This collection, 23 cubic ft. (in 22 boxes and 1 oversized folder), 1955-1989 and undated, was donated by East Central Michigan Health Systems Agency (ECMHSA) in the 1970s. Due to the size of the collection and the length of time that it was unprocessed, the materials are organized in one series by region and then chronologically within each box. For a more detailed listing see the Box and Folder Listing. Overall the collection is in good physical condition.
The collection documents the development of local health care, including hospitals and ambulatory services, for central and northern Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula, in 1960s-1970s. While the actual publications and data end at approximately 1988/1989, projection plans go until 2000.
The collection includes a plethora of Michigan health-related topics including: public health care; public safety; hospitals; vital statistics; the mentally or physically handicapped; the elderly; renal disease; obstetrics and infant births; hospital beds; emergency or acute care; ambulance services; venereal disease; immunizations; nurses; nurses aides; physicians; PBB; surgery; health care statistics of/for minority and different age groups; waste management; smoking; rehabilitation services; and public educational programs.
The information is in annual reports, procedural manuals, implementation plans, statistics, graphs, guidelines, grant applications, and plans for counties, cities, hospitals, and regional health care agencies. While most of the information relates to central or northern Michigan, the entire state and Detroit hospitals are also represented.
East Central Michigan Health Systems Agency (ECMHSA) existed from the 1960s through the late 1980s. ECMHSA was the agency that helped plan, organize, and develop community health care and hospitals in Central and Northern Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula. At this time, these small communities were developing hospitals and health programs for local residents.
The ECMHSA Library, located in Saginaw, Michigan, acted as a clearinghouse of state and federal reports, conference proceedings, and other information concerning health care, hospitals, health care professionals, diseases, and state statistics of minorities, hospitals, death rates, health care, etc. The Library also eventually became the repository of ECMSHA’s publications, reports, computer statistics, etc.
