The 1930s saw the growth and extensive publications of the Institute of Human Relations and Harvey Cushing's return to Yale. In 1935, Stanhope Bayne-Jones replaced Winternitz as dean. At the end of the decade, additional funds from the Sterling bequest built the Yale Medical Library with its magnificent Historical Library. The Library was dedicated in 1941 under the deanship of Francis Blake, dean from 1940 to 1947.
In 1942, the Yale Medical School again mobilized for war. It was actively engaged in World War II through organizing a unit for military hospital service and through numerous war research projects. The curriculum was temporarily altered to accelerate production of physicians for the war effort.
After the war, the Medical School, though it remained one of the top schools in the country, faced financial difficulty. In 1946, New Haven Hospital merged with Grace Hospital to form the Grace-New Haven Community Hospital. The University was subsidizing the deficit of the Medical School as well as making a substantial contribution each year to the Hospital to offset the costs of teaching. At this time, only ward beds were used for teaching, and the rate for ward patients didn't cover the cost of their care. Federal research grants had begun to come in but the overhead on the early grants was much less than the actual costs to the University. This situation was soon to change with a new agreement with the Hospital and expanded federal support.
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In the foreground is the entrance to the Hospital (Clinical Building), built in 1929 and facing Howard Street. Behind it is the Sterling Hall of Medicine. |