- unitid
-
{"value"=>"22978", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc MG 796", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b20806086", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1930-2005", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1930/2005"}
{"value"=>"1970s-1980s", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1970/1989"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Gene-Ann Polk Harlem Hospital Center files"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"57 boxes, 1 volume, 1 tube", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"26.1 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Harlem Hospital Center (HHC) is a public, municipally-owned hospital that provides a wide range of services to the Central Harlem, West Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. Gene-Ann Polk (1926-2015) was a physician, hospital administrator, and educator known for her pioneering clinical work at HHC. The Gene-Ann Polk Harlem Hospital Center files date from 1930 to 2005 and contain memoranda, notes, reports, appointment books, ledgers, and publications that document the departments and various projects Polk administrated."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Harlem Hospital Center (HHC), founded in 1887, is a public, municipally-owned hospital that provides a wide range of services to the Central Harlem, West Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. HHC is a member of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, and is affiliated with Columbia University as a teaching facility.</p> <p>Gene-Ann Polk Horne (1926-2015) was a physician, hospital administrator, and educator known for her pioneering clinical work at HHC. She worked professionally under her maiden name. Polk received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College in 1948 and her Doctor of Medicine degree from Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1952. From 1953 to 1968, Polk was a resident and then attending pediatrician at HHC. Polk was the first professor of clinical pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1962).</p> <p>After pursing a Master of Arts degree in public health from Columbia in 1968, Polk took on administrative roles at HHC, including director of Pediatric Ambulatory Care (1968-1975), director of Pediatrics (1975-1978), and director of Ambulatory Care Services (1978-1994). In the 1980s and 1990s, Polk served on the HHC's Utilization Review Committee (URC), Cultural Affairs Committee (CAC), and a few others. The URC monitored medical staff practices and evaluated patient care. The CAC collected artifacts and artwork for the hospital, answered requests for historical information, and created an archival calendar that highlighted key events from the hospital's history.</p> <p>Polk was the recipient of numerous awards for her work, and in 1994 when she retired, she was honored at Columbia through emerita status. During her career, Polk sustained a commitment to working in a predominately underserved black community. Many of the programs and initiatives she led continue to shape the operations and practices of HHC. Polk's research and studies influenced the neonatal and pediatric outpatient services. She was also instrumental in the development of the Harlem Primary Care Network (HPCN), a 1979 Urban Health Initiative grant-awarded program administered by HHC to address high morbidity and mortality rates. The HPCN set up a network throughout the Harlem community in locations such as the Grant Houses Clinic. HPCN impacted the primary-care models practiced today. After retirement, Polk maintained her connection to HHC through the CAC, and helped raise money for restorations of the hospital's murals created during the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Gene-Ann Polk Harlem Hospital Center files date from 1930 to 2005 (bulk dates 1970s-1980s) and contain memoranda, notes, reports, appointment books, ledgers, and publications that document the departments and various projects Polk administrated, as well as some early HHC history. This collection is not considered HHC's official records, nor is it a comprehensive representation of Polk's entire career.</p> <p>The bulk of the collection relates to the Ambulatory Care Services (ACS) and Pediatrics, and recounts the day-to-day operations of Polk's work as director of these departments. The ACS outgoing memos and internal correspondence discuss a range of issues from the navigation of a budget crisis, the requests for certain equipment and supplies, to the ongoing changes in personnel and services. There are grant applications, annual reports, meeting minutes, and the documentation of certain services such as the drug abuse programs. Some of these files are from Polk's predecessor Henry L. Hines (early 1970s).</p> <p>The Pediatrics material showcases Polk's early research and case studies. The collection features a copy of her paper, \"The Course of the Heroin Withdrawal Syndrome in Newborn Infants Treated with Phenobarbital or Chlorpromazine;\" her notes and drafts of the Cervical Pott's Disease case study presentation at The Bronx Pediatric Society (1955); and notes for the case study of \"Narcotic Addiction in the Newborn.\" Polk's \"Renal Tuberculosis in Childhood: A Case Report,\" co-written with George Weiss, was later published in the Harlem Hospital Bulletin (1958; case studies b.46 f.1-4). These files also hold agendas and typed presentation notes for conferences hosted by the Pediatrics department and Pediatric Ambulatory Care.</p> <p>The development and management of several community programs are documented in the collection, including the Harlem Primary Care Network (HPCN), and the New York State Primary Ambulatory Care Program (better known as Ghetto Medicine). The scope of Polk's role as director of ACS included overseeing these additional programs. HPCN materials consist of project descriptions, proposals, network agreements, job advertisements, status reports, management summaries that track visit numbers, and governing board meeting minutes. Ghetto Medicine, a state-wide program that financed health care in medically underserved areas, is represented though correspondence, notes, budget reports, and contract information for personnel compensated through the allocated funds from this program.</p> <p>Polk's participation in several committees at the HHC is reflected through the Utilization Review Committee (URC) and the Cultural Affairs Committee (CAC) files. There are surveys, audits, reports, and meeting minutes from the URC; and CAC meeting agendas, memos, and outlines for the archival calendar. Other CAC materials in the collection consist of a few photographs of patients receiving care; and HHC personnel index cards (1930s-1940s) that contain medical school information, title, services, and salary rates.</p> <p>Polk's yearly calendars account for her daily appointments and meetings across all the roles she fulfilled. Additional conference materials contextualize her work. For example, the 1982 National Health Care Service Corporation presentation notes (b.37 f.3) discuss some of the challenges the hospital faced in serving the Harlem community, and the development of the HPCN.</p> <p>The NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation files and memoranda from various departments pertain to hospital-wide subjects and issues. There are also a few HHC publications, including the 1969 master plan, and a few copies of <span class=\"title\">The Harlem Hospital Bulletin</span>.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject or format.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Gene-Ann Polk Horne, 2007.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Compiled by <span class=\"name\">Joyce Joseph</span>, <span class=\"date\">2015</span>.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>All reproduction requests subject to limitations noted in divisional policies on reproduction.</p>"}
- userestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Information on copyright available from repository.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p><span class=\"archref\">Gene-Ann Polk Papers and Susan Smith McKinney Steward Society records, 1946-2004. The Legacy Center, Drexel University College of Medicine.</span> <span class=\"archref\">Gene-Ann Polk Papers, 1945-53. The Legacy Center, Drexel University College of Medicine.</span> <span class=\"archref\">Gene-Ann Polk, Voices of the Foundation. Foundation for the History of Women in Medicine. Center for the History of Medicine, The Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine.</span></p>"}
- sponsor
-
{"value"=>"Home to Harlem Project, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation"}
- revisiondesc
-
{"value"=>"This finding aid was updated by Allison Hughes.", "date"=>"2020 November 10"}
- date_start
-
1930
- keydate
-
1930
- date_end
-
2005
- date_inclusive_start
-
1930
- date_inclusive_end
-
2005
- date_bulk_start
-
1970
- date_bulk_end
-
1989
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"[Item], Gene-Ann Polk Harlem Hospital Center files, Sc MG 796, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library"}