The Genesee Hospital Collection, 1887-1996, 90 lf. (73 Boxes, 133 Volumes, 2,000 images)
The Genesee Hospital records consist of minutes of Board of Governors (1889-1995) and Supervisors (1963-1969); Annual Reports (1890-1994); medical board minutes (1931-1940); medical staff minutes (1889-1939); and financial records (1889-1968). The collection includes minutes of the materials on auxiliary groups (Medical & Dental Auxiliary; Genesee Hospital Auxiliary; Internees Alumni Assoc. & Visiting Cmte.). Medical Records include daily records of patients (1889-1990); case histories (1889-1906); Operating Room records (1891-1958; Recovery room (1954-1969) & others. The collection is cataloged in 13 record groups and numerous series and sub-series that include historical sketches; Programs and conferences; Subject Files (including material on planning, construction, hospital surveys; Rochester Hospital Fund, etc.); Publications (1889-1996) and Scrapbooks.
Processed by Wm. C. Black in February- March 1996
And Robert Dickson in May 2005- March 2006.
The Genesee Hospital took form as the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital in 1889. The hospital was conceived by Mrs. Hiram Sibley (wife of the founder of the Western Union Company) in the winter of 1887, when she witnessed a woman falling on the icy pavement outside her home. Mrs. Sibley ordered her coachman to drive the woman to the nearest hospital, but the closest hospital was the City hospital on the other side of town. It was purportedly at that moment she decided to initiate a hospital for the east side residents.
At the time, two groups of medical practitioners, the Allopaths and the Homeopaths, were at odds and wished to reign supreme in Rochester’s hospitals. In 1887, the Homeopaths were able to get a charter for the incorporation of the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital, but lacked the funding, property, or building. The desires of Mrs. Sibley for an east side hospital and the desire of the homeopaths to have a hospital to go along with their charter were met through each other. The Rochester Homeopathic Hospital opened in 1889 on Monroe Avenue. In the same year, a training school for Nurses was established; the first out-patient department opened on Pearl Street, and the first edition of the leaflet was published.
The Hospital moved to 224 Alexander Street in 1894. The next two decades reflected steady growth of patient numbers and hospital facilities. By 1926, the practice of homeopathic medicine had decreased and allopathic medicine was predominate at the hospital and to reflect this change, the hospital’s name was changed to the Genesee Hospital.
The Genesee Hospital has become a leader locally and nationally in such areas as gastroenterology, coronary care and cardiology, renal and pulmonary treatment, and oncology. The Genesee hospital became affiliated with the Greater Rochester Health System in 1994 and with ViaHealth in 1997. The Genesee Hospital closed its doors in 2001.
RG-01 Board of Governors
Boxes 1-27 Arranged chronologically into four series.
Consisting of Membership, Board Minutes, Board Sub-Committees, and annual reports.
RG-02 Board of Supervisors
Box 28, Original order
Consisting of minutes (1963-1969), membership lists.
RG-03 Medical Staff
Box 29-30
Contains medical board minutes (1931-1940); medical staff meeting & minutes (1889-1939); Executive Committee Minutes & correspondence (1915-1931); house staff lists, staff treasurer’s book (1900-1914); and misc.
RG-04 Board of Managers
Box 31
Consists of Board minutes (1904-1912)
RG-05 Superintendent
Box 31
Contains miscellaneous correspondence of Maude Johnston
RG-06 Financial Records
Box 32
Consists of financial records including ledgers (1889-1905); cash books (1903-1912); cost analysis, explanations of accounts; auditor’s reports and donor books.
RG-07 Department of Nursing
Box 33
Consists of Meeting minutes of the Nursing/Attending Liaison Committee (1980-1995);
Miscellaneous correspondence and Scheduled Nursing Assignments (1989-1993)
RG-08 Allied Organizations
Box 34, Arranged chronologically.
Contains minutes of the Medical & Dental Auxiliary (1971-1983); Genesee Hospital Auxiliary minutes (1952-1970); by-laws, board lists; Visiting Committee minutes (1889-1910) and Internees Alumni Association minutes (1942).
RG-09 Medical Department Records
Boxes 35-49, Arranged chronologically.
Contains daily record of patients (1899-1909); case histories (1889-1906); recovery room records (1954-1969); Operating room records (1891-1958); private outside surgicals (1948-1955) ; and surgical specimens (1954-1961) Also includes patient indexes, in-patient stats, admissions & patient days by doctor (1949-1964)
RG-10 Historical Sketches
Box 50, Arranged alphabetically.
Contains historical writings about the hospital including Dr. M.A. Barnard’s manuscript titled Genesee Hospital- History for March 1935, Grover Sampson’s Reminiscences about his time as an ambulance driver, The Genesee Hospital-Surgical notes, and When Rochester was a City of Horse Cars.
RG-12 Subject Files
Boxes 51-60, Arranged alphabetically.
Contains a wide variety of materials from 1890s-1990s. Includes folders on Dr R.A. Adams, Lawrence J. Bradley, Curtis Committee, Hospital Surveys, Interns, Rochester hospital fund, TGH long range plans, and volunteers. Also included are extensive files on the 50th, 75th, and 100th, anniversary celebrations.
RG-13 Publications
Boxes 61-73, Arranged chronologically.
Contains The Hospital leaflet (1889-1919), The Genesee Accord (1973-1994), Genesee Forum (1989-1995), Genesee Inter-Com (1946-1976), Genesee People (1977-1995), RX Facts (1969-1991), Volunteer Voice (1977-1988); and miscellaneous hospital publications, including recruiting brochures for interns and nurses, events, notices, etc.
The Genesee Hospital School of Nursing Collection, 1890-1978, 80 lf. (121 boxes, 14 volumes)
The collection consists of Board of Managers meeting minutes (1892-1978); By-laws, monthly reports by Superintendent (1893-1906), correspondence (1894-1901), (1976-1979), financial reports (1890s), and board subject files. Contains school publications (e.g. Genre, 1939-1978, Bulletin, 1940-1978, Graduation programs & invitations, The Announcement, 1927, 1932, Student Handbooks, 1957-1959, 1975-1978, and miscellaneous recruitment brochures. Also contains financial aid materials, student records (1890-1978), courses (including outlines & bibliographies, 1960s & 1970s), and extensive subject files including information on various classes, class activities, procedure books, etc. and Scrapbooks (1912-1978)
Processed by William C. Black in March 1996 and
Robert Dickson in April & May 2006.
The first patient was admitted to the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital (now The Genesee Hospital) in 1889, and the “Rochester Homeopathic Hospital Training School for Nurses” opened nine weeks later in December 1889. Under the auspices of Mrs. Hiram Sibley, President of the Training School board, the first “Probies” (short for probationary nurses) reported to Ms. Isabella Davis, who became the first Superintendent of the Hospital and Nurses.
In 1891, the first class of three nurses graduated. The Training School was incorporated, separate from the Hospital, in 1891 and Ms. Eva Allerton became the first Superintendent of the Hospital of Nurses. The school moved from a two year to three year program in 1897. A new Nurse Dormitory was constructed in 1989, allowing the students to move from rooms in the administration building. The school grew rapidly under Allerton’s leadership and a school nurse graduate was the first to receive certification as a Registered Nurse (RN) in 1903, (Ida Jane Anderson) possible as a reward to Allerton for her many hours spent in Albany working for the Licensure of Nurses.
In 1911, George Eastman donated funding for the construction of the new Nurses dormitory named Eastman Hall. The Rochester Homeopathic Hospital changed its name to The Genesee Hospital in 1926, and the school became the Genesee Hospital School of Nursing. The training school progressed steadily into the 1970s when the decision was made to close the school was made by the Board. This was part of a nation-wide trend to remove nursing education from the management of hospitals to colleges and universities. As the result, college Nursing degrees became the norm. At the School’s close in 1978, 2,063 nurses had been graduated by the school.
RG-01 Board of Managers
Boxes 1-2, Arranged chronologically.
Consists of Board minutes (1892-1978), by-laws, monthly reports to the Superintendent (1893-1906), Board subject files including correspondence & misc. materials for Superintendent Allerton (1892-1901), The National League of Nursing Correspondence (1970s), Membership of the Board, and various committee minutes (1966-1970). Also includes materials from task force, 1975.
RG- 02 Correspondence
Box 3, Arranged chronologically.
Contains school correspondence, (1976-1979), primarily concerned with the closure of the school.
RG-03 Publications
Boxes 3-6, Arranged Chronologically.
Consists of the various publications of the school to include the school yearbook The Genre (1939-1978), that was originally named The Golden Haze through 1961. Additionally, The Genesee Hospital School of Nursing Bulletin (1940-1978), Student Handbooks from the 1950 & 1970s, Graduation Programs (1893-1978) and invitations (1895-1978), the Announcement from 1927, 1935 and miscellaneous recruitment brochures.
RG-04 Financial Aid
Box 7, Arranged alphabetically and chronologically.
Contains New York Higher Education Assistance Corporation correspondence to 1978, general correspondence, fund balances, and Federal Nursing Loan Program Materials, etc. primarily from the 1960s & 1970s.
RG-05 Subject Files
Boxes 9-11, Arranged alphabetically.
Contains various files of the school, including histories of the classes, nurses graduation publicity, (1964-1973), precedent books, (1939-1951), instructions for students, Nurses’ Home regulations, (1940), inventory of silver in cupboard, (1972),Medical Aseptic Technic (1930s), Accreditation Report, (1972), Jessica Heal-Alice Horner correspondence, (1930), and various student class notebooks.
RG-06 Academic Courses
Boxes 12-20, Arranged alphabetically.
Contains course outlines, exams, bibliographies, etc. for the courses offered in the 1960s & 1970s. Also includes Student Awards, Curriculum format, and NLN Achievement Test for the 1970s.
RG-09 Student Records
Boxes 21 – 110, Arranged alphabetically and chronologically.
Consists of three series: Series one is Student Graduate Records from 1901 through 1978. Series two consists of Student Records of Non-Graduates who left before completing the required curriculum from 1921 through 1978. Series three consists of five volumes of Student Registers of the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital from 1896 through 1926.