Almshouse medical records

This collection consists of the case notes of Dr. James H. Miller (1788-1853), attending physician of the Baltimore Almshouse from 1833-1837. The Baltimore Almshouse was established in 1773 to care for the poor, especially those who suffered from illness, old age, physical handicaps, mental deficiency, or insanity. The case notes of Dr. Miller are a useful source of information for several reasons. First, they contain the doctor's personal assessment of the Almshouse's weaknesses, as well as his proposals for change. Secondly, the notes contain a brief essay written by Dr. Miller in which he differentiates between private and public health care. Thirdly, the notes provide detailed accounts of the diagnosis and treatment of over thirty-five individuals.

Of the Almshouse, Dr. Miller wrote: "That it possesses the choicest facilities for a school of practical medicine is unquestionable. We have here every form of disease, from the most ephemerally acute to the most protractedly chronic; we see it in every age from infancy to old-age, upon the cradle to the grave, [nay] even man, anterior to birth, & post mortem; in both sexes; & in individuals of every country, of every occupation, of all constitutions, habits, & modes of life." The case notes verify Dr. Miller's comments. Among the more common illnesses treated were measles, cholera, typhoid, fevers, rheumatism, pneumonia, gonorrhea, syphilis, alcoholism, and problems arising in pregnancies or as results of abortions.