Mount Sinai Hospital

Summary Information
Administrative Information
Collection Inventory: Series I: AB- AN; Series II: AU-B; Series III: C-K; Series IV: M-Z; Series V: Artifacts; Scrapbooks

Summary Information

Repository: Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford
Title: Mount Sinai Hospital
ID: Institution.0009.002.005
Date [inclusive]: 1855-2012
Extent: 2.5 Cubic feet
Language
Biographical/Historical: Biographical/Historical note In Hartford, as elsewhere in the early part of the 20th Century, Jewish physicians were barred from practicing at most hospitals. This wide spread “gentleman’s agreement” kept Jewish doctors out of the network of referrals, and forced them to put their patients on admittance waiting lists until a gentile colleague could take over. This situation created substantial financial hardships for the physicians. Once admitted to Gentile-run hospitals Jewish patients faced language barriers and lack of access to kosher food. Moreover, the wide spread discrimination in the medical profession meant that Jewish interns had difficulty obtaining training. To correct this situation locally, a group of concerned physicians and citizens established an association in 1918 called "The Abraham Jacobi Hospital." Although an option to purchase land for the hospital was obtained from the Keney Estate at the corner of Love Lane and Westland Street, the war delayed progress on the hospital for several years. In 1922, the association changed its name to Mt. Sinai Hospital and purchased the Morgan Brainard mansion at 119 Capitol Avenue. The first hospital facility opened in 1923 with 75 beds. Another problem faced by Jews was the difficulty of getting nurses to visit Jewish patients. In 1925, Mt. Sinai opened a nursing school to address this need. The school closed in 1936. In 1940, Mt. Sinai was able to obtain the former Hebrew Home for Children building on Blue Hills Avenue. It began a campaign to remodel and expand the site, but progress was again delayed by war until 1950. By the mid-1960s, Jewish residents were leaving the North End of Hartford in large numbers and moving to West Hartford and Bloomfield. Most other Jewish institutions followed their constituents, but Mt. Sinai continued to commit itself to its neighborhood and it expanded. This choice, though beneficial for the Hartford community as a whole, was nearly disastrous for the hospital. As the income-per-capita of the surrounding area declined, the percentage of Mt. Sinai's unreimbursed medical care rose dramatically. Though Hartford Hospital and St. Francis Hospital contributed funds to cut the shortfall, Mt. Sinai's financial problems grew more and more severe each year. In the late 1980s, Mt. Sinai started exploring opportunities to merge with another hospital. Mt. Sinai and St. Francis affiliated in 1990 and formally merged, under the name of St. Francis, in 1995.
Scope and Contents: Scope and Contents note The great strength of the Mt. Sinai collection is the compilation of key documents made by Dr. Isidore S. Geetter for the 50th anniversary of the hospital. These include minutes for the early establishment of Abraham Jacobi Hospital and Mt. Sinai Hospital. Dr. Geetter also preserved annual reports and staff memos from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s that provide a continuous narrative during its major growth and decline cycle. Though compact, this collection offers a substantial amount of vital historical data.

Administrative Information

Publication Information: Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford

333 Bloomfield Avenue
West Hartford, CT, 06117
860-727-6171
ekafer@jewishhartford.org

Collection Inventory

Series I: AB- AN
Abraham Jacobi Hospital/Board of Directors/Members Dates 1922-2009
Abraham Jacobi Hospital/Board of Directors/Minutes 3/1918 to 6/1922 Dates 1922-2009
Abraham Jacobi Hospital/Correspondence Dates 1922-2009
Abraham Jacobi Hospital/Historical Highlights Dates 1922-2009
Abraham Jacobi Hospital/Incorporation Dates 1922-2009
Annual Reports, 1920s and 1930s Dates 1922-2009
Annual Reports, 1940s Dates 1922-2009
Annual Reports, 1950s Dates 1922-2009
Annual Reports, 1960-1965 Dates 1922-2009
Annual Reports, 1966-1969 Dates 1922-2009
Annual Reports, 1970-1971
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Series II: AU-B
Auxiliary/Anniversaries Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Annual Reports Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Constitution and By-Laws, Men's Auxiliary Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Constitution and By-Laws, Women's Auxiliary Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Education Programs Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Fundraising Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Historical Highlights Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Junior League Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Meeting Programs Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Minutes Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Miscellaneous Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Newsletters Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Officers and Members Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Scrapbooks Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary/Volunteer Activities Dates 1922-2009
Awards and Honors Received Dates 1922-2009
Board of Directors/Members Dates 1922-2009
Board of Directors/Members 1954 Dates 1922-2009
Board of Directors/Minutes 6/1922 to 3/1923 Dates 1922-2009
Board of Directors/ Minutes 1/1962 to 4/1962 Dates 1922-2009
Buildings/500 Blue Hills Avenue/1940 Dates 1922-2009
Buildings/500 Blue Hills Avenue/1950 new facility Dates 1922-2009
Buildings/500 Blue Hills Avenue/1959? expansion Dates 1922-2009
Buildings/500 Blue Hills Avenue/1972 expansion Dates 1922-2009
Buildings/119 Capitol Avenue Dates 1922-2009
Buildings/119 Capitol Avenue/Campaign 1923 Dates 1922-2009
Buildings/119 Capitol Avenue/Deeds 1922 Dates 1922-2009
Buildings/119 Capitol Avenue/Expansion 1939 Dates 1922-2009
Buildings/1 Northwestern Drive/1987 Dates 1922-2009
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Series III: C-K
Centennial Souvenir Booklet, 1954 Dates 1954
Charitable Activities Dates 1922-2009
Constitution and By-Laws Dates 1922-2009
Correspondence Dates 1922-2009
Director of Medical Education/ Activities and Internships Dates 1963-1964
Education Programs Dates 1922-2009
Education Programs/ Dr.Geeter/In-Service Education Program. Dates 1922-2009
Fundraising (other than building campaigns) Dates 1922-2009
Hartford County Medical Association (HCMA)/ 1966 Annual Meeting Minutes Dates 1966
Historical Highlights Dates 1950's
Historical Highlights/Geeter, Dr. I. S. - "Historical Development of Hospitals under Jewish Auspices" Dates 1922-2009
Historical Highlights/Geeter, Dr. I. S. - "To Make a Hospital: 1916-1973" draft, with cover letter to Richard Koopman Dates 1922-2009
Historical Highlights/Lazarus, Barry A. - "The Practice of Medicine and Prejudice in a New England Town" Incorporation Dates 1922-2009
Investments Dates 1922-2009
Kashrut Dates 1922-2009
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Series IV: M-Z
Membership Dates 1922-2009
Merger Dates 1922-2009
Miscellaneous Dates 1922-2009
Newsletters/Employee Memos 1951-1952 Dates 1922-2009
Newsletters/Employee Memos 1953-1954 Dates 1922-2009
Newsletters/Employee Memos 1955-1969 Dates 1922-2009
Newsletters/For Staff Members Dates 1922-2009
Newsletters/For the Public (including the Mt. Sinai Bulletin and Life in the Mount Sinai Hospital Dates 1922-2009
Newspaper clippings Dates 1922-2009
Nursing School Dates 1922-2009
Programs/JHSGH April 26, 2009/ Leon Chameides presentation on Mount Sinai (includes PowerPoint on CD) Dates April 26, 2009
Programs/Miracles 2014
Radiologic Technology School Dates 1922-2009
Reporter (the newspaper of the hospital, vol. 1, number 1) Dates 1922-2009
Special Medical Programs Dates 1922-2009
Staff Members Dates 1922-2009
Tovia Ann Baby Club for children delivered at the hospital, includes items from Kramer family Dates 1922-2009
Auxiliary and Volunteers Dates 1922-2009
Blue Hills Avenue Facility Dates 1922-2009
Capitol Avenue Facility Dates 1922-2009
Nursing Classes Dates 1922-2009
Women’s Auxiliary Luncheon 1977 Dates 1922-2009
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Series V: Artifacts
Women's Auxiliary lapel pin Dates 1922-2009
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Scrapbooks
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Mount Sinai Hospital

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Administrative Information

Collection Inventory