Rusk, Howard A. (1901-1989), Papers, 1937-1991, (C3981)
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C Rusk, Howard A. (1901-1989), Papers, 1937-1991 3981 24 linear feet, 13 audio tapes, 23 audio cassettes, 1 video tape, 7 video cassettes This collection is available at The State Historical Society of Missouri. If you would like more information, please contact us at [email protected]. INTRODUCTION The papers of Dr. Howard A. Rusk, considered to be the father of rehabilitation medicine, contain Rusk’s correspondence and writings, publicity clippings, photographs, speeches, awards, and other materials concerning his groundbreaking work with the injured and disabled. DONOR INFORMATION The Howard A. Rusk Papers were donated to the University of Missouri on 27 May 1997 by his son, Howard A. Rusk, Jr. (Accession No. 5718). BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Howard A. Rusk was born in Brookfield, Missouri, on 9 April 1901. He received his A.B. from the University of Missouri in 1923 and earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1925. He returned to Missouri to intern at St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis and then began his private practice in internal medicine in 1926. That same year he married Gladys Houx of Marshall, Missouri. Rusk left private practice in 1942 to join the Army Air Corps. While working as Chief of Medical Services at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, he noticed that patients were terribly bored and that there was a high rate of recidivism because the men were not physically fit enough to rejoin their units after being released from the hospital. He designed simple activities to chal- lenge them both physically and mentally during their convalescence and soon the re-admittance rate dropped dramatically. His efforts caught the attention of generals David N.W. Grant and Henry (Hap) Arnold and he was summoned to Washington, D.C., to set up a similar program for the entire Army Air Corps. It is estimated Rusk’s Convalescent Training Program saved over five million man-hours during the war and gave countless disabled veterans hope and a sense of purpose after the war. He earned the Distinguished Service Medal for his work and eventually retired as a Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Buoyed by his success in the Army, Rusk convinced the medical school at New York University to free up some wards in Bellevue and Goldwater Hospitals in which to rehabilitate civilians. At first his efforts were met with skepticism and ridicule by his fellow doctors but he gained the support of several prominent individuals including Bernard M. Baruch, Louis J. Hor- owitz, and Bernard and Alva Gimbel, and he was able to raise funds and gain publicity for his work. At the same time Arthur Hays Sulzberger, owner of The New York Times, hired Rusk to write a weekly column on health issues for the paper. Rusk continued to write for the Times un- til 1971. In a few short years, after tirelessly promoting rehabilitation for civilians, his successes mounted and, with the help of his benefactors, Rusk founded the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, New York University Medical Center, which opened in 1950. The Institute was later renamed the Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine and then, in 1984, NYU honored Rusk by renaming the hospital the Howard A. Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. 3981 Rusk, Howard A., Papers, 1937-1991 page 2 In addition to his work at the IRM, Rusk was active in many organizations including the Health for Peace movement in the 1950s, which supported U.S. participation in international re- habilitation and health care. He served as chairman of the Office of Defense Mobilization’s Health Resource Advisory Committee and the National Advisory Committee on the Selective Service System from 1950 through 1957. He was elected President of the American-Korean Foundation in 1954 and later served as its chairman. Through the AKF Rusk and his wife trav- eled to Korea on medical missions several times between 1953 and 1967. Rusk also served as president and council member of the International Society for Rehabilitation of the Disabled (formerly known as the International Society for the Welfare of Cripples). He also acted as a consultant to the United Nations and World Health Organization and was appointed to chair the National Council on the Handicapped from 1979 through 1982. In 1955 Rusk founded the World Rehabilitation Fund to provide technical assistance pro- grams for rehabilitation in underdeveloped countries. In addition to funding prosthetics work- shops around the world, the WRF provided grants for foreign doctors to study rehabilitation in the United States. Rusk served as the Fund’s president until 1982 when he was appointed chair- man of the board. Rusk received countless awards for his work in rehabilitation including three Albert Las- ker Awards, the Pacem in Terris Award, the French Legion of Honor, and gold medals from the International Ben Franklin Society and National Institute for Social Sciences. He wrote numerous articles on rehabilitation for magazines, journals, and encyclopedias. He also was involved in writing many books including New Hope for the Handicapped in 1949 which he co-wrote with his colleague, Eugene (Jack) Taylor, and Living with a Disability in 1953. He also served as senior author of Rehabilitation Medicine in 1958 and, in 1972, wrote his autobiography, A World to Care For. Rusk and his wife had three children. Gladys Rusk died on 14 October 1980 and Howard Rusk died on 4 November 1989. SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE The Howard A. Rusk Papers consist of correspondence, photographs, publicity clippings, writings, and audio/visual materials documenting Rusk’s work in rehabilitation medicine. The papers are arranged into 13 series: Correspondence Photographs World War II Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine Organizations Appointment Books Writings Publicity Speeches Travel Awards Subject Files Audio/Visual Materials. 3981 Rusk, Howard A., Papers, 1937-1991 page 3 FOLDER LIST Correspondence Series The Correspondence series is arranged alphabetically by the sender’s name. In cases where the sender represented an organization such as the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, the correspondence is filed under that name instead of the writer of the letter. The cor- respondence spans the 1930s to the 1990s. This series includes correspondence from presidents, bureaucrats, fellow doctors, sup- porters, and those seeking advice from Rusk. The letters cover topics ranging from public health, international cooperation in health care, the Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, new ide- as for self-help devices for the disabled, and legislation for the disabled. The correspondence documents the rise of rehabilitation as the “third phase of medicine,” as Rusk liked to put it, and the efforts of Rusk and others to change attitudes and public policy regarding people with disa- bilities. f. 1 Abshire-American f. 2 Anderson-Ayer f. 3 Baer-Billy f. 4 Bingham-Brademas f. 5 Brademas f. 6 Brademas-Brookdale f. 7 Brookdale-Bunker f. 8 Cannon-Cleland f. 9 Clemens-Cooke f. 10 Cousins-Covalt f. 11 Covalt-Crawford f. 12 Crowne-Cuomo f. 13 Dart-Dennis f. 14 Department-Douglas f. 15 Dulles-Dystel f. 16-18 Dystel f. 19 Eagleton-Eisenhower f. 20-23 Eisenhower f. 24 Eisenhower-Eliot f. 25 Elliott-Evans f. 26 Faras-Flemming f. 27 Ford-Funk f. 28 Galloway f. 29 Gamble-Geist f. 30-31 Geist f. 32 Geist-Getz f. 33 Getz f. 34 Gimble-Goodgold 3981 Rusk, Howard A., Papers, 1937-1991 page 4 Correspondence Series (con’d) f. 35 Goodman-Guttmann f. 36 Hargadine-Hayes f. 37 Hee-Heyman f. 38 Heyman-Hill f. 39 Hill-Hoffman f. 40 Hoffman f. 41 Hofkosh-Horowitz f. 42-44 Horowitz f. 45 Horowitz-Hunt f. 46 Infantile-International f. 47 International f. 48 Izak-Johnson f. 49 Johnson f. 50 Johnson-Jurden f. 51 Kalkandis-Kennedy f. 52-55 Kennedy f. 56 Kennedy-Kimmelman f. 57 King-Kirkpatrick f. 58 Kirkpatrick-Korrigina f. 59 Kreacic-Kuter f. 60 Laird-Lasker f. 61-62 Lasker f. 63 Lasker-Lee f. 64 Lee f. 65 Lee-Lemnitzer f. 66 Lerner-Lin f. 67 Lindbergh-Lura f. 68 Maas-Madrigal f. 69 Madrigal-Manuel f. 70 Manuel-Meiling f. 71 Menniger-Menken f. 72 Mondale-Murrow f. 73 National Association-National Council f. 74-75 National Council f. 76 National Council-National Organization f. 77 National Organization-Near f. 78 Nuebauer-Nixon f. 79 Nixon-Noyes f. 80 Noyes-Nygaard f. 81 Office f. 82 Olsson-Orr f. 83 Packer-Peters 3981 Rusk, Howard A., Papers, 1937-1991 page 5 Correspondence Series (con’d) f. 84 Petrie-Pompidou f. 85 Pompidou-Prentice-Hall f. 86 Queen-Quinn f. 87 Reader’-Riek f. 88 Reis-Ribicoff f. 89 Ribocoff-Richardson f. 90 Richardson-Robinault f. 91 Robins-Roosevelt f. 92 Roosevelt-Rubin f. 93 Rubin-Rusk f. 94-96 Rusk f. 97 Rusk-Ruttonjee f. 98 Sabin-Sarno f. 99 Sarnoff-Seagrave f. 100 Sell-Simchon f. 101 Singer-Smith f. 102 Spatz-Spellman f. 103 Spellman f. 104 Spencer-Stratis f. 105 Stratis-Suzuki f. 106-114 Switzer f. 115 Switzer-Symington f. 116 Tabsang-Taylor f. 117-119 Taylor f. 120 Teichman-Thomas f. 121-122 Thomas f. 123 Thompson-Truman f. 124-125 Truman f. 126 Truman-Tunney f. 127 Upshaw-Usdane f. 128 Van Riper-VerVoort f. 129 VerVoort-Veterans f. 130 Viscardi f. 131 Viscardi-Von Windegger f. 132-135 Wallace f. 136 Wallace-Walsh f. 137 Warms-Westminster f. 138 Westminster f. 139 Westmoreland-White f. 140 Wien-Windle f. 141 Wood-Wyatt f. 142 Yarborough-Zotovic 3981 Rusk, Howard A., Papers, 1937-1991 page 6 Correspondence Series (con’d) f. 143 Zotovic-Zuger f. 144 Unidentified Photographs Series The Photographs series consists of photographs of Rusk and his colleagues as well as photo essays on individuals and programs at the Institute.