Records of the Hospital and Dispensary for the Relief of Diseases of the Rectum and Genito-Urinary Organs

The Hospital and Dispensary for the Relief of Diseases of the Rectum and Genito-Urinary Organs was incorporated December 6, 1875, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to “furnish gratuitous medical and surgical advice and treatment to all poor people (without regard to creed, sex, or race) who suffer from any form of disease of the rectum or genito-urinary organs.” E. C. Hine, L. S. Clark were the surgeons, and H. Lenox Hodge was the consulting surgeon, for the Hospital. Opened as a dispensary only, the Hospital did not provide beds for patients.

The Hospital’s Board of Governors carried out its work from July 1876 until September 1878, when the Hospital was forced to vacate the premises for unknown reasons. The work was discontinued after that date due to lack of interest and difficulty in obtaining funding.

The Hospital was officially dissolved on December 12, 1887, and the remaining funds were transferred to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.

The Records of the Hospital and Dispensary for the Relief of Diseases of the Rectum and Genito-Urinary Organs span the years 1875 to 1888, although the bulk of material dates to 1875 to 1877. This small collection documents the incorporation, financial activities, governance, and dissolution of a failed hospital and dispensary in nineteenth-century Philadelphia. The charter, 6 December 1875, and the “Papers relating to the dissolution of the hospital,” 1887-1888, provide a nice summary of the Hospital’s short life span. Indentures (1875 and 1876) provide some detail as to the services provided to patients. The minute book, 1875 to 1878 and 1887-1888, adds to the summarization of the Hospital’s existence found in the charter and dissolution papers.

Previously catalogued as 10d 26 and 10d 27.