Use Restrictions

Images used within documents produced by the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center in Series II and Series III may not be reproduced or published; these items are restricted to local use only.

Access Restrictions

Boxes 1-3 of the collection are open to research; Box 4 contains material that is restricted until 2100; Boxes 5 and 6 are also restricted at this time.

Preferred Citation

Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center Records, Accession #MS-61, Historical Collections, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

The materials were collected by Daniel Cavanaugh from the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center (KCRC) gymnasium, where they had been stored, and transferred from KCRC on Ivy Road to the University of Virginia's Claude Moore Health Sciences Library on 23 April 2014. A second group of records was gathered by Administrative Staff Specialist, Carolyn Craig, and transferred from the Battle Building, the location of the UVA Child Development and Rehabilitation Center, to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library on 17 July 2014. The collection also includes material transferred to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library prior to 2014. The exact date and details of this transfer are unknown. These materials are contained in Series I of the collection.

Processing Information

Biographical/Historical Information

For 57 years, the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center (KCRC) provided the region with a wide range of children's rehabilitation and developmental services. As the center attained international acclaim, it began to receive patients from around the world. The establishment of the center reaches back to the 1950s when the University of Virginia (UVA) Department of Orthopedics recognized a need for a children's treatment facility. Through the efforts of the Department of Orthopedics, funds were raised to build a new center, known as the UVA Rehabilitation Center for Handicapped Children, which opened in November 1957. The center was constructed on the site of the former Rucker Home for Children, an institution established in 1941 for young patients with tuberculosis of the spine. When the Rucker Home, named for its initial benefactor, William J. Rucker, was demolished to make way for the new center, stones from the original house were used to build a wall that bordered the front of the KCRC property along Ivy Road. An orthopedic surgeon at UVA, Dr. Hamilton Allen, became the center's first director upon its opening in 1957. Some time later, the name of the center was changed to the Children's Rehabilitation Center (CRC), and in 1965 the center became a formal part of the UVA Hospital system.

The facility was renovated in the early 1970s when an education wing, pool, and gymnasium were constructed. Additional improvements were to follow, and after a $2.5 million donation from John and Patricia Kluge, the center was rededicated as the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center (KCRC) in 1988. A second expansion completed in 1989 included a designated outpatient services area. In the late 1980s, with its updated facilities and under the leadership of Medical Director Dr. Sharon Hostler, KCRC adopted a stronger focus on research and clinical training.

During its 57 years in operation, KCRC's inpatient care treated thousands of children with brain and spine injuries, chronic lung conditions, and serious feeding issues. KCRC's diverse outpatient services included developmental pediatrics, pediatric orthopedics, and a wide range of disability-specific clinics for diabetes, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, physical and occupational therapy, dentistry, autism, nutrition, and much more. Over the years, KCRC's focus on family-centered care brought it national attention and tremendous success.

In 2012 KCRC stopped receiving new patients in preparation for the relocation of pediatric services at UVA from the KCRC building on Ivy Road to the Children's Hospital in the Battle Building on West Main Street, adjacent to the main UVA hospital. The move was completed in July 2014. In the new facility, the pediatric care center was renamed the UVA Child Development and Rehabilitation Center.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of 64 folders of processed materials. Series I of the collection contains materials related to the University of Virginia (UVA) Children's Medical Center from 1981 to 1989 and includes mostly news clippings and press releases. These documents were likely collected by various iterations of UVA's Marketing Communications department, including the Medical Center Information Services, the Medical Center News Office, and the Health Sciences Center News Office, and possibly by other entities affiliated with the Children's Medical Center and the UVA Hospital. Series II-VII contain materials documenting the work and services of the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center (KCRC) during its 57 years of operation. These materials include patient care instructions, nursing guidelines, institutional memos, items from various anniversaries and milestone events, news clippings related to KCRC and its patients, and a scrapbook which records a brief history of the center. Series VIII contains a pediatric patient ledger used from 1952-1967 that is restricted until 2100. Series IX contains unprocessed materials which were accessioned with the collection and remain restricted at this time. These unprocessed materials include photographs, slides, negatives, photo CDs, cards and letters, and 10 U-matic tapes.

Arrangement

The records are arranged in nine series. Materials within each series are arranged chronologically where possible. The series and subseries arrangement of the collection is as follows: