Because the records include Confidential Health Information (CHI) as defined by Columbia University policies governing data security and privacy, access is allowed only under the terms of Archives and Special Collections’ Access Policy to Records Containing Confidential Health Information.
Because of staff constraints and the lack of a name index, Archives & Special Collections cannot search for individual records. Microfilm of much of Presbyterian’s post-1929 patient records are held by the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Medical Records Department and persons wishing to locate the records of individuals should contact them.
Boxes 2-12 are stored off-site and will take 1-2 days to retrieve. Researchers must call in advance to use the collection.
An incomplete set of records of patients seen at the Neurological Institute of New York, 1909-1940 (with gaps). Information in the records varies over time but usually includes patient name, age, sex, profession, nationality or ethnicity, and address; personal and family medical history; description of complaint; diagnosis; treatment; and result. Temperature charts and laboratory reports may also be present, as well as the results of tests of muscular coordination, eyesight, reflexes, and intelligence.
The clinical service at the Neurological Institute was divided into three divisions, but these did not correspond with any particular type of disease or treatment.
History and Biography
The Neurological Institute of New York was founded in 1909 as the first hospital and research center in the Western Hemisphere devoted solely to neurological disorders. It was originally located at 149-151 East 67th Street. In 1925, it affiliated with Presbyterian Hospital and in 1929 occupied its own building on the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center campus in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.
In 1943, the Neurological Institute merged with Presbyterian Hospital, but retained its name. The Institute also serves as the department of neurology of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Organization
Records, 1909-1926, organized in rough chronological order, then by division; records, 1929-1940, organized by case number, which follows date of admission.
An incomplete set of records of patients seen at the Neurological Institute of New York, 1909-1940. Content varies over time but usually includes patient name, age, sex, profession, nationality or ethnicity, and address; personal and family medical history; description of complaint; diagnosis; treatment; and result. Examination results of tests of reflexes, muscular coordination, eyesight, and intelligence are sometimes included.
The clinical service at the Neurological Institute was divided into three divisions, but these did not correspond with any particular type of disease or treatment. Each division maintained separate numbering systems, resulting in cases with identical numbers. From 1929, a single case numbering system existed. Boxed records often have large gaps between file numbers. At an unknown date after 1940 (probably 1943), the Institute’s patient records were interfiled with the general Presbyterian Hospital patient records.
| Box | Division | Case Numbers | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1st | 1-44 | Nov. – Dec. 1909 |
| 1st | 4132 | Mar. 1911 | |
| 1st | 8627-9041 | June 1912 | |
| 2nd | 11-45 | Dec. 1909 | |
| 2nd | 3869-4855 | Feb. – Apr. 1911 | |
| 2nd | 35-38 | June 1911 | |
| 2nd | 8586-8763 | June 1912 | |
| 2nd | H3731-H9286 | Feb. 1913 – Nov. 1915 | |
| 3rd | 24-33 | Nov. 1909 | |
| 2 | 1st | 68374-70323 | Mar. – Sept. 1923 |
| 1st | 9095 | Aug. 1923 | |
| 2nd | 8324 | Apr. 1923 | |
| 3rd | 3854-3861 | Jan. 1922 | |
| 3rd | 9230 | Aug. 1923 | |
| 4th (Night Clinic) | 1-129 | Dec. 1922 – Apr. 1923 | |
| Dept. of Endocrinology | 3-34 | ca. 1919-20 | |
| 3742 | Apr. 1914 | ||
| 19213 | June 1918 | ||
| 3792 | Dec. 1919 | ||
| 1-41 | 1920 | ||
| 8523 | Apr. 1926 | ||
| 19085-19190 | Jan. 1920 – Feb. 1924 | ||
| 841-1846 | Sept. 27 – Dec. 14, 1929 |
| Box | Case Numbers | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4669-8592 | June 26, 1930 – May 19, 1931 |
| 4 | 8593-14747 | May 19, 1931 – Jan. 5, 1933 |
| 5 | 14873-17053 | Jan. 17, 1933 – Aug. 26, 1933 |
| 6 | 17185-21189 | Sept. 8, 1933 – Aug. 30, 1934 |
| 7 | 21190-23311 | Aug. 30, 1934 – Mar. 8, 1935 |
| 8 | 23492-26944 | Mar. 19, 1935 – Dec. 17, 1935 |
| 9 | 26945-28946 | Dec. 17, 1935 – May 29, 1936 |
| 10 | 28950-30568 | May 29, 1936 – Oct. 14, 1936 |
| 11 | 30699-32100 | Oct. 23, 1936 – Feb. 11, 1937 |
| 12 | 32101-44368 | Feb. 11, 1937 – Feb. 12, 1940 |
Subject Headings and Related Records
Administrative Information
Gift of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Dept. of Health Information Management, 2000 (acc. no. 2000.07.05).
Processed by Henry Blanco and finding aid written by Stephen Novak, 2006.