesilver Screening Clinic, date unknown; and George W. Schiebler, date unknown. Sources and dates of acquisition for all remaining items in the collection are unknown.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
If digital surrogates exist, they should be used in place of the originals whenever possible.
About this Guide
Processing Information
This is an artificial collection consolidated by Brooklyn Historical Society staff. Originally minimally processed to the collection level, this collection was processed to the file level by Dee Bowers in June 2023. SUNY Downstate Medical Center historical booklet (2004.004) added to the collection by John Zarrillo, March 2017. Additional material found in the repository was added to the collection by Maggie Schreiner in October 2018.
