George Baehr papers

The Baehr Papers consist of seven linear feet of correspondence and subject files, writings, scrapbooks, and photograph albums. The papers are very fragmented and often routine, and provide limited coverage of Baehr's career-long involvement with the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, Inc. There is almost no material from Baehr's term as president and medical director of H.I.P. and what information there is concerns the establishment of H.I.P. rather than the administration of the organization. The papers do, however, include some information on the Mayor's Committee on Medical Care, selected items regarding the founding and operations of H.I.P., and a few general correspondence files from 1941 forward. The scrapbooks and photograph albums cover Baehr's service during World Wars I and II and also include personal and family photographs and other materials. The papers are organized in three series: CORRESPONDENCE AND SUBJECT FILES, WRITINGS, and PERSONAL PAPERS.

Series I, CORRESPONDENCE AND SUBJECT FILES, is organized in three sections: General, Mayor's Committee on Medical Care, and Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, Inc. The General files are arranged alphabetically and span the years 1941 to 1975. The files include correspondence, circulars, announcements, mimeographed reports, and other material. The two folders for the United States Office of Civilian Defense contain memoranda regarding Baehr's travels in the United States during 1941-1944, a diary from a 1942 trip to England, and statistics on shortages in medical personnel. The files for several organizations in which Baehr was active including the Public Health Council of New York State, the Committee for National Health Insurance, and the State Communities Aid Association, contain material regarding fluoridation of water supplies, national health insurance, and other medical and public health issues. The other files in the section date primarily from the period after Baehr retired from H.I.P. The material, though frequently routine in nature, reflects Baehr's involvement in a wide variety of professional and civic organizations and his contacts and interaction with public officials and leaders in public health and medicine.

The Mayor's Committee on Medical Care section consists of eight folders of correspondence, memoranda, minutes, draft reports, and print material from the Subcommittee on Plan and Scope.

The Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York section extends from 1940 to 1978 but is fragmentary. The early material includes information on the Vladeck Houses program and on the founding of H.I.P.; folder 103 contains several historical sketches of the plan.

Series II, WRITINGS, is arranged chronologically and consists of approximately eighty reprints and fifty mimeographed speech texts spanning the years 1935 to 1977. It also includes a draft bibliography prepared by Baehr, circa 1970, and miscellaneous programs and letters.

The series represents only a portion of Baehr's total writings. The principal topics represented are medical economics, medical and hospital care, and public health. Fifteen reprints and speech texts directly concern H.I.P., and several others use the plan as an example to illustrate trends in health care. With the exception of several articles on Lupus Erythematosus, mostly from the 1940s, the series contains almost none of Baehr's medical research papers.

Series III, PERSONAL PAPERS, is organized in three sections: General, Photographs, and Scrapbooks. The first section extends from 1917 to 1978 and is arranged chronologically. It includes correspondence concerning family personal business, curriculum vitae, certificates and honors, newsclippings, and a variety of biographical material. The transcript and audio recording of "An Evening with George Baehr," American Public Health Association, Medical Care Section annual meeting (1965 Oct), is of special interest. The section also includes the transcript of an oral history interview with Baehr conducted by the Columbia University Oral History Research Office.

The Photographs section includes two albums, one from Baehr's service with the American Red Cross Typhus Commission and the other from his service as commander of an army base hospital in France, which provide interesting documentation of public health and medical conditions in two areas of Europe during World War I. Other material in the section includes personal and family photographs from 1942 to 1977.

Scrapbooks consists of five books of correspondence, photographs, personal items such as medals, awards, and certificates, and a variety of memorabilia. The section also contains two bound volumes received by Baehr at a testimonial dinner in 1957. The material in the five scrapbooks was removed and microfilmed in 1981. These filmed scrapbooks contained a large quantity of deteriorating newsprint which was discarded after filming. The remaining material was foldered and is included in the section.

The five filmed scrapbooks (See: MICROFILM HM 123) each focus on a specific period or topic, although each contains a few items unrelated to the topic. The books are described below in the order in which they appear on the film:

Book 1 (1912-1913, 1933-1941), Baehr's European trip of 1912-1913, where he conducted postdoctoral research in the Universities of Freiburg and Vienna: miscellaneous items from the 1930s. Microfilm frames 1-91.

Book 2 (1941-1947), Baehr's tenure as chief medical officer of the Office of Civilian Defense, including the trip to the Mexican "Primer Curso Regional Administration de Hospitales" which Baehr undertook as O.C.D. representative; miscellaneous items. Microfilm frames 92-508.

Book 3 (1942) 1947-1949), Baehr's chairmanship of the American Public Health Association's Lasker Award Committee; miscellaneous items. Microfilm frames 509-681.

Book 4 (1943-1954, 1963), Baehr's presidency and medical directorship of the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, Inc. (H.I.P.); miscellaneous items. Microfilm frames 682-847.

Book 5 (1950-1951, 1959-1962), further material relating to H.I.P. and the Lasker Award Committee, as well as miscellany. Microfilm frames 848-908.

The Baehr Papers were presented to Yale University Library by Dr. Baehr's daughter, Dr. Barbara Baehr, in 1978. The Baehr Papers are part of the Contemporary Medical Care and Health Policy Collection.