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VCU Health Sciences Library
Special Collections and Archives 509 N 12th StMargaret T. Kidd
There are no restrictions.
Collection open for research.
This collection contains residual records of the Richmond Nursing Home discovered when Seven Hills Health Care Center closed in 2008. These papers offer only a partial record of the activites and history of Richmond Nursing Home. Many of the newspaper articles in this collection were assembled by Robert L. Gordon, an administrator at RNH.
Papers of Richmond Nursing Home, Accession # 2008/Sep/5, Special Collections and Archives, Health Sciences Library, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.
Gift of Seven Hills Health Care Center, 2008.
The Richmond Nursing Home has served the community in various capacities since the mid-nineteenth century. It began in 1859 as the almshouse, established to care for the city's indigent population. During the Civil War it operated as General Hospital Number 1, and was the temporary headquarters for the cadets of the Virginia Military Institute from December 1864 to April 1865. The property reverted to its former function at the conclusion of the war. In 1873, part of the building was converted into a city hospital that provided general surgery, medicine, and obstetrical services.
A reform-minded Richmond City Council changed the name of the institution to the City Home in 1905. The Home focused on caring for the elderly and neglected children. The city constructed an additional building in 1908 to house African American patients, replacing the previous facility located near Franklin Street. Also a tubercular pavilion for African Americans was built and used from 1915 to 1936. In 1916 the city acquired Pine Camp Tubercular Hospital and it operated as a branch of the City Home. It remained an all-white facility until 1936, when African American patients from the City Home moved to a new, separate infirmary erected on the grounds of Pine Camp.
The City Home received a nursing home license in 1953 and began the transition to an elder care facility. By 1956 the City Home ended its services for children, shifting the responsibility to the foster care program administered by the Department of Public Welfare. In 1957, the Richmond City Council voted to close Pine Camp Hospital and transfer the remaining patients to the City Home. During this time the Rehabilitation Therapy Division was established to help disabled patients gain a higher level of functionality through educational, occupational, and physical therapy. A 1959 ordinance changed the facility's name to the Richmond Nursing Home and completed the transition to a long-term care facility. The Richmond Nursing Home developed a volunteer program to support its rehabilitation and nursing services. Individuals, churches, civil groups, and college fraternities and sororities from all over central Virginia offered their time and talents.
The upkeep of the original Home became cost prohibitive by the late 1970s and Richmond Nursing Home moved from its historic location at 210 Hospital Street to a newer facility at 1900 Cool Lane in 1980. In 1993, the administration of the home was turned over to the Hospital Authority of Richmond and renamed Seven Hills Health Care Center. The Center continued to operate until December 2007, at which time it lost Medicaid and Medicare funding. By February 2008 the last patients had been relocated and the Center closed.
The papers of the Richmond Nursing Home (RNH) consist of items relating to the administration and history of the institution. Materials include correspondence, financial records, evaluations and reports, newspaper clippings, and photographs.
Series 1: Administrative Papers, 1896-1998. This series contains papers relating to the management of RNH and includes items such as correspondence with health care management and financial consultants Pat Rice & Associates, evaluations by the City of Richmond, information on the history of RNH, planning and staffing materials, patient handbooks and statistics, reports, a 1975 transcript from the Open Forum Discussion on WTVR, and other papers associated with the operation of the facility.
Series 2: Printed materials, 1943-1984. This series is composed of clippings and publications featuring the RNH or subjects of importance to the institution. These materials include newsletters such as Proscript , Public Health Messenger , and The Reb , newspaper clippings from the local Richmond papers reporting on topics like patient care and activities, volunteerism, and the public debate between city officials regarding the alleged mistreatment of patients at RNH during the late 1960s. Also found is this series are publications including Aging in Virginia and Confederate Military Hospitals in Richmond .
Series 3: Photographs, undated, 1950-1991. Contained in this series are photographs of the interiors and exteriors of the RNH facilities located at 210 Hospital Street and 1900 Cool Lane, and photographs of staff, residents, and volunteers. Of particular interest are the photographs from the early 1950s depicting the extensive wear on the original facility and the renovations to correct some of these issues, photos depicting rehabilitation activities, and undated photos of the Negro Tubercular Pavilion. Also in this series are three photos that are possibly of the City Farm located in the same area as Pine Camp, but have not been conclusively identified as such. These photographs are located in the file labeled "Misc., Unidentified"
This collection is divided into three series: Series 1, Administrative Papers, 1896-1998; Series 2, Printed Materials, 1943-1984; and Series 3, Photographs, undated, 1950-1991. Efforts have been made to maintain the original organization when possible. Files are arranged alphabetically within each series and the materials within the files are arranged chronologically where applicable.
Additional records for the Richmond Nursing Home can be found at the Library of Virginia and the Richmond Public Library, which is the official repository for the City's public records.