Sydenham Hospital Records

Collection

Identifier: MS C 243

Abstract

The bulk of the collection consists of patient medical case histories. Records are complete for the years 1909 to 1924, but because of the size of the collection, only a sample of every tenth record for the years 1924 to 1949 were retained. From 1909 to its closing in 1949, Sydenham Hospital was maintained by the Baltimore City Health Department for the isolation and treatment of communicable diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, and chicken pox.

Dates

Creation: 1909-1962

Extent

63.85 Linear Feet (150 boxes)

Creator

Sydenham Hospital (Baltimore, Md.) (Organization)

Physical Location

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

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in English

Access Restrictions

Portions of the collection are restricted according to HMD's Access to Health Information of Individuals policy. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access. For access to the policy and application form, please visit https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/manuscripts/phi.pdf.

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

Archives and manuscript collections may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in any collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which the National Library of Medicine assumes no responsibility.

Historical Note

From 1909 to its closing in 1949, Sydenham Hospital was maintained by the Baltimore City Health Department for the isolation and treatment of communicable diseases. When its first building opened on the grounds of the Baltimore City Hospitals, the hospital accepted patients suffering from diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, smallpox, and chicken pox. A new and larger hospital was built at Lake Montebello in 1924. Because of its unique position as the only specialized communicable disease hospital in Maryland, Sydenham Hospital was always involved in medical research and teaching. Efforts in these areas were formalized in 1935 with the construction of new laboratories and, in the following year, with the establishment of a Division of Medical Research.

The discovery and widespread use of antibiotics in the post-war period reduced the need for a separate hospital for the treatment of infectious diseases. As a result, Sydenham Hospital was closed in 1949, and its services transferred to the Baltimore City Hospitals.

Collection Summary

The patient records of Sydenham Hospital offer an invaluable insight into the nature and treatment of communicable diseases in the pre-antibiotic era. The bulk of the collection consists of patient medical case histories. Records are complete for the years 1909 to 1924, but because of the size of the collection, only a sample of every tenth record for the years 1924 to 1949 were retained; the hospital registers for the entire period have been preserved, however.

The collection also contains reports from other doctors and hospitals on cases of typhoid (1920-45), poliomyelitis (1937-49), meningitis (1938-47), and diphtheria, rabies, spotted fever, smallpox, measles, and other communicable diseases. There are two boxes of correspondence and reports relating to hospital administration, three scrapbooks of clippings from the Baltimore papers on public health (1931-1934), and a box of material on Negro Health Week Activities (1941).

Boxes 85-141 consist of patient medical histories for April 1909-February 1924. Case histories for January 1924-December 1949, are in containers 1-55. Case reports on typhoid (1920-45), poliomyelitis (1937-49), meningitis (1938-47), and diphtheria,rabies, spotted fever, smallpox, measles and other communicable diseases are in containers 56-80. Correspondence and reports relating to hospital administration, in boxes 80-82. Includes patient registers for 1911-49 (8 boxes), scrapboooks with public health clippings, 1931-34 (3 boxes), and a Negro Health Week activities scrapbook, 1941.