Jewish Consumptives Relief Society

The following information was taken from the website for the Penrose Library located at the University of Denver.

The website includes information on the following patients of this sanatorium who were born in Rohatyn:

(Source: http://library.du.edu/site/about/specialCollections/collections/jcrs.php)

Samuel Sellinger

Bessie Tisch

Max Rosenstein

Louis Springer

Abstract: The Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society was known as the JCRS and was founded in Denver, Colorado in 1904 as a non-sectarian sanatorium to treat tuberculosis (TB) patients, free of charge, in all stages of the disease. The society was one of the leading tuberculosis sanatoria in the country at the turn of the century founded by a group of immigrant Eastern European Jewish men, many of whom were themselves victims of TB. Headed by Dr. Charles Spivak as Secretary (1904-1927) and by Dr. Philip Hillkowitz as President (1904-1948), the sanatorium treated primarily Jewish patients (notably, Solomon Bloomgarden who served as publicity chairman). In 1954 institution changed its mission to cancer research and became American Medical Center; in 1970s renamed AMC Cancer Research Center and Hospital. Today known as AMC Cancer Research Center. Records highlight immigration history, medical history (particularly tuberculosis treatment), social and women's history, as well as the growth and development of Colorado's Jewish community. The collection includes correspondence, patient records, legal & financial records, scrapbooks, visitor registers, periodicals, minutes, committee reports, newspaper clippings, sound discs, and photographs.

Creator: Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (U.S.) 

+/- Biographical/Organizational History: The Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS) was founded in Denver, Colorado in 1904 as a non-sectarian sanatorium to treat tuberculosis patients. At the turn of the century, tuberculosis, or the ''white plague'' as it was commonly known, was the leading cause of death in the United States. Colorado had already acquired its reputation as the ''world's sanatorium,'' and as a result Denver faced a serious social problem when hundreds of severely ill people converged on the young city. The Jewish community erected the first hospital in Denver for tuberculosis victims, the National Jewish Hospital.

Arrangement and Organization: The records are arranged in 16 series:

+/- 1. Patient Records, 1904-1989.

+/- 2. Golden Book of Life, 1903-1964.

+/- 3. Bequests, 1908-1958.

+/- 4. Photographs, 1900-1979.

+/- 5. Publications, 1904-1976.

+/- 6. General Papers, 1905-1973.

+/- 7. Auxiliary Papers, 1909-1968.

+/- 8. Scrapbooks and Newspaper Clippings, 1904-1970.

+/- 9. Dr. Spivak, 1897-1928.

+/- 10. Administrative Records, 1904-1967.

+/- 11. Minutes, 1906-1960.

+/- 12. Bound Material, 1944-1963.

+/- 13. Ephemera, 1904-1976.

+/- 14. Ex-Patients Tubercular Home Records, 1917-1965.

+/- 15. Financial Records, 1905-1967.

+/- 16. Religious and Material Culture Objects, 1904-1960.

Separated Materials: None

Inclusive Dates: 1897-1989 

Scope and Content: The records highlight immigration history, medical history (particulalry tuberculosis treatment), social and women's history, as well as the growth and development of Colorado's Jewish community. The collection includes correspondence, patient records, legal & financial records, scrapbooks, visitor registers, periodicals, meeting minutes, committee reports, newspaper clippings, sound discs, and photographs. 

Collection Number: B002

Size: 417 - linear feet, 365 containers

(Source: http://library.du.edu/site/about/specialCollections/collections/b002.php)

Other collections at the Penrose Library related to the Jewish history of Denver can be found at http://libguides.du.edu/content.php?pid=94804&sid=768618 and at http://library.du.edu/site/about/specialCollections/collections/rockyMountainJewishHistory.php