Elizsabeth G. Pritchard Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS C 187

Abstract

Reports, documents, memoranda, drafts, correspondence, and printed matter pertaining to the U. S. Public Health Service. Subjects include a history of the U.S.P.H.S. during World War II; policies and activities in Civilian Health Districts 1-10; medical and social aspects of tuberculosis, venereal disease, malaria, sanitation, and industrial health; the Emergency Medical Service; care of sick and wounded; civil defense; health problems relating to the use of gas; public health administration; staff meetings of the Surgeon-General's Office; and other aspects of public health work.

Dates

1936-1959

Extent

12.5 Linear Feet (30 MS boxes)

Creator

Pritchard, Elizabeth Gaitland, 1902-1963 (Person)

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Restrictions

Collection is not restricted. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access.

Copyright and Re-use Information

Donor's copyrights were transferred to the public domain. Archival collections often contain mixed copyrights; while NLM is the owner of the physical items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. It is the user's responsibility to research and understand any applicable copyright and re-publication rights not allowed by fair use. NLM does not grant permissions to publish.

Privacy Information

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Biographical Note

Elizabeth Gaitland Pritchard was born in Carboro, NC. She attended The Madeira School in Washington, DC, and graduated from Radcliffe College in Cambridge, MA in the 1920's. After working in the theatre in New York, Pritchard returned to Washington and worked in a local store's advertising department. A near-fatal car accident changed her outlook on life, leading her away from her acting and advertising careers, and into the New Deal-era Public Health Service.

She began doing public relations work for the National Health Survey as editor of The Health Officer from 1935-1936, a monthly publication for state and local health agencies, as well as editing reports for the Subcommittee on Medical Care of the Interdepartmental Committee to Coordinate Health and Welfare Activities of the Federal Government. In 1938, she became Special Assistant to the Secretary of the National Health Conference. She collaborated in the preparation and editing of The Nation's Medical Research, volume 5 of Science and Public Policy (1947), also known as the Steelman Report. In 1949, she was one of Surgeon General Scheele's advisors to the Second World Health Assembly in Rome. She served with the Section on Community Organization of the 1950 White House Conference on Children and Youth; was a member of the Section on Public Education and Information of the Conference on Chronic Disease in 1951; served on and prepared the report of the Task Force on Rehabilitation in the PHS, 1951-1952; served on the editorial board of the Section on Religious Activities of the 1961 White House Conference on Aging; and served on the staff of the Study Group on Mission and Organization of the Public Health Service in 1960.

During her PHS tenure she also wrote speeches and articles for Surgeon Generals Thomas Parran, Leonard Scheele, Leroy Burney, and Luther Terry. Her erudite and analytical mind contributed greatly to her career as writer, advisor, compiler, and editor, helping to shape PHS policy for over two decades.

Collection Summary

Reports, documents, memoranda, drafts, correspondence, and printed matter pertaining to the U. S. Public Health Service.

Subjects include a history of the U.S.P.H.S. during World War II; policies and activities in Civilian Health Districts 1-10; medical and social aspects of tuberculosis, venereal disease, malaria, sanitation, and industrial health; the Emergency Medical Service; care of sick and wounded; civil defense; health problems relating to the use of gas; public health administration; staff meetings of the Surgeon-General's Office; and other aspects of public health work.

Contains booklists, bibliographies, and educational materials. Names appearing in the collection include George Baehr, W. Palmer Dearing, Royce L. Parker, and Thomas Parran.

Additional Description

Abstract

Physical Location

Materials stored onsite. History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Provenance

Acquired in 1967.

General

Processed by: HMD Staff
Processing completed in: 1967
Encoded by: Dan Jenkins

Processing Information

The materials in this collection were received by the National Library of Medicine in 1967. The original order of the papers has been maintained as have the subject headings that appeared on the folders. The "Biography of Elizabeth Gaitlin Pritchard" and "On Writers and Writing in the Public Health Service" have been added to the collection.