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Introduction:

Wald's vision for Henry Street was one unlike any others at the time. Wald believed that every New York City resident was entitled to equal and fair health care regardless of their social status, socio-economic status, race, gender, or age. She argued that everyone should be entitled to at-home-care. She was a strong advocate for adequate bed-side manner and believed that regardless of if a person could afford at-home-care, they deserved to be treated with the same level of respect that some who could afford it would be

Social Benefits of the Henry Street Settlement

Arguably one of the most significant changes to the public health sector, the Settlement was doing much more than just providing better medical care. Primarily focusing on the care of women and children, the Settlement changed the way public health care was in New York City. It helped to cut back on time patients spent at hospitals and made at-home-care more accessible and efficient.

Wald was a strong advocate for community support. Much of the Henry Street Settlement's initial success was from Wald's diligent and persistent work at cultivating personal relationships with the Settlement's donors. Wald was also a strong advocate for the social benefit that having donors within the community provided. These benefits included the temporary break-up of families when people were forced to spend time in the hospital, improved the quality of at-home-care, and reduced medical expenses by offering an alternative to hospital stays.

NOTES ON HENRY STREET:
 * Henry Street Settlement:
 * What did it do initially?
 * Helping to create a system of care where the need to go to a hospital or spend time in one is reduced
 * Provided some sort of a system that could be replicated for at-home care
 * Provide care while at the same being hospitable, efficient, and kind
 * Social influence (letter from members of the settlement to Dr. Lee K. Frankel on June 28, 1916
 * Concept that the settlement was during much more than just medically helping people---it also offered a social benefit
 * Prevented the temporary break-up of families with at-home care
 * Helps treat illnesses in the home much better than if they were to be treated in hospitals
 * I.e., pneumonia in children
 * Initially, the at-home-care that was being provided was not accepted by the public but Miss Wald fought for it and eventually proved how important and beneficial it was
 * Miss Wald fought greatly for a personal connection and touch to medical care
 * Realistic about how expensive and unnecessary hospital stays were
 * Reached a part of the community (those below the poverty line and immigrants) that were not generally (during this time) given access the appropriate or affordable health care that they needed or deserved
 * This set a tone and paved a newfound path in the Public Health sphere

Legacy
The New York Times named Wald as one of the 12 greatest living American women in 1922 and she later received the Lincoln Medallion for her work as an "Outstanding Citizen of New York." In 1937 a radio broadcast celebrated Wald's 70th birthday, Sara Delano Roosevelt read a letter from her son, President Franklin Roosevelt, in which he praised Wald for her "unselfish labor to promote the happiness and well being of others."

Wald was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in 1970. The Lillian Wald Houses on Avenue D in Manhattan were named for her.

The Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives at Connecticut College holds a great deal of Wald's personal letters and exchanged between various donors to Henry Street and other important social figures. The collection is an example of the affect Wald had on her community and her ability to advocate for women's and children's health rights. The collection contains exchanges between Dr. Lee Frankel, Joseph Levine and family, John D. Rockerfeller Jr and one exchange from at the time President Roosevelt commending her on her work in New York City