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National Home for Jewish Children in Denver (1928-1952)

 Organization

Biography

The National Asthma Center (NAC) existed under a series of names. It was The National Asthma Center (NAC) (1973-1978) had a series of names: the Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children (1907-1927), National Home for Jewish Children in Denver (1928-1952), Jewish National Home for Asthmatic Children in Denver (JNHAC) (1953-1956), and the Children's Asthma Research Institute and Hospital (CARIH) (1957-1972). NAC was an independent institution from 1907 until 1978, when it merged with National Jewish Hospital to form the National Jewish Hospital and Research Center/National Asthma Center. The NAC campus in west Denver at 19th and Julian Streets sold in 1981. During the last part of the nineteenth century, Denver, Colorado, became a haven for those suffering from tuberculosis, "the white plague." However, no formal medical treatment facilities existed until the opening of the National Jewish Hospital (NJH) in 1899. Five years later, the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS) began treating patients with advanced cases of tuberculosis. A Denver housewife, Fannie Lorber, became concerned about the plight of Jewish children left homeless by a parent's hospitalization or orphaned by a parent's death at NJH or JCRS. In 1907, she and her friends Bessie Willens and Sadie Francis organized other local East European immigrant women and founded the Denver Sheltering Home. For the next 51 years, Fannie Lorber presided over the volunteer board of the Home and was the driving force behind fundraising efforts. At first, funded entirely by the Denver Jewish Community, the Home's expansion eventually led to a system of fundraising Ladies' Auxiliaries throughout the United States. The Home initially sheltered only orphaned or neglected children of tuberculosis victims, but it soon expanded its mission to help combat delinquency among Denver's Jewish children. An arrangement was made with Judge Ben B. Lindsey to send first offenders to the Home rather than to a detention center. (Judge Lindsey created the Colorado Juvenile Court system.) The Home also began taking in orphaned and needy children from other cities, and by 1920, approximately 100 children were living on the expanded campus. The Home's founders aimed to provide a cultured, stimulating, and Jewish environment for the children that was as close to family life as possible, unlike most orphanages of the period. In 1939 the Home instituted the long-term residential treatment of children with intractable asthma. In the 1950s, medical, psychiatric, and research personnel were added to treat children with asthma and allergies. In 1951, Dr. Allan Hurst became the first full-time medical director, and Jack Gershtenson became the administrator, a position he held for nearly thirty years. The Home officially became a non-sectarian in 1953. Dr. Murray Pershkin, chief consultant to the home from 1940 until 1959, advocated '"parentectomy,"' the removal of the child from his or her home for up to two years. In 1957, the Children's Asthma Research Institute and Hospital was created. At the time, it was the only research facility in the country dedicated to asthma and allergic diseases. In 1966, Drs. Kimishige and Taruko Ishizaka, a husband and wife research team at CARIH, discovered immunoglobin E, the physiological basis for asthma. In 1972, CARIH became the National Asthma Center. By the 1970s, National Jewish Hospital had gone from treating tuberculosis to treating a broader range of respiratory diseases, including asthma. It was decided in 1978 that a merger of the two institutions would be beneficial. Patients remained at the NAC campus until 1981, when it was closed. Fannie Lorber was president from 1907 to 1958, Arthur Lorber was president from 1958 to 1975, and Charles M. Schayer was president from 1975 to 1978.

Found in 30 Collections and/or Records:

Boys Building Model Airplanes at the National Home for Jewish Children, after 1945

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00082
Abstract

Two unidentified boys building model airplanes. The boys were in the care of the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: after 1945

Boys Milking a Tuberculin-Tested Cow, circa 1932

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00081
Abstract

Sammy Israel and Irving Israel milk a tuberculin-tested cow. The boys were summertime volunteers in the care of the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: circa 1932

Child Receiving Sun Treatment at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, 1931

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00086
Abstract

Reuben Levine as a young boy, sitting in a bed while receiving sun treatment. Reuben was in the care of the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: 1931

Children and their Pets at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, 1936

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00091
Abstract

Children at the National home for Jewish Children in Denver, Colorado with animals. From left to right is Isadore Gradsky, Louise Ziebart, Bunny Kortz, Jackie Lapin and Jakie Werls. Two chickens, a kitten and a puppy are being held by the children.

Dates: 1936

Children at the Jewish Sheltering Home in Denver, circa 1912

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00090
Abstract

A group of children, some in robes, sit with the matron and director at the Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children. The children were in the care of the home, which later became the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver.

Dates: circa 1912

Children at the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver, between 1935-1940

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00077
Abstract

From right to left: Joey Carsh, Barbara Blackmer, Joey Barret, Ester Cash, and Alvin Uikon sitting in a garden at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver in Denver, Colorado. The Home later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: between 1935-1940

Children at the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver, 1947 February

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00080
Abstract

Two unidentified boys at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: 1947 February

Children Eating at the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver, 1936

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00069
Abstract

Three unidentified children (the one on the left may be Jimmy Wren), eating at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: 1936

Children Eating at the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver, between 1930-1960

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00073
Abstract

A group of children eating at the National Home for Jewish Children at Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital.

Dates: between 1930-1960

Children in the Dining Room at the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver, between 1930-1940

 Item
Identifier: B063.03.0011.00078
Abstract

Children eat in the dining room at the National Home for Jewish Children in Denver, which later became part of the National Jewish Hospital. Standing in the rear of the room are Superintendent William Cohen and William R. Blumenthal, and Executive Director of the National Home for Jewish Children.

Dates: between 1930-1940

Filtered By

  • Subject: Group homes for children X
  • Subject: Colfax Avenue (Colo.) X

Additional filters:

Subject
Jews 28
Medical centers 24
Rehabilitation 23
Children 22
Asthmatics 15