Greenlees Janet
Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Rd, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK.
Med Hist. 2013 Jan;57(1):45-64. doi: 10.1017/mdh.2012.80.
The first industrial hospital in America opened in 1840 in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Lowell Corporation Hospital was sponsored by the town's textile employers for ninety years. This article analyses the contextual complications surrounding the employers' sustained funding of the hospital. Motivations for sustained sponsorship included paternalism, clinical excellence, business custom, the labour situation in Lowell, civic duty and the political advantages of paternalism. By analysing the changing local context of the hospital, this article argues that a broader, more integrated approach to healthcare histories and institution histories is needed if we are to fully understand the myriad of healthcare providers and their local and national importance.
美国第一家工业医院于1840年在马萨诸塞州的洛厄尔开业。洛厄尔公司医院由该镇的纺织雇主赞助了90年。本文分析了雇主持续为医院提供资金所涉及的背景复杂性。持续赞助的动机包括家长式作风、卓越的临床水平、商业惯例、洛厄尔的劳动力状况、公民义务以及家长式作风的政治优势。通过分析医院不断变化的当地背景，本文认为，如果我们要全面了解众多医疗服务提供者及其在当地和国家层面的重要性，就需要采用更广泛、更综合的方法来研究医疗史和机构史。
