Health Association of Rochester and Monroe County Records

The Health Association of Rochester and Monroe County has its roots in the Public Health Association, organized in the mid-1890s. The group was funded by Captain Henry T. Lomb (of Bausch & Lomb) until his death in 1908. In 1917 a group of concerned Rochesterians formed the Rochester Tuberculosis Committee to improve sanitation and fight the growing menace tuberculosis represented to the community. The organization morphed into the Tuberculosis and Health Association of Rochester and Monroe County four years later, keeping the name until 1950 when the specter of tuberculosis retreated and the group began focusing on social hygiene, heart disease, and nutrition. Working alongside medical professionals, citizen volunteers have held leadership positions in the Association throughout its history. In its early years, the Health Association emphasized public education, distributing 200,000 pieces of literature a year in its early stages and sponsoring “Health Talks,” a series of weekly radio broadcasts covering a wide variety of health topics. As increasing numbers of diseases became preventable by vaccination, the Association’s focus shifted to health maintenance and eventually to late twentieth-century issues including addictions, mental health, and environmental concerns. The organization evolved into the Tuberculosis and Health Association of Rochester and Monroe County, and ceased operations in 2004, when it merged with DePaul, as the Health Association of Rochester and Monroe County.