August 10, 2001

The birth of Social Services

Ida Cannon, former chief of MGH Social Services from 1907 to 1945, was a visionary. With the mentorship of Richard Cabot, MD, who proposed the inclusion of social services at the MGH in 1905, Cannon established the MGH Social Service Department, the first of its kind in any hospital in the world. Cannon and Cabot believed that hospitals have a responsibility to identify and resolve social factors that sometimes exacerbate medical problems. Cannon's knowledge of social agencies in the community led to the first hospital-community linkages, an understanding that influenced the development of the department and helped it become the model for similar programs at other hospitals in the United States and abroad.

A famous photograph,  housed in the MGH Archives and Special Collections, shows Cabot and Cannon in conference at Cannon's desk, upon which sits Sir John Tenniel's illustration of Lewis Carroll's Dodo (an extinct bird who meets Alice in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"). Over the years the Dodo became the informal mascot of the department. Cannon often quoted from Carroll's work.

Historical records of the MGH Social Service Department, including reports, letters, photographs, place cards and other materials, are preserved in the MGH Archives and Special Collections.