 The Archives of the Halifax Visiting Dispensary: A GuideCollection Number: MS-13-84Collection Level DescriptionTitle:
Halifax Visiting Dispensary fonds Dates:
1882-1966, bulk 1919-1965 Extent:
1.2 m of textual records. -- 9 volumes Administrative HistoryDuring the 1850's, philanthropists and medical practitioners in Halifax area recognised the need to establish a medical and
drug clinic for indigent individuals and families in the city. The Halifax Visiting Dispensary (HVD) was thus established
in 1856 with the intention of providing free or subsidized medical services and medicine to those in need. Regarded as a "red
feather" agency, the HVD was primarily financed by private donations, endowment funds, city grants from Halifax and Dartmouth
and the community chest.
For many years the dispensary operated out of a clinic on Brunswick St. The city morgue was situated in the basement of this
building and the HVD had offices on the first few floors. The HVD provided specialized services for the treatment of women
and children. In addition, doctors offered daily medical and surgical clinics as well as weekly dental, eye, ear, nose and
throat clinics. The dispensary provided medical services and prescription drugs for diseases such as diabetes, arthritis,
scarlet fever, typhoid fever, diphtheria, small pox and consumption. For individuals who were too ill to visit the clinic,
a rotating staff of doctors would offer home medical services.
In 1924, the HVD moved into the Dalhousie University Public Health Clinic (DUPHC), which took over the medical and surgical
work. The distribution of drug prescriptions and surgical supplies, however, continued to be provided by the HVD. Although
the HVD was part of the DUPHC, it was still considered to be a separate organisation and had its own Board of Directors and
administrated its own funds. The HVD had a staff of two: a registered Druggist and a certified Clerk. The visiting medical
staff of doctors were reimbursed for their work through funds from the dispensary.
Scope and ContentThe largest series of the Halifax Visiting Dispensary is the correspondence series which includes communications with organisations
such as the Halifax Community Chest, Eastern Trust and the Municipality of the County of Halifax as well as letters written
to and from patients, doctors and suppliers of medicines etc. In addition, this fonds also includes financial records and
administrative records such as annual reports and inventories.
Return to the Table of Contents ArrangementRecords are arranged chronologically within series, where possible, unless otherwise noted. Return to the Table of ContentsAccess RestrictionsPatient records and personal information in the following files are closed: 1.10, 2.5, 2.22, 2.23, 2.24, 3.1, 3.4, 3.10, 3.27,
3.28, 3.29, 4.12.
Return to the Table of ContentsPreferred Citation[Identification of item], Halifax Visiting Dispensary fonds, MS-13-84, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie
University Archives and Special Collections, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Return to the Table of ContentsCombined Series and File Level DescriptionsAnnual Reports Date:
1882-1964 Extent:
6 cm of textual records Scope and Content:
This series includes the annual reports of the Halifax Visiting Dispensary. The reports contain minutes of the annual meetings,
directors' and secretaries' reports, reports of the medical board, dental reports, data about prescriptions filled, year-end
financial statements and lists of the dispensary officers. The series also includes an agenda created for the 1964 annual
meeting, the directors and summarized reports for 1960 yearend, and the secretary's and summarized report for 1961 yearend.
File 1.2
Annual Reports
1882-1895
File 1.3
Annual Reports
1899-1916
File contains annual reports for the years 1899, 1903, 1907, 1911, and 1913-1916
File 1.4
Annual Reports
1918-1923
File 1.5
Annual Reports
1926-1933
File 1.6
Annual Reports
1934-1942
File 1.7
Annual Reports
1943-1949
File 1.8
Annual Reports
1951-1963
File contains annual reports for the years 1951-1954, 1957-1959, 1962, and 1963
File 1.9
Directors, summarized and secretary's report
1960-1961
File 1.1
Agenda
1964
Return to the Table of Contents Executive Meeting Minutes Date:
1920-1963, n.d. Extent:
1 folder of textual records Scope and Content:
This series contains the minutes of HVD executive meetings. File 4.11
Minutes
1920-1963, n.d.
Return to the Table of Contents Financial Records Date:
1919-1964 Extent:
11 cm of textual records Scope and Content:
This series includes documents pertaining to the Hamilton Fund, budgets, insurance records, Canadian government annuity forms
for employees, operating expenses, ledgers, and income tax returns.
File 3.23
Hamilton Fund
n.d.
File 3.24
Shares Purchased
1919
File 3.22
Extraordinary Expenditures
1919
File 3.21
Budgets
1927-1964
File 4.10
Insurance Records
1928-1930
File 1.10
Canadian Government Annuities
1947
File 4.1
Operating Expenses
1949(?)-1956
File 4.2
Ledgers
1948-1952
File 4.3
Ledgers
1961-1962
File 4.4
Ledgers
1963-1965
File 4.5
Ethel G. Muir Educational Trust
1947 - 1953
File 4.6
National Drug and Chemical Company
n.d.
File 4.7
Sir William Young-Charitable and Benevolent Fund
1937, 1962-1964
File 4.8
Financial records
1921-1940
File 4.9
Financial records
1941-1956
Return to the Table of Contents Correspondence Date:
1917-1966 Extent:
35 cm of textual records Scope and Content:
The series includes incoming and outgoing letters relating to various organisations, government agencies and institutions.
The correspondence in this sub-series is arranged alphabetically by name and is filed chronologically in the folders. The
second sub-series includes miscellaneous correspondence. The documents in these folders are arranged chronologically and all
undated letters are filed in a separate folder.
File 1.12
Board of School Commissioners
1918-1921
File 1.13
Canadian Cancer Society-Nova Scotia Division
1962-1965
File 1.14
Canadian Department of Health and Welfare
1941-1956
File 1.15
Canadian Department of Labour
1945, n.d.
File 1.16
Canadian Department of National Revenue
1932-1961
File 1.17
Canadian Government Railway
1917, n.d.
File 1.18
Canadian Welfare Council
1962
File 1.19
Col. S.R Balcom
1933-1959, n.d.
File 1.20
Dalhousie Public Health Clinic
1924- 1963, n.d.
File 1.21
Dalhousie Office of the President
1921-1931
File 1.22
Dalhousie Faculty of Dentistry
1925-1928
File 1.23
Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine
1931-1965
File 1.24
Dartmouth Office of Town Clerk and Treasurer and Board of School Commissioners
1918-1965, n.d.
File 1.25
Eastern Chartered Trust Company
1963-1966, n.d.
File 1.26
Eastern Trust
1933-1941
File 1.27
Eastern Trust
1942-1950
File 2.1
Eastern Trust
1951
File 2.2
Eastern Trust
1952
File 2.3
Eastern Trust
1953-1963
File 2.4
Eric Miller
1935-1960
File 2.5
Family Service Bureau of Halifax
1962-1965
File 2.6
Grace Maternity Hospital
1963
File 2.7
Halifax Community Chest
1926-1949
File 2.8
Halifax Community Chest
1950-1951
File 2.9
Halifax Community Chest
1952-1958
File 2.10
Halifax Council of Social Agencies
1934-1949
File 2.11
Halifax County Anti-tuberculosis League
1919-1955
File 2.12
Halifax-Dartmouth United Appeal
1958-1959
File 2.13
Halifax-Dartmouth United Appeal
1960-1965
File 2.14
Halifax Infants Home
1953-1954
File 2.15
Halifax Protestant Orphans Home
1949-1957
File 2.16
Halifax Relief Commission
1918-1938, n.d.
File 2.17
Imperial Order of Empire
1937-1958
File 2.18
Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company
1918
File 2.19
Massachusetts-Halifax Health Commission
1918-1921
File 2.20
Mayer John M. Lloyd
1961, n.d.
File 2.21
McInnes et.al. Barristers, Solicitors, and c.
1918-1943
File 2.22
Municipality of the County of Halifax
1950-1963
File 2.23
Municipality of the County of Halifax
1964
File 2.24
Municipality of the County of Halifax
1965, n.d.
File 2.25
National Drug and Chemical Company
1932
File 3.1
Nova Scotia Department of Health and Welfare
1961-1962
File 3.2
Nova Scotia Department of Public Health
1919-1964
File 3.3
Nova Scotia Department of Public Welfare
1950-1965
File 3.4
Nova Scotia Hospital
1961-1964
File 3.5
Nova Scotia Sanatorium
1918
File 3.6
Office of City Health Board-City of Halifax
1931-1934
File 3.7
Royal Trust Company
1964
File 3.8
S. M. Brookfield
1919
File 3.9
St. Joseph's Orphanage
1933
File 3.10
Victoria General Hospital
1918-1925
File 3.11
Victoria Order of Nurses
1918-1966
File 3.12
Wartime Price and Trade Board
1941-1947
File 3.13
Zonta International
1954-1958, n.d.
File 3.14
Miscellaneous correspondence
1917-1925
File 3.15
Miscellaneous correspondence
1926-1942
File 3.16
Miscellaneous correspondence
1943-1959
File 3.17
Miscellaneous correspondence
1960-1961
File 3.18
Miscellaneous correspondence
1962
File 3.19
Miscellaneous correspondence
1963-1966
File 3.20
Miscellaneous correspondence
n.d.
Return to the Table of Contents Certificates Date:
1919-1965 Extent:
1 folder of textual records Scope and Content:
This series includes registration certificates for liability insurance, rubbing alcohol and sugar use. File 1.11
Registration Certificates
1919-1965
Return to the Table of Contents Inventories Date:
n.d. Extent:
1 folder of textual records Scope and Content:
This series includes inventory lists of supplies, drugs, furniture and equipment owned and used by the HVD. File 3.25
Inventories
n.d.
Return to the Table of Contents Prescription and Surgical Supply Records Date:
1931, 1961-1964 Extent:
1 folder of textual records Scope and Content:
This series includes forms delineating the total numbers of prescriptions filled each month and year for the Dalhousie Public
Health Clinic. As well, the forms indicate the number of surgical supplies and prescriptions dispensed each month to patients
of the HVD and the number of calls performed by doctors.
File 3.26
HVD Reports
1931, 1961-1964
Return to the Table of Contents Patient Information Date:
1940s-1965 Extent:
3.5 cm of textual records Scope and Content:
This series contains records on patient and dispensary activities, prenatal cases, patient registers, and patient applications.
The application forms include the patients' names, addresses, household earnings and the reasons why they needed to use the
services of the dispensary.
File 3.29
Medical Diary
ca. 1940s
File 3.28
Prenatal Cases
1949-1952
File 3.27
Patient Registers
1949-1961
File 4.12
Patient Applications
1964-1965, n.d.
Return to the Table of Contents Publicity Date:
1936-1964, n.d. Extent:
2 cm of textual records Scope and Content:
This series includes information concerning the origins of the HVD, newspaper articles (including job advertisements and staff
pictures) and press releases.
File 4.13
History of the Halifax Visiting Dispensary
n.d.
File 3.30
Newspaper clippings
1956-1962, n.d.
File 3.31
Publicity
n.d.
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