RG 021:001, Connecticut Valley Hospital

Inventory of Records

Finding aid prepared by Connecticut State Library staff.

Copyright © 2009 by the Connecticut State Library

Historical Note

On June 20, 1867 the cornerstone was laid in Middletown for the General Hospital for Insane of the State of Connecticut. The name was changed to Connecticut Hospital for the Insane in 1874. By 1879 it was referred to as Connecticut State Hospital. The hospital was administratively transferred to the new Dept. of Mental Health on October 1, 1953. In October 1961, the name was changed to Connecticut Valley Hospital. It accepted patients from Fairfield Hills Hospital and Norwich State Hospitals upon the closures of those facilities in 1995 and 1996 respectively.

See also the Connecticut Valley Hospital Agency History.

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Scope and Content

Series 1. Superintendent, 1867-1982, includes scrapbooks, 1867-1957; Speeches and publications of Dr. Edgar C. Yerbury, 1939-1956; Reports and investigations, 1898-1949; Office files, 1911-1933; Annual reports, 1948-1982; and Files compiled for historical research about the hospital.

Series 2. Trustees, 1866-1961, includes Board meeting minutes, 1866-1961; Executive Committee minutes, 1943-1961; and Building Committee minutes, 1884-1924; and Reports of Visiting Committee, 1913-1952.

Series 3. Fiscal, 1899-1943, includes Finance Committee minutes, 1901-1943; Treasurer day books, 1889-1923; a Ledger of indigents and privates, 1906-1912; and an Employee payroll book, 1913-1917.

Series 4. Personnel, 1874-1941, includes Records of application and service, 1881-1900; Index of employees, 1884-1915; Employee payroll and service records, 1874-1915; Employee biographies, 1921-1944; and Biographies of nurses hired, 1908-1926.

Series 5. Patients, 1868-1964, includes Indexes; Patient files, 1962-1965; Commitment papers, 1874-1916; Admissions and discharges, 1868-1984; Case history books, 1873-1915 (not all volumes present).

Series 6. Medical Staff Records, 1901-1991, includes Minutes of staff meetings, 1901-1917; Lists of operations, 1917-1951; Lists of lobotomy operations, 1946-1951; Admissions, 1959-1968; Day books, 1951-1954; Journals, 1951-1954; a Morgue book, 1972-1991; and a volume that lists children admitted and discharged, 1960-1972.

Series 7. School of Nursing, 1904-1939, includes gradutate nurses record.

Series 8. Miscellaneous, 1889-1976, includes a log of letters written, 1889-1891; some historical documents and other items.

Series 9. Photographs, 1914-1967.

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Arrangement

Arranged into nine series: Superintendents, 1867-1982; Trustees, 1866-1961; Fiscal, 1889-1943; Personnel, 1874-1941; Patients, 1868-1984; Medical Staff Records, 1901-1991; School of Nursing, 1904-1939; Miscellaneous, 1889-1976; and Photographs, 1914-1967.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

New Exemption: Public Act 11-242, section 37 amends subsection (b) (10) of Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 1-210 and adds to the exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act any records created as a result of a doctor-patient or a therapist-patient relationship. This closure applies to all records listed below as Restricted.

Patients: Files continue to be made available to patients themselves upon reliable proof of identification which may be a current copy of a Connecticut driver's license with a photograph or current credit card with the patient's name on it.

Families: Section 52-140c of the Connecticut General Statutes allows "next of kin" the right to view records of a deceased patient who was also a relative.

Relatives of deceased patients should e-mail or send a letter to the State Archivist Mark Jones with the following information:

- Full name of the patient.
- Approximate years patient was treated at the hospital.
- Name, e-mail, and telephone of the requestor.

The State Archives will search for the folder and will report the results of the search to the requestor. If a file is found and the requestor wants to view or receive copies of the file, the following information must first be presented to the State Archivist:

- Proof of identity through a copy of a current Connecticut driver's license with a photograph or a copy of a current credit card with the requestor's name on it.
- Proof that the patient is deceased through a copy of a death certificate or obituary.
- Proof that the requestor is a "next of kin" to the deceased patient through a copy of a birth certificate, obituary with the name of the requestor mentioned as a survivor, or a signed and dated notarized statement of relationship to the patient.

Other Parties: According to the new exemption, medical records are closed to other parties.

Record Series Listed Below: Records listed below labeled as non-restricted or unrestricted are open to all researchers who have read the rules of use and signed the registration forms. Since these records are stored off site, they may not be available on the same day.

See the Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records and Secured Collections policy.

Restrictions on Use

See the Reproduction and Publications of State Library Collections policy.

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Index Terms

Organizations:

Subjects:

Document Types:

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Container List