Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital records

The Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital records contain administrative and financial documents reflecting various aspects of the Hospital's operations. Particular areas of focus include the management of the Hospital's finances and real estate by the Board of Directors and its committees, and the activities of the Hospital's medical staff. The collection has been arranged into two series:

Board of Directors contains minutes from the Board's annual and regular meetings. The minutes offer a detailed overview of the activities that transpired at each meeting, as well as the topics and issues discussed, such as the state of the Hospital's finances, the management of the Hospital's real estate and mortgages, relations between the Board and Hospital employees, the Hospital's medical services and clinical statistics, the activities and recommendations of the Board's various committees, the condition of the Hospital's facilities and equipment, and the appointment and resignation of board and committee members and medical staff.

The series also includes internal and published renditions of the Hospital's annual reports; treasurer and superintendent's reports; and minutes and reports of the Board's Executive, Plans, and Building Committees. These items concern the management of the Hospital's finances and real estate; patient and medical statistics; the Hospital's consolidation with the Williamsburgh Hospital; proposed improvements to the Hospital's floor layouts, equipment, and furnishings; plans for the opening of the Hospital's Greene Avenue building; and inspections of the Hospital conducted by the New York City Department of Public Welfare and the New York State Board of Charities. Finally, the series also includes a published history of the Eye and Ear Hospital, titled A Hospital's First Century and written by Board member Harry W. Baehr to commemorate the Hospital's centennial in 1968.

Medical Staff contains minutes from meetings of the Hospital's Board of Surgeons, which functioned as the governing body for the Hospital's medical staff. The minutes detail the items deliberated upon at each of the Board's meetings, as well as the Board's decisions regarding various aspects of the Hospital's medical operations. Prominent issues covered in the minutes include the appointment of individuals to medical positions; the management of the Hospital's education initiatives, including its intern and residency programs; the conduct and duties of medical staff and interns; and guidelines and regulations for medical and surgical procedures.

The series also contains minutes from meetings of several of the Board's committees, particularly the Committee on Infections and the Opthalmic Committee, and minutes from department head meetings. The committee and departmental minutes expound upon the Board minutes and offer more specific information on medical and patient statistics, the disorders and diseases treated at the Hospital, and the interrelation of the Hospital's medical departments. Two copies of a medical staff manual adopted by the Board of Surgeons in 1971 are also included.