P&S Annual Report
Measures of Distinction 
Milestones 

The New York State Psychiatric Institute launched a celebration of its centennial year in 1996. PI's origin is in the 1895 establishment of a central pathology laboratory to process and coordinate the pathology work of the state hospitals. The following year, the official designation changed from a laboratory to an institute defined as a center for multidisciplinary psychiatric research, making PI the first psychiatric research institute in the nation. It became affiliated with Columbia University in 1929, when it moved to CPMC. A new PI building is expected to near completion in 1997. 

The Health Sciences Library reached the 500,000 mark in its collections. A 12-volume set of Freud's Gesammelte Schriften, published from 1925 to 1931, put the library at the half-million mark. The Freud collection--a full set--is a rare find; the Nazis attempted to destroy all copies of the 11th and 12th volumes. The set was given to the library by Columbia's Psychoanalytic Institute, Dr. William Tucker, and Dr. Stanley Bone. 

A fully redesigned and revised edition of the "P&S Complete Home Medical Guide" was published in October 1995. The first edition of the guide was published in 1985; a revision was released in 1989. The Home Medical Guide was the first in a series of home medical guides; later volumes covered pregnancy, early child care, and mental health. Each guide is written and edited by P&S physicians. The revised home medical guide reflects current trends in diagnosis and treatment, and self-treatment and alternative approaches are now given significant mention. Proceeds from the sale of the guides benefit P&S students through scholarship funds. 

The late Dr. Virginia Apgar is remembered as the legendary P&S anesthesiologist who developed the Apgar Score, which is used worldwide to assess newborn health. But this year she also was remembered for her love of music. Four stringed instruments that she made in collaboration with friend and patient Carleen Hutchins were acquired by P&S, which now holds and cares for the violin, mezzo violin, viola, and cello designed to be played as a quartet. The inaugural performance of the Apgar Memorial String Quartet, made up of students and faculty, was in January 1996.