Good Steward Response to a Preservation Assessment Survey of the Union Memorial Hospital Archives

FAIN: PG-50029-07

MedStar Research Institute (Hyattsville, MD 20783-3245)
Carole Lever (Project Director: May 2006 to October 2008)

Purchase of storage furniture, environmental monitoring equipment, and storage supplies to rehouse 182 linear feet of correspondence, reports, financial records and other archival materials, as well as books and pamphlets related to the history of Union Memorial Hospital (UMH), founded in 1854.

This project focuses on paper-based materials to ensure an effective response to the survey, accessibility, and to meet long-term plans. Our collections preserve the history, culture, and education of health care in the Baltimore area since 1854. Through exhibitions and a research room the archives supports an organizational mission to address the needs of the sick, the poor, and the infirm. Following a tradition of response based on need, our physicians developed a portable operating room bringing care into private homes; the device is the prototype for MASH units. Recently we made the news for a unique surgery involving a toe-to-hand transfer on a soldier. The UMH Archives documents over 150 years of our female founders' humanitarian spirit to the Maryland community and beyond.