Because the records include Confidential Health Information (CHI) as defined by Columbia University policies governing data security and privacy, access to the more recent volumes is allowed only under the terms of Archives and Special Collections’ Access Policy to Records Containing Confidential Health Information.
The nine volumes are only a fragment of the original patient records of the hospital. There are six volumes of general in-patient records and three volumes devoted to cataract surgery. Contents vary over time but usually include patient name, residence, and age; date of admission; diagnosis; treatment; and outcome. The early volumes often include sketches of the eye in the patient history while later volumes use pre-printed diagrams of the eye. The 20th century records almost always include temperature charts and sometimes have photographs. Patients in the early years of the hospital tended to be German or of German descent, though non-Germans were not uncommon.
History and Biography
The Herman Knapp Memorial Hospital was founded in 1869 as the New York Ophthalmic and Aural Institute by Dr. Herman Knapp (1832-1911) and was originally located on West 12th Street in Greenwich Village. Knapp had been a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Heidelberg before immigrating to the United States and brought the most advanced knowledge of the day to his treatment of eye and ear disorders.
After Knapp's death, his son Arnold (1869-1956) succeeded him as hospital director. In 1913, the hospital was renamed the Herman Knapp Memorial Hospital and moved to new facilities at Tenth Avenue and 57th Street. The Hospital closed on January 1, 1940 and its assets were turned over to Columbia University as the Knapp Memorial Fund to support ophthalmological research.
Organization
The nine volumes are only a fragment of the original patient records of the hospital. There are six volumes of general in-patient records and three volumes devoted to cataract operations. Contents vary over time but usually include patient name, residence and age; date of admission; diagnosis; treatment; and outcome. The early volumes often include sketches of the eye in the patient history while later volumes use pre-printed diagrams of the eye. The 20th century records almost always include temperature charts and sometimes have photographs. Patients in the early years of the hospital tended to be German or of German descent, though non-Germans are not uncommon.
| Contents | Volume |
|---|---|
| Patient Casebooks | |
| June 6, 1869 - Oct 1, 1872 | 1 |
| Aug. 27, 1884 - July 16, 1888 | 5 |
| Aug. 21, 1900 - July 2, 1902 | 10 |
| June 1, 1914 - Oct. 1, 1915 | 15 |
| Oct 1, 1915 - Sept. 30, 1916 | |
| Jan 1, 1939 - Dec. 22, 1939 | |
| Cataract Operation Books | |
| May 5, 1877 - Feb. 22, 1884 | 1 |
| Feb. 10, 1892 - Sept. 10, 1896 | 4 |
| July 28, 1908 - Nov.9, 1915 |
Subject Headings and Related Records
Administrative Information
Gift of the Dept. of Health Information Management, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, 2000 (accession #2000.06.23).