Acts of Incorporation, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations of Woman's Hospital

Identity elements

Reference code

US AA101.S003.F001

Name and location of repository

Level of description

File

Title

Acts of Incorporation, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations of Woman's Hospital

Date(s)

  • 1926-04 (Creation)

Extent

1 folder (.5 inches)

Name of creator

(1855-2019)

Administrative history

The Woman’s Hospital Association was organized February 10, 1855, with the intent of establishing the Woman’s Hospital, which would be a charity institution exclusively for the treatment of “diseases peculiar to women.” The hospital would also be a teaching facility where physicians and surgeons could observe and learn the new techniques of Drs. J. Marion Sims and Thomas Addis Emmet, both gynecological surgeons.

The Woman’s Hospital Association was the result of a meeting of thirty-five influential New York City women gathered together by Dr. Sims. At this meeting, Sims spoke about New York’s need for a hospital to treat gynecological diseases. The women supported the idea and organized the Association, whose membership was regulated by a fixed schedule of contributions. The Hospital was established in May of 1855 and incorporated in New York State later that year. Its managers were chosen by a majority of the Association members at its annual meeting. The Association was led by six women (three Directresses, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Assistant Treasurer), and a Board of Managers, often referred to as the ‘Board of Lady Managers,’ comprised of 35 women. An Executive Committee of seven women was appointed annually by the Board of Managers to manage the day to day affairs of the institution.

In 1857 the Hospital was re-incorporated by the New York State Legislature as the 'Woman's Hospital in the State of New York,' and re-organized under an all-male Board of Governors. The twenty-seven Governors were responsible for the overall concerns of the Hospital, including filling vacancies of non-female staff, enacting the By-Laws and organizing the Medical Department.

The former Board of Managers became the Board of Supervisors, commonly referred to as the ‘Board of Lady Supervisors,’ charged with managing the operations of the Hospital, including the appointment of nurses and other female attendants. Out of this group, ten women formed a ‘Board of Lady Managers,’ responsible for handling the day-to-day business of the Hospital.

In 1887 the Board of Governors, unable to fill vacant positions on their Board, decided to invite four women from the Board of Lady Supervisors to fill them. They found this integration “to be most acceptable in its results” and they decided to petition the State Legislature to amend the Acts of Incorporation to reorganize the Board of Governors to consist of fourteen men and thirteen women. The amendment passed on April 18, 1888. Included in these changes: the vice-president of the Board of Governors would be a woman and the Board of Lady Supervisors was discontinued. Additionally, an Executive Committee, consisting of ten Governors “who shall have the general charge, control and superintendence of the hospital…subject to…the Board of Governors,” was created. The Executive Committee was responsible for creating an “Assistant Board, composed of twenty-five ladies…”, with the vice-president of the Board of Governors as its Chairman. This board was charged with handling the daily business of the Hospital. For several years the names ‘Associate Board” and “Assistant Board” were used interchangeably.

The Association chose a four-story brownstone house at 83 Madison Avenue (at 29th Street) as the Hospital’s first facility. According to the first annual report, it held forty beds and welcomed its first patient on May 4, 1855. The location was close to the residence of Dr. Sims who was in poor health and could not travel long distances to and from his work. In 1858, via the petitioning of Dr. Sims, the City of New York offered the block of land between 49th and 50th Streets and Lexington and 4th (subsequently Park) Avenues, to the Governors to become the site of a new hospital campus. This site operated from 1867 until 1902. The building had room for seventy-five patients. A second building, added in 1877, doubling the number of beds. In 1902 this facility was closed and sold, and all services, except the out-patient clinic, were suspended until 1906, when a new building, between West 109th and 110th Streets and Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, opened.

Over the years, the Board recognized the need to develop additional services. A post-graduate school of nursing admitted its first class in 1888. The establishment of a hospital pharmacy in 1881, a maternity ward in 1910, and a social services department in 1912 are examples of the additional services made available at Woman’s Hospital.

On January 1, 1953, Woman’s Hospital merged with St. Luke’s Hospital. Being but a few blocks away from each other, the Board of Trustees of both Hospitals came to see that their histories and ideals were parallel, and that it would be beneficial to each to consolidate their resources, which would also strengthen medical services offered to the broader Morningside Heights community. In merging, the Woman's Hospital became the Woman's Hospital Division of St. Luke's Hospital. The Board added ‘Center” to the Hospital’s name in the mid-1960s to acknowledge distinctions between the different Hospitals. The Woman’s Hospital Board of Governors merged with the corresponding board at St. Luke’s, but the Ladies Associate Board remained independent and continued to meet for some years. The Woman’s Hospital Division continued to function on its 109th Street site until 1965, when it moved into new quarters on the West 114th Street campus.

In 1979, St. Luke’s Hospital Center merged with the Roosevelt Hospital forming St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center. In 1997, the Hospital Center joined with Beth Israel Medical Center under the Continuum Health Partners, LLC banner. In 2013, Continuum merged with Mount Sinai Medical Center forming the Mount Sinai Heath System. The St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center is now separately called Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West. The Woman’s Hospital Division continued as such until mid-2019, when all the pre-merger names of St. Luke’s Hospital pavilions were removed or changed.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

A single pamphlet volume of the Acts of Incorporation, By-Laws, Rules and Regulations of Woman's Hospital in the State of New York, revised in April 1926.

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

This material is available for use. Contact the Archives (MSArchives@mssm.edu) for access to these materials.

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Languages of the material

  • English

Scripts of the material

    Language and script notes

    Finding aids

    Generated finding aid

    Acquisition and appraisal elements

    Custodial history

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

    Accruals

    Related materials elements

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related archival materials

    Related descriptions

    Notes element

    Specialized notes

    Alternative identifier(s)

    Legacy ID from CMS

    AA.001257

    OCLC Number

    1090680969

    Description control element

    Rules or conventions

    Sources used

    Access points

    Subject access points

    Place access points

    Name access points

    Genre access points

    Accession area