Nursery and Child's Hospital Patient Medical Records

Collection

Identifier: US-NNCORMA-RG09-SG002-001

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Scope and Contents

The bulk of the records are admission registers from both the Lexington Avenue and Staten Island branches, which include volumes arranged chronologically and alphabetically from 1859 until 1906. The recorded information varies over time but usually includes the names of the patient and the child, dates of admission and discharge, ethnicity, religion, age of child, residence of parents, name of admitting officer, name of attending physician, and “remarks” which may include information on disposition of case (return to parents, death, etc.). Also included are autopsy results entitled “Notes on Necropsy,” 1891-1895, 1907-1910, and a medical casebook, circa 1872-1890. See series description for more information.

Dates

1859-1910

Conditions Governing Access

Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), internal policies requiring protection and confidential handling of PHI (protected health information), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), or other institutional polices regarding internal or confidential records, and may require additional permissions prior to access. All records in this collection are restricted and require additional permissions prior to access. View the container inventory for more information and visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding access to historical materials containing restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright holder of this collection is NewYork-Presbyterian Materials from this collection cannot be reproduced outside the guidelines of United States Fair Use (17 U.S.C., Section 107) without the advance permission of the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine or the copyright holder. In the event that anything from the collection become a source for publication, a credit line indicating the Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine is required.

Historical records in the Medical Center Archives are protected by HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) and internal policies which require protection and confidential handling of all protected health information (PHI). Materials containing PHI, personally identifiable information (PII), and/or student information (protected under FERPA) have been restricted and require additional permissions prior to reproduction and use.

Please visit the Medical Center Archives website for the most updated policies and procedures regarding reproduction and use.

Biographical / Historical

The Nursery and Child’s Hospital was founded in 1854 as the “Nursery for the Children of Poor Women” specifically to care for the children of wet-nurses and of parents who worked away from home during the day. The institution soon changed its focus to the medical care of neglected and abandoned infants and poor pregnant women and was renamed Nursery and Child’s Hospital in 1857. In 1859, it moved to Lexington Avenue and 51st Street. The hospital maintained a country branch for children in the Castleton Corners neighborhood of Staten Island from 1870 to 1905.

The Nursery and Child's Hospital merged with the New York Infant Asylum in 1910, to form the New York Nursery and Child's Hospital, an institution that became part of the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in 1934.

Extent

18.9 Linear Feet (13 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Nursery and Child’s Hospital opened in 1854 and was originally named the Nursery for the Children of Poor Women. In 1910, it merged with the New York Infant Asylum to form New York Nursery and Child’s Hospital. This collection includes admission registers from both the Lexington Avenue and Staten Island locations, 1859-1906, autopsy results, 1891-1895, 1907-1910, and a medical casebook, circa 1872-1890.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in two series: 1. Admissions Registers and 2. Other Medical Records.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Nursery and Child’s Hospital Records were donated to the Medical Center Archives at an unknown date from an unknown source.

Related Materials

The Library of the New York Historical has administrative records of Nursery and Child’s Hospital, though no patient medical records. New York City-Nursery and Child's Hospital Records, MS 443.20, The New-York Historical Society.

RG09-SG001-001, Nursery and Child’s Hospital Records, 1854-1911 (Medical Center Archives of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY).

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Stephen Novak in 2025. The finding aid was written by Stephen Novak in 2026, with assistance from Chiyong (Tali) Han.