Norwich Student's Internship Documenting Hospital's History

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Kelsey Redpath, with materials for her project

CANTON, NY (04/19/2011)(readMedia)-- Through an internship, St. Lawrence University senior Kelsey Redpath, of Norwich, is helping Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg, New York, preserve and celebrate its history.

Redpath, a sociology major with a minor in Caribbean and Latin American studies, is particpating in an internship with the medical center and the Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center Foundation, working on gathering and organizing materials to document its history and publish a book.

The oldest hospital in St. Lawrence County, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center opened in 1885 as the Ogdensburg City Hospital and Orphan Asylum. Ogdensburg is located on the St. Lawrence River, about 20 miles from the University. Although always a community-owned organization, the hospital was managed by the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart until 1976. The hospital's name changed twice: in 1918 to A. Barton Hepburn Hospital to honor the local banker, donor and St. Lawrence University benefactor; and in 2000 to Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center to recognize an exceptional gift from its own Dr. E. Garfield Claxton. The hospital was also at one time the home of a nursing school, with its first graduating class in 1905 and its last in 1968.

With volunteers from the hospital, foundation and nursing school alumnae association, Redpath is organizing photographs from the organization's own archives and also from photos donated to the program by members of the community and from library archives.

Redpath is a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and the women's lacrosse team. She graduated from Hanover High School.