Research

• Full Finding Aid
• Overview
• Arrangement
• Scope and Contents
• Other Finding Aids
• Access Restrictions
• Custodial History
• Access Terms

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Daily reports and census records

Some content may contain outdated and offensive terminology. See: New York State Archives Statement on Language in Descriptive Resources

Overview of the Records

Arrangement

Arranged in three subseries: Subseries 1, Daily census, 1877-1963; Subseries 2, Ward census, 1890-1951; Subseries 3, Reports of movements of patients, 1913-1957. Each subseries is arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of daily reports and census records created by the Middletown State Hospital (earlier the Middletown State Homeopathic Hospital) to keep an accurate account of numbers of patients admitted, discharged, and the total population. Information and format of the records vary over time. Statistical information found in this series is generally replicated in the published reports of Middletown State Hospital. The records are badly water damaged.

Subseries 1, Daily census reports. Information, presented in a tabular form, includes the number of patients admitted, discharged, deceased, and paroled, by day. Population by gender and total number is also noted. All information is purely statistical; no names or any type of personal information is included. In 1936, number of patients in family care is added as a separate column. Another set of daily census reports from January 1959 through November 1963 appear to be working copies used to produce bound, typescript, statistical daily census reports. Typically, on the left side of the page, in pencil, number of men, women, and total patients is noted; on the facing side patients are noted, by name, under the following headings: admitted, discharges, convalscent care, transfers, family care, elopement, and escape.

Subseries 2, Ward census reports. This subseries consists of census reports for specific areas (wards) of the hospital. Information includes patient counts by ward and total patient numbers. Entries are generally in pencil and brief remarks regarding patients are sometimes present. Patients are named under the folowing catagories: admitted, discharged, died, eloped, and escaped.

Subseries 3, Reports of movements of patients. This subseries includes information identical to that found in subseries 1 in typescript form on a printed datasheet. Additional information includes daily averages, patients discharged as recovered, convalscent status, counts of inebriates, drug habitues, and others not insane. Formats for these reports vary over time. Correspondence from the Dept. of Mental Hygiene correcting various statisical mistakes in counts is occasionally interleaved with reports.

Other Finding Aids

Available at Repository

Volume list.

Custodial History

These records were transferred to the State Archives from the Middletown Psychiatric Center in June 2000 and accessioned in January 2001.

Access Restrictions

Restricted permanently in accordance with Section 33.13, Mental Hygiene Law, relating to confidentiality of clinical records and the Personal Privacy Protection Law.Access permitted under certain conditions upon application to and approval by the State Archives.

Access Terms