title: 'For the convenience and comfort of the persons employed by them': the Lowell Corporation Hospital, 1840-1930.
abstract: The first industrial hospital in America opened in 1840 in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Lowell Corporation Hospital was sponsored by the town's textile employers for ninety years. This article analyses the contextual complications surrounding the employers' sustained funding of the hospital. Motivations for sustained sponsorship included paternalism, clinical excellence, business custom, the labour situation in Lowell, civic duty and the political advantages of paternalism. By analysing the changing local context of the hospital, this article argues that a broader, more integrated approach to healthcare histories and institution histories is needed if we are to fully understand the myriad of healthcare providers and their local and national importance.
authors: Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Rd, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK. Janet.Greenlees@gcu.ac.uk
authors: Janet
authors: J
authors: Greenlees
mesh_terms: D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006761:Hospitals / Q000266:history*; D008404:Massachusetts; D009786:Occupational Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history*; D013783:Textile Industry / Q000266:history* / Q000458:organization & administration
keywords: Corporate Healthcare; Gilman Kimball; Industrial Hospital; Lowell Corporation Hospital; Paternalism
references: Trans Stud Coll Physicians Phila. 1964 Jul;32:20-35
references: 14158817
references: Urban History. 2005 Aug;32(2):223-246
references: 21552481
references: Bull Hist Med. 1979 Fall;53(3):346-91
references: 394778