Fairfield Hills Hospital records
Scope and Content
Series 1. Patients, 1933-1995, includes admission and discharge registers for Fairfield Hills Hospital, as well as for the Berkshire Woods Treatment Center, 1987-1995, which treated substance abuse. The Connecticut State Library does not hold any patient files from Fairfield Hills Hospital. Series 2. Personnel, 1934-1943, contains personnel records of separating employees. Series 3. Medical Staff Records, 1937-1974 includes a record of births, 1951-1975; deportation requests, 1954-1956; autopsies, 1937-1953, and medical examiner cases, 1937-1974.
Dates
- 1933-1995
Language of Materials
The records are in English.
Restrictions on Access
New Exemption: Public Act 11-242, section 37 amends subsection (b) (10) of Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 1-210 and adds to the exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act any records created as a result of a doctor-patient or a therapist-patient relationship. This closure applies to all records listed below as Restricted.
Patients: Files continue to be made available to patients themselves upon reliable proof of identification which may be a current copy of a Connecticut driver's license with a photograph or current credit card with the patient's name on it.
Families: Section 52-146c of the Connecticut General Statutes allows "next of kin" the right to view records of a deceased patient who was also a relative.
Relatives of deceased patients should contact Assistant State Archivist Allen Ramsey by email at allen.ramsey@ct.gov or send a letter with the following information:
- Full name of the patient.
- Approximate years patient was treated at the hospital.
- Name, e-mail, and telephone of the requestor.
The State Archives will search for the folder and will report the results of the search to the requestor. If a file is found and the requestor wants to view or receive copies of the file, the following information must first be presented to the State Archivist:
- Proof of identity through a copy of a current Connecticut driver's license with a photograph or a copy of a current credit card with the requestor's name on it.
- Proof that the patient is deceased through a copy of a death certificate or obituary.
- Proof that the requestor is a "next of kin" to the deceased patient through a copy of a birth certificate, obituary with the name of the requestor mentioned as a survivor, or a signed and dated notarized statement of relationship to the patient.
Other Parties: According to the new exemption, medical records are closed to other parties.
Record Series Listed Below: Records listed below labeled as non-restricted or unrestricted are open to all researchers who have read the rules of use and signed the registration forms. Since these records are stored off site, they may not be available on the same day.
See the Rules and Procedures for Researchers Using Archival Records and Secured Collections policy.
Restrictions on Use
See the Reproduction and Publications of State Library Collections policy.
Historical Note
Fairfield State Hospital in Newtown, Conn. admitted its first patients on June 1, 1933. The hospital was administratively transferred to the new Dept. of Mental Health on Oct. 1, 1953. In 1963 the name was changed to Fairfield Hills Hospital. The hospital closed on December 8, 1995 and patients were transferred to Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown.
See also the Fairfield Hills Hospital Agency History.
Extent
23.5 cubic feet
Abstract
Fairfield Hills Hospital operated from 1933 to 1995. Includes admission and discharge registers, personnel records, and medical staff records.
Arrangement
Arranged into three series: Patients, 1933-1995; Personnel, 1934-1943; and Medical Staff Records, 1937-1974.
- Medical records Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Mental health facilities -- Connecticut Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Personnel records Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Photographs Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Psychiatric hospitals -- Connecticut Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- RG 021:007, Fairfield Hills Hospital
- Subtitle
- Inventory of Records
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Connecticut State Library staff.
- Date
- 2009
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Connecticut State Library Repository