Research

Scope and Content Note

The series consists of correspondence, memoranda, lists and reports, census data, and some bulletins and newspaper clippings on work undertaken by the State Defense Council to inventory and apply the state's medical resources to aid troop mobilization and the casualties of war. The series is organized into four subseries, as described below.

Subseries 1, Correspondence Files. The subseries includes incoming and outgoing correspondence and reports among county defense committees, the Office of the Surgeon General, local health boards, and others. The material pertains to: the medical and hospital census; regulation of private medical practices; training schools for nurses and enrollment of public health nurses; x-ray examinations, including special tuberculosis exams for the National Guard and experimental work with the Roentgen-ray; rehabilitation of soldiers and reports from county "Corrective Committees" on work with rejected applicants for enlistment; various sanitary, laboratory, and disease control measures, including serum production, and lists of sanitary supervisors, their districts, and county physicians; and pamphlets on regulations concerning venereal disease, social hygiene, and tuberculosis in France.

Subseries 2, Lists of Health and Hospital Resources. The subseries includes information on the organizational and personnel responsibilities of the division, and a memorandum of its work and a special report on budgeting. Also included are varied files of lists apparently maintained by the Adjutant General's Office, including: tabulations of institutional resources; city and county health officers, and county committees on health and hospitals; medical members of exemption boards; clinics and dispensaries; charity organization societies; Public health nurses working in county clinics and hospitals, and nurse training schools; and other health resources, such as agencies employing nurses.

Subseries 3, Census and Inventory of Hospital Resources. The subseries includes correspondence and a card file inventory of hospitals. The correspondence is between the Adjutant General and the division, county home defense committees, the Council of National Defense, medical societies and charitable organizations, and physicians. Correspondence pertains to: questions on filling out medical census forms, making corrections, or reporting duplications; plans and work of medical and hospital subcommittees of the county defense committees; cooperative efforts on the special medical census and the hospital census, including hospitals for the treatment of the insane; and assessment of services and health facilities, especially relating to tuberculosis diagnosis and care, including reports on hospital facilities for contagious diseases and discussion of Canadian hospital conditions brought about by the war.

The census of private and state hospitals, and county and city almshouses, was undertaken by direction of the governor under Chapter 103 of the Laws of 1917. The inventory of New York hospitals, numbering about 230, consists of pre-printed 5 x 8" cards completed in manuscript. It tallies such statistics as: capacity of hospital; possible bed increase if required for war emergency; number of ambulances; number of laboratory and x-ray facilities; membership of attending and resident staff; and number of Graduate Nurses.

Subseries 4, Census and Inventory of Military Resources. The subseries includes preprinted forms (measuring 8.5 x 14") completed in manuscript. The forms were returned by osteopaths to the Military Census Bureau, Special Medical Census Division, by direction of the governor under Chapter 103 of the Laws of 1917. The forms provide information on: individuals' place of residence; date of birth; citizenship; academic degrees; graduation; hospital or dispensary positions; license to practice; present occupation; branch of medicine; past and present military status; war experience; height and weight; habits; number of dependents; and public status.