Monthly Report Books, 1866-1947.

Scope and content:

Restricted: Report books containing patient names and information that are less than 125 years old. Please see reference staff if you wish to view a register that has a date range that encompasses both unrestricted and restricted content. Contains volumes that document monthly statistical information about patients at Western State Hospital. The earliest volumes are set up in grids that show when a patient did housework, outside work, sewing, laundry, went to chapel, and walked outside. These ledgers also note when seizures or "fits" took place, and the use of restraints. Transfers, furloughs, elopements, discharges and deaths are also included in these reports. Each day the activities of each patient are accounted for with letters or symbols that apply to each type of activity. Definitions of the letters and symbols are usually located at either the front or back of each ledger. In some of the ledgers, monthly accounts and descriptions of each female patient's catamenial (menstrual) period are recorded, usually at the back of the volume. The recordkeeping technique changes in the later monthly reports, where some registers were given the title of "roll." After approximately 1910, while each patient on the ward is still listed, the entries only note transfers, furloughs, discharges, elopements and deaths. The volumes no longer track other patient activities. Additionally, patient weight registers can be found at the back of several later volumes. Researchers should also cross-reference the weight ledgers in Series IV. Patient Records, Subseries G. Medical Records. The monthly report ledgers were maintained for individual wards, ward assignments are noted in the content list. At the end of the list for the male department are two "Records of Monthly Reports" that compile all of the statistical data found in the monthly reports. The number of admissions, deaths, discharges, and average number of patients in the hospital are tallied for each month. The records also specify the number of patients in each ward. The monthly report books are part of accessions 41404 and 41253.

Arrangement:

Arranged according to patient sex, and then chronologically within.

Access and use

Contents