New York State Department of Health Division of Laboratories and Research Central Administrative Files for Laboratory and…

This series is organized into subsets, each representing a five-year filing period; the division restarted the filing system every five years. It is then organized alphabetically by subject (Administrative; Diagnosis and Research; Laboratory Services; Laboratory Products; Maintenance and Operation; and Sanitation).

Chapter 645 of the Laws of 1901 approved necessary expenditures for the manufacture and standardization of tetanus, streptococcus, and diphtheria anti-toxin and for further investigation of serum therapy in tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and kindred diseases. The laboratory established by this expenditure was named the Antitoxin Laboratory; in 1906 it was renamed the State Hygienic Laboratory. In 1913, Governor William Sulzer convened the Special Public Health Commission, the report of which recommended that the State Health Department be provided with a new laboratory, with sufficient land and adequate facilities for routine examinations, analyses, and original research. This recommendation was codified in Chapter 559 of the Laws of 1913, Section 3-a of which created several divisions in the Department of Health and renamed the State Hygienic Laboratory as the Division of Laboratories and Research. Chapter 657 of the Laws of 1913 provided for the acquisition of a farm site for the laboratories of the State Department of Health. Chapter 597 of the Laws of 1984 renamed the Division the Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research.

This series consists of the administrative files of the Division of Laboratories and Research and contains information concerning the policies of the division; the role the division played in developing methods and products to deal with diseases such as influenza, pneumonia, and scarlet fever; and the division's relationship to the numerous laboratories which it was required to oversee. The records are arranged into subjects based on the functions of the division and consist of administrative files; diagnosis and research files; laboratory products files; laboratory service and approval files; maintenance and operation files; and sanitation files.

The bulk of the administrative files consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence which document policies and accomplishments the division instituted and achieved under its first director, Augustus P. Wadsworth. Wadsworth was the head of the division from 1914 through 1945 and was involved with developing and implementing many of the policies, standards, and procedures employed to control and eliminate infectious disease in the state. There is also material on related state agencies that predate the division including the State Board of Health and the Antitoxin Laboratory.

Diagnosis and research files mainly deal with the identification, isolation, and analysis of specific viruses as well as the testing, analysis, and development of vaccines. This material documents the division's efforts to control such communicable diseases as influenza, scarlet fever, pneumonia, and syphilis.

Laboratory products files pertain to the production, standardization, and distribution of biological and chemical products. These files document such activities as the routine production of vaccines; special studies and investigations relating to problems of immunization and standardization; development of new products; and improvement in procedures involved in the development, testing, and distribution of vaccines.

Laboratory service and approval files mainly deal with the licensing, monitoring, and subsidizing of laboratories throughout the state. These laboratories include private facilities found in businesses such as dairies, hospitals, and water treatment facilities, as well as laboratories operated in state and local governments. These files also document the division's study and improvement of methods to raise the standards of laboratory service and testing procedures to more effectively combat infectious diseases.

Maintenance and operation files document the specific types of supplies and equipment that were required by laboratories to conduct tests on various viruses and to produce vaccines. The files document the types of supplies and equipment utilized by both state and local laboratories.

Sanitation files pertain to the work of the Sanitary Laboratories, which were responsible for the examination and inspection of water, dairy and food products, detergents and disinfectants, environmental sanitation, sewage, radiation hazards, and other related public health concerns.

Record types in this series include incoming and outgoing correspondence; memorandums; reports; legislative proposals; papers presented at conferences and seminars; laboratory test results; applications for state aid; fiscal and budget reports of laboratories; minutes; regulations; legal opinions; test procedures and certificates of approval issued to laboratories; blueprints; specifications; and sanitation surveys.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of this material.