Registration is free, but space is limited for the Medical History Symposium. Contact Betty Furimsky at the National Archives-Great Lakes Region at chicago.archives@nara.gov or (773) 948-9015 to register.

Chicago is home of two of the nation’s most prominent medical and surgical associations – the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons. Numerous healthcare and clinical specialty associations are headquartered here as well. Medical education in this country was revolutionized at what later became Northwestern University Medical School by Nathan Smith Davis, M.D. Academic medical centers such as Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center, the University of Illinois Medical Center and the University of Chicago Hospital have distinguished histories in patient care, research and education.

At its public research center on Chicago's Southwest Side, the National Archives-Great Lakes Region preserves more than 78,000 cubic feet of unique, historically valuable documents from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Historical records created by U.S. Government agencies and federal courts in the course of business over two centuries have enduring value for their importance in documenting American history. Each year, the National Archives-Great Lakes Region welcomes thousands of students, local history enthusiasts, genealogists, and professional historians to its public research center.

Medical history is documented in unpublished historical records preserved in the National Archives-Great Lakes Region. Federal government records open for public research include 1870’s era hospital ledgers for Civil War veterans at the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Milwaukee; 1890’s patient files of sailors who sought treatment at the U.S. Public Health Service’s marine hospital in Cleveland; early 20th century records concerning the health effects of radioactive radium ingested by clock face painters at factories throughout the U.S.; and the practice of human – and veterinary – medicine by the U.S. Army at Fort Sheridan and the U.S. Navy at Great Lakes Naval Training Station.

Bring a friend and attend the Chicago Area Medical Archivists’ Medical History Symposium at the National Archives-Great Lakes Region – a national treasure located here in Chicago. The National Archives is located at 7358 South Pulaski Road, Chicago, IL 60629, approximately 2 ˝ miles southeast of Midway Airport. The entrance is located one block west on 75th Street, just north of Richard J. Daley City College, and parking is free. For more information, contact: Sue Sacharski, Archivist of Northwestern Memorial Hospital Archives, (312) 926-3090 or archives@nmh.org or Douglas Bicknese, National Archives Director, (773) 948-9009 or via email to douglas.bicknese@nara.gov. Information will also available at www.archives.gov/great-lakes/chicago.