American Public Health Association records

The American Public Health Association Papers span the period 1938 to 1972, although the bulk of the papers cover the years 1940-1957 and 1967-1972. They include some official A.P.H.A. records, copies of other A.P.H.A. material, documents from other sources, journal articles and reprints and Dr. Viseltear's research notes.

The papers are arranged in three series: COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON MEDICAL CARE; MEDICAL CARE SECTION; and BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH MATERIAL. The papers are fragmented and incomplete, but they selectively document the development of organized medical care within the A.P.H.A. as well as the routine operations of the Medical Care Section in the 1960s and early 1970s. The earlier papers contain a variety of materials which provide information on the roles played by leading public health figures in the recognition of medical care by the A.P.H.A. The papers include extensive correspondence of A.P.H.A. Executive Secretary Reginald M. Atwater and correspondence, memoranda and other material from Subcommittee on Medical Care Chairman Joseph Mountin and subcommittee staff members Howard M. Kline and Milton Terris. They also contain occasional items from a number of other important figures, including Lester Breslow, Dean A. Clark, Haven Emerson, Isidore S. Falk, Franz Goldmann, Wilton Halverson, and C.-E. A. Winslow. An index to select correspondents is located at the end of the register and lists major correspondents by series and folder number.

Series I, COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE PRACTICE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON MEDICAL CARE, extends from 1940 to 1957 and consists of General Papers and Project and Subject Files. The General Papers section is arranged chronologically in two groups, correspondence and administrative files. The early correspondence (i.e., 1940, 1943-1945) is incomplete but includes correspondence of A.P.H.A. Executive Secretary Reginald M. Atwater, Joseph Mountin, Michael M. Davis and others which provides information on the impetus to establish the subcommittee and on its early development. The later correspondence is more general. In addition to announcements and circular letters, it covers a variety of administrative topics and policy issues, including funding, personnel, rural medicine, medical care for the indigent, and relations between hospitals and health departments. The administrative files in General Papers are incomplete but include minutes and reports which document policy making within the subcommittee.

The Project and Subject Files section is arranged alphabetically by topic. The section includes correspondence, notes, reports, statements and other material which cover medical care for the indigent, quality of medical care, and other major subject areas.

Series II, MEDICAL CARE SECTION, contains some material for the years 1948-1965, although the bulk of the series dates from 1967 to 1972. Series II is organized in two sections, General Papers and Committee and Council Files. General Papers is arranged chronologically and includes correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports, newsletters, and texts of papers presented at annual meetings. Though the papers are fragmented, they provide information on executive board meetings, routine administrative activities, and annual meetings. The special reports (folders 6 and 7) include "An Evaluation of the Medical Care Section," which contains background material on the development of the section.

The Committee and Council Files contain correspondence, minutes and other material of fourteen administrative and subject committees within the Medical Care Section. The files date from 1965 to 1972 and are arranged alphabetically by committee. Most of the committees represented were charged with the routine administrative functions of the organization, including nominations, membership, and annual meeting programs. The subject or "action" committee files provide information on several subject areas within the field of medical care, including equal health rights and international medical care.

Series III, BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH MATERIAL, consists of core documentation which Professor Viseltear collected in researching the history of the Medical Care Section. It includes A.P.H.A. correspondence, minutes, and reports (some of which are duplicated in the first two series); documents from other sources; journal articles and reprints; and Viseltear's research and interview notes. The latter constitute approximately one quarter of the series. The original filing order and folder captions have been retained; the research and interview notes are interfiled with source materials to which they relate. The series is organized in four sections: Subcommittee on Medical Care, A.P.H.A. General, Other Papers, and Notes and Drafts. Each section is arranged chronologically.

The Subcommittee on Medical Care section contains information on the founding of the subcommittee, including notes and a few documents relating to a predecessor organization, the Subcommittee on the Organized Care of the Sick. The bulk of the section dates from 1943 to 1949 and provides extensive information on the development of the subcommittee and the Medical Care Section. Correspondence and reports by Atwater, Mountin, Falk, Emerson and others document the support for as well as opposition to the recognition of medical care by the A.P.H.A.

The other three sections in the series include A.P.H.A. minutes and reports, documents from other organizations, and Viseltear's interview notes.

The A.P.H.A. Papers were donated to Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, by Arthur J. Viseltear in 1978. The American Public Health Association Papers are part of the Contemporary Medical Care and Health Policy Collection. Several other manuscript groups within the collection contain papers of individuals such as C. B. Esselstyn, Isidore Falk and Ira Hiscock, who participated in the development of the Subcommittee on Medical Care and the Medical Care Section.