Infirmary

An Infirmary was first opened in 1923 in Room 104, Metcalf Laboratory. In the early days of the University sick students were sometimes cared for at the homes of local residents, and in 1872 Charles S. Bradley 1838 had paid for a free bed for Brown University at Rhode Island Hospital. When the infirmary was opened, Dr. Alexander M. Burgess ’06, who was appointed medical director, opened an office for the medical care of students and the teaching of hygiene. In the fall of 1925 the infirmary moved to a small wooden house at 10 Manning Street between Marston Hall and the Psi Upsilon house, which housed the offices of Dr. Burgess and Dr. Wilfred Pickles ’18, and provided seven beds where ill students could be kept under observation by a trained nurse at all times. The infirmary was supported by a five dollar fee paid by students who did not live at home. In 1929 the Division of University Health, consisting of three physicians, a graduate nurse in charge of the infirmary and a graduate nurse in charge of the Pembroke infirmary, was organized under the Department of Biology. Two other physicians who were available were the athletic surgeon and a consultant in mental hygiene. In 1939 Andrews House replaced the Manning Street infirmary. The Rhode Island Society for the Collegiate Education of Women equipped an infirmary for the women students in 1922 in Metcalf Hall. In 1939-40 Sarah Doyle House, originally called Bowen House, on the Pembroke campus was opened as a student health center. Doyle House was removed from its location on Bowen Street during the winter of 1945-46 to make room for the construction of Andrews Hall. During the time involved moving the building to Cushing Street, the infirmary operated in East Building. When Champlin Hall was opened in 1960, the Pembroke Health Center was installed on its first floor. After the merger of Brown and Pembroke, medical care for students was concentrated in Andrews House.