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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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204 results for: Medicine and Health Care

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Image of Inventor Dr. Les Babb with first kidney dialysis machine, February 21, 1994
Photograph

Inventor Dr. Les Babb with first kidney dialysis machine, February 21, 1994

Dr. Albert Leslie (Les) Babb (1925-2014) was an engineer and professor of chemical and nuclear engineering at the University of Washington from 1952 to 1992. In the 1960s and 1970s, Babb let a team with Dr. Belding Scribner of the UW schoom of medicine to create several machines that improved the field of hemodialysis and the treatment of renal failure.…
ID Number:MP940201
Date:1994
Image of Inventor Dr. Les Babb with first kidney dialysis machine, Seattle, February 21, 1994
Photograph

Inventor Dr. Les Babb with first kidney dialysis machine, Seattle, February 21, 1994

Dr. Albert Leslie (Les) Babb (1925-2014) was an engineer and professor of chemical and nuclear engineering at the University of Washington from 1952 to 1992. In the 1960s and 1970s, Babb let a team with Dr. Belding Scribner of the UW SchooL of Medicine to create several machines that improved the field of hemodialysis and the treatment of renal failure.…
ID Number:MP940201.8
Date:1994
Image of Swedish Hospital Training School for Nurses commencement program, Seattle, May 18, 1921
Program

Swedish Hospital Training School for Nurses commencement program, Seattle, May 18, 1921

The Swedish Hospital Training School for Nurses was founded in 1910 at the hospital's first location on Belmont Avenue in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Applicants to the nursing school had to be female, aged 18-35, and high school graduates. Students had to outfit themselves with four gingham dresses, 12 aprons, six collars, and two pairs of "high black leather shoes…
ID Number:MS.COLL.1046
Date:1921
Image of City of Seattle Health Office, Yesler Way, circa 1900
Photograph

City of Seattle Health Office, Yesler Way, circa 1900

The Seattle City Council created the position of City Health Officer in 1877. The Health Officer had the responsibility to abate nuisances affecting the public health and to prevent the spread of contagious disease, especially smallpox. Between 1877 and 1890, ten different local doctors served in the role. An amended City Charter in 1908 replaced the Board of Health with…
ID Number:SHS218
Date:Circa 1900
Image of King County Hospital, Georgetown, circa 1900
Photograph

King County Hospital, Georgetown, circa 1900

The Seattle City Council created the position of City Health Officer in 1877. The Health Officer had the responsibility to abate nuisances affecting the public health and to prevent the spread of contagious disease, especially smallpox. Between 1877 and 1890, ten different local doctors served in the role. An amended City Charter in 1908 replaced the Board of Health with…
ID Number:SHS222
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Laying the cornerstone of the Children's Orthopedic Hospital, Seattle, March 15, 1911
Photograph

Laying the cornerstone of the Children's Orthopedic Hospital, Seattle, March 15, 1911

In this image Anna Herr Clise, founder of the Children's Orthopedic Hospital Association, holds a trowel over the cornerstone of Children's Orthopedic Hospital's new 40-bed facility at Warren Avenue and Crockett Street on Queen Anne Hill. The man closest to the building is Rev. Dr. Samuel Koch, with Rev. H. H. Gowen to his right, and at the far right,…
ID Number:SHS1226
Date:1911
Image of Wako, Indigenous healer, circa 1894
Photograph

Wako, Indigenous healer, circa 1894

The photographer's caption indicates that this woman, named Wako, was a doctor or healer. Caption on image: "Wako, the Indian doctress"Caption on image: "Photo by Frank LaRoche No. 104"
ID Number:SHS3767
Date:Circa 1894
Image of Dr. David S. Maynard, Seattle, circa 1868
Photograph

Dr. David S. Maynard, Seattle, circa 1868

Dr. David S. "Doc" Maynard arrived in Seattle in 1852. His original plans to salt salmon for the San Francisco market failed, but he set up Seattle's first store, selling medicine and general merchandise in his salting works on First Avenue and Main Street. It was Doc Maynard who proposed naming the new city Seattle after Chief Si'ahl (Chief Seattle)…
ID Number:SHS5595
Date:Circa 1868
Image of Water tank at Firlands Sanatorium, circa 1935
Photograph

Water tank at Firlands Sanatorium, circa 1935

By 1930, the Seattle Water Department had built water mains as far north as the 85th Street city limits. Firlands Sanatorium was located far outside the city limits. While it had enough well water for most uses, it lacked a good supply for fighting fires. The water department was reluctant to run mains that far north because planners were unsure…
ID Number:SHS7174
Date:Circa 1935
Image of Harborview Hospital and Harborview Hall, Seattle, circa 1932
Photograph

Harborview Hospital and Harborview Hall, Seattle, circa 1932

Harborview Hospital's large, Art Deco building has dominated Seattle's skyline since it opened in 1931 on Seattle's First Hill. Harborview was modeled after large teaching hospitals in the east and was intended to be both a public city hospital and a statewide health center. It has also served as a primary center for medical and nursing education.This photo shows Harborview…
ID Number:SHS7359
Date:Circa 1932
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MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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