Barnes Hospital Records

Description

Reference code

RG009

Level of description

Collection

Title

Barnes Hospital Records

Date(s)

  • 1914- (Creation)
  • 1914- (Creation)
  • 1836-2007 (Creation)

Extent

46.45 cubic feet (85 boxes, 18 volumes)

Name of creator

(1914-1993)

Administrative history

The history of Barnes Hospital begins with the will of St. Louis businessman and philanthropist Robert A. Barnes. In 1892, Barnes bequeathed funds to be used for, "erecting and maintaining a hospital for the sick and injured persons without distinction of creed." While plans for the hospital were being formalized, Washington University President Robert S. Brookings was searching for a teaching hospital with which to affiliate Washington University Medical School. He approached the trustees of Barnes Hospital, and by 1911 a contract between the two instituitions had been struck. The contract moved the location of Washington University School of Medicine to near the hospital's proposed Kingshighway location, and stipulated that the two institutions would share staff and other resources. On December 7, 1914, Barnes Hospital opened with 26 patients transferred from Washington University Hospital.

In the ensuing years, Barnes Hospital would continue to expand, offering new services, building larger facilities, and treating more patients. The 26 initial patients of 1914 became 3,501 admitted to Barnes and its operating hospitals in 1920, a number which grew to 22,000 admitted patients in 1950 and to 34,553 admitted patients in 1995. Facilities expanded to accommodate these patients, with the new East Pavilion rising in 1972 and the West Pavilion joining it in 1980. The pavilions linked with Queeny Tower, which had opened in 1965. Staff also expanded from the original 80 members in 1915. By 1995, Barnes employed 5,721 full time employees; had 1,433 physicians on staff; and housed 741 interns, residents, and fellows. Net revenue in the 100 years of operation increased from $3.675.77 in 1915 to $34,486 in 2015. As it has grown, Barnes Hospital and its staff members have achieved many medical innovations and firsts. These innovations are numerous and range from the first successful total pneumonectomy in 1933 to the country's first successful nerve transplantation in 1993.

Barnes Hospital would go on to be associated in various ways with many other medical facilities over the coming years, including St. Louis Children's Hospital; St. Louis Maternity Hospital; Mallinckrodt Radiological Institute; McMillan Hospital and Oscar Johnson Institute; David P. Wohl Hospital; Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospital; Renard Hospital; and the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center. In November 1992, Barnes and Jewish Hospitals signed an affiliation agreement, agreeing to pool resources wherever possible. This affiliation agreement was completed in March 1993 to create Barnes-Jewish, Incorporated (BJI). In April of 1993, BJI and Christian Health Services announced that they would affiliate to create BJC Health System, an affiliation which was finalized in June 1993. In January of 1996, a merger of Barnes and Jewish Hospital, built on the sharing of resources which began with the completion of the affiliation agreement in 1993, was legally completed, and the two became the present day Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Barnes-Jewish Hospital is consistently ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News and World Report.

Scope and content

This collection includes items related to Barnes Hospital. From the bequest which funded the creation of the hospital; to the hospital’s opening at the end of 1914; and continuing up to and beyond its merger with Jewish Hospital in 1996, the history of Barnes Hospital is documented in a variety of material formats. The collection includes administrative records; staff correspondence; hospital publications; newspaper and magazine clippings; scrapbooks; photographs; VHS tapes; and artifacts. Of note is the collection of hospital publications (series 4), which includes serial magazines and annual reports of the hospital, as well as ephemera such as brochures and flyers. Also noteworthy is the hospital superintendent’s correspondence collection (series 3) covering the years 1913-1926; the hospital’s book of forms from the year of its opening (series 1); a scrapbook containing correspondence of Robert A. Barnes and the original trustees of Barnes Hospital (series 8); and the Hospital's Staff Register covering October 13, 1915 to January 13, 1958 (series 5).

System of arrangement

Conditions governing access

The collection is open and accessible for research, unless otherwise noted.

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Users of the collection should read and abide by the Rights and Permissions guidelines at the Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives.

Users of the collection who wish to cite items from this collection, in whole or in part, in any form of publication must request, sign, and return a Statement of Use form to the Archives.

For detailed information regarding use of this collection, contact the Archives and Rare Book Department of the Becker Library (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).

Preferred Citation:

Item description, Reference Code, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

Finding aids

Custodial history

Becker Library copy:Deposit from the hospital's public relations office prior in 1979?, Office of the President in 1991 and Barnes office of Design and construction in 1992. Early administrative files that comprise most of this record group appear to have been removed from the central office and placed in storage. Their existence was evidently forgotten for several decades until renovations of the hospital in 1979 led to their "rediscovery." Some portions of the original series appear to have been lost.

Immediate source of acquisition

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related archival materials

Publications of BJC, including the Barnes Hospital Bulletin (December 1965-August 1990) and the Barnes Hospital Record (October 1947- November 1965) have been digitized and are available at the following link: http://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/bjc_pubs/.

Specialized notes

Alternative identifier(s)

Rules or conventions

"Describing Archives: A Content Standard, Second Edition (DACS), 2013."

Sources used

Archivist's note

© Copyright 2019 Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives. All rights reserved.

Place access points

Name access points

Accession area