This photo of YNHH employees from 1941 is one of many in the hospital Archives, which also includes annual reports dating back to 1868, artifacts, videos and many more items carefully preserved in archives locations at both campuses.
Doing some spring cleaning in your office? Renovating or moving into a new space? Retiring or starting a new position? These are ideal times to consider whether you have permanent historical records that could be transferred to the Yale New Haven Hospital Archives for safekeeping and preservation.
The Archives were established in 1997 with a gift from the YNHH Auxiliary. The department's purpose is to document the history of the hospital and related organizations, serve as the official repository for non-current, permanent records and provide research assistance.
Materials collected by the Archives reflect YNHH's mission of patient care, teaching, research and community service. Records also provide evidence of the unique contributions hospital staff and physicians make to medicine, nursing and hospital administration.
"Our goal is to develop a useful, comprehensive collection that provides a complete and accurate record of the history of the hospital and its affiliated organizations," said Susan Dee, archivist. "We want to preserve the history and capture the important things we're doing today so they can be shared with future generations."
Archives records and materials include hospital publications, newsletters and scrapbooks dating to the 1930s; photographs; employee and medical staff handbooks; artifacts and memorabilia such as nursing capes and uniforms; event programs, speeches and invitations; employees' and physicians' personal papers documenting hospital development; videos, DVDs and audio tapes; and annual reports. The Archives accepts appropriate materials in any format, Dee said.
Electronic newsletters are printed and stored as PDFs and websites are captured in an Internet archive. Annual reports from 1868 through 2009 are available through Yale University's Historical Medical Library, http://elischolar.library.yale.edu/.
The main Archives is in the Clinic Building at the York Street Campus; a room is also maintained in the Saint Raphael Campus Selina Lewis Building with memorabilia specific to the Hospital of Saint Raphael. In addition, both campuses have rotating displays in several locations.
To donate materials to the Archives, contact Dee, 203-688-5450, or ynhharchives@ ynhh.org. She will assess the records to ensure they're eligible for inclusion.
