New York State Department of Health Subject and Correspondence Files of Dr. H. Jackson Davis

Unarranged.

Dr. H. Jackson Davis was employed by the State of New York from circa 1930-1945, working first for the Department of Health (series A3273) and then for the Department of Social Welfare (series A3274). His public service career spanned the years of the New Deal, during which time he coordinated State efforts with those of the federal government and local governments to provide public relief assistance to needy New Yorkers. During his tenure with the Department of Health, Davis held the titles of Assistant Director, Local Health Administration; Director of Medical Care for the (New York State) Temporary Emergency Relief Administration, or TERA; and (Federal) Works Progress Administration, or WPA, Consultant on Medical Care. In these roles, Davis led the State of New York's comprehensive medical relief program that provided medical, nursing, and dental care to families on public relief.

This program, run under the supervision of the Department of Health, was actually a coordinated effort between the department, the TERA, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and later the WPA, to provide both "home relief" and "work relief" to New Yorkers, pursuant to the New York State Emergency Relief Act of 1931, which created the TERA (Chapter 798), and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration Acts of 1935 and 1936. Interestingly enough, the State's release of "Regulations Governing Medical Care in the Home to Recipients of Home Relief" in December 1931, which established a uniform plan of state aid to localities, strongly influenced policymaking at the federal level in FERA "Rules and Regulations No. 7," which H. Jackson Davis drafted in July 1933 at the request of Harry Hopkins and the Roosevelt Administration.

For the purposes of the medical relief program, "home relief" entailed such activities as bedside care, infant and child health care, and communicable disease prevention and treatment, while "work relief" focused on employing needy physicians, dentists, nurses, and other public health specialists to provide medical care to New Yorkers. One of the most successful efforts - characterized as "double relief" in a State Health Department report (1936) - was the Statewide Community Nursing Project, which was designed to emphasize bedside care. This project was administered by the Department of Health under the auspices of the TERA, the Federal Civil Works Administration (CWA), and the WPA. From February 1933 to December 1936, nurses employed by the program made more than 2,300,000 home visits in upstate New York communities.

By June 1937, the State Department of Social Welfare had assumed the function of continuing necessary state aid for persons on relief.

This series documents the work of Dr. H. Jackson Davis during his tenure with the New York State Department of Health, where he administered the State's medical program for persons receiving public relief assistance. Record types found in the series include: correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, research notes, statistics, publications, bulletins, news releases, and graphic material such as charts, tables, and diagrams. Created during the New Deal, the records reflect the Department of Health's concerted effort - with the State Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA), Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), and Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA), which in 1935 replaced the FERA - to provide medical care to unemployed New Yorkers and their families; to secure jobs for medical professionals; and to raise awareness about a set of public health issues, including: milk and dairy inspection; child and adult nutrition; sewage and sanitation; care of the transient and homeless; dental hygiene; immunizations; and communicable disease control. In addition, the records are strong in documenting health care in the home environment, reimbursement of health care professionals, and health care administration at the local level in New York State.

Series A3263 Manual of Procedure for Local Relief Administrations contains additional records relating to public relief during this period.

Series A3274 Files Relating to Public Health contains additional records relating to public relief during this period.

Series A3275 Working and Report Files Relating to Temporary Legislative Commission to Formulate a Long Range State Health Program contains additional records on public health care during this period.

New York State Department of Health, "Medical and Nursing Care for the Needy Unemployed through Liaison with Public Relief Agencies (TERA and WPA)," 1936, held by the New York State Library.

SC23196, Harold Jackson Davis Papers, contains related records held by the New York State Library Manuscripts and Special Collections Unit.

This series was transferred to the New York State Archives by H. Jackson Davis, Jr., in 1985.

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