Papers of Dr. Allston Morris related to Southbridge Medical Advisory Council

Wilmington physician Dr. Allston J. "Tony" Morris practiced internal medicine at the Wilmington Medical Center for thirty years. In 1967, a better-health subcommittee of the Greater Wilmington Development Council began to discuss and investigate the health care resources available for the inner city of Wilmington. In April of 1968, a group of physicians approached the Health Planning Council, Inc. and expressed interest in developing and staffing a health center in a medically deprived area of Wilmington. Dr. Morris was part of the committee which planned and founded a neighborhood clinic in the Southbridge section of Wilmington and when the clinic opened for patients in 1970, Dr. Morris was one of its volunteer physicians. The papers of Dr. Allston Morris related to Southbridge Medical Advisory Council and Activities Center, document the creation and early existence of the Southbridge Medical Activities Center through 1.2 linear feet of correspondence, minutes, agenda, clippings, surveys, photographs, slides, programs, medical forms, physicians' log, reports, bylaws, articles, statistics, schedules, and cassette tape. His papers begin with "A Proposal for the Delivery of Health Service in South Wilmington," and continue through a program celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Southbridge Center in 1980. Dr. Morris's papers document the transformation of the center from private to federal funding, but also the involvement of the community in this project, the dedication of volunteer physicians and pharmacists, and the possibilities when community agencies pool their resources to address a need.