Pediatric Orthopaedic Collections

The POSNA Archive is Open!

The POSNA Archive held its grand opening at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children this April 16th. The Archive holds historical documents from the early days of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Study Group, the precursor organizations that joined to form POSNA in 1984, up to the present day. Included in the collection are videos of interviews with POSNA Distinguished Achievement Award winners from 1989 to 2008. Several devices and instruments related to the history of treatment of pediatric orthopaedic conditions are on display, along with photographs and biographies of pediatric orthopaedic luminaries.

History has always been important to our organization. The Pediatric Orthopaedic Society first named a Historian in 1974, only the fourth year of the society's existence. A permanent home for historical items has been considered for many years. Space is very limited in POSNA offices in Rosemont, and the AAOS has not made any plans for establishing an archive. With no option for space in Rosemont, we began to investigate alternatives.

We sought a site where pediatric orthopaedics would be valued for the long term. Centers dedicated to pediatric orthopaedics, we reasoned, would be more likely to appreciate the need to preserve our history, even as economic constraints on medicine threaten on all sides. The Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, one of the major academic centers of pediatric orthopaedics, came forward with an offer of space for the POSNA Archive. The TSRH has several historical volumes of its own, including an original Orthopaedia by Nicholas Andre, as well as a copy of the anatomy text of Vesalius from the original 16th-century woodcuts. TSRH recognized the need to display its own, separate collection, and agreed to donate additional space for the POSNA collection.

Extensive remodeling of the area just outside the TSRH orthopaedic offices created both a display room and an archival storage/workroom. In addition to donating the space, the hospital provided the construction costs and installed climate controls and special lighting to protect the artifacts. POSNA contributed to the purchase of display cases and also employed archivist Holly Stevens to organize and catalog the collection, as well as to design displays. TSRH further contributed expertise from its crack audio-visual team in digitizing files and preparing displays. Also included is a touch-screen monitor that plays selections from interviews with POSNA Distinguished Achievement Award winners.

Representing POSNA at the dedication were Matthew Bueche, POSNA Historian, Jay Shapiro, member of the POSNA History Archivists Committee, B. Stephens Richards, POSNA Past-President, and Holly Stevens, POSNA Archivist. The opening coincided with the TSRH Brandon Carrell Visiting Professorship and was attended by dozens of pediatric orthopaedic surgeons from across the country and around the world.

The POSNA Archive welcomes researchers by appointment Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To make an appointment, please e-mail POSNA.Archivist@tsrh.org or call (214) 559-8545.

The POSNA History Archivist Committee is actively seeking artifacts of significance to POSNA or the field of pediatric orthopaedics. These may include original papers, letters, drawings, books, and equipment related to the musculoskeletal problems of children. To donate items to the POSNA archives, contact the POSNA offices or Historian Matthew Bueche.

View Photos of Grand Opening