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Researching Hospital History at UHN: Prepare for your Visit

This guide will help you find out about our hospital's history and introduce you to resources for archival research.

Making an appointment

Plan ahead. UHN's Archives have three separate locations and are open to both external and internal researchers by appointment only. Research appointments are only available on Mondays and same-day service is not offered.

Before Contacting the Archives

  1. Consider: What type of information do I hope to find? What is the name of the individual, corporation or department that created the information I am looking for?
  2. Am I looking for patient or health records, or birth information? Please contact Health Record Services.
  3. Check available secondary sources (i.e. history books or any other published print or online materials)
  4. Check recent hospital publications such as annual reports available on UHN's public website.
  5. Consult the Archeion Database to determine if the UHN Archives has the records you're looking for. (Using the Archeion database)
  6. Are you looking for general records or for records of personal information held by UHN but which are not in the Archives or online? Please make an access request through Freedom of Information.

Preparing for your Visit

  1. Consult our FAQ.
  2. Contact the Archivist. An initial consultation will help do several things:
    • help refine your research question and determine whether or not an actual visit to the Archives is necessary.
    • help identify other sources that could either complement your research or better answer your question.
  3. Plan ahead. UHN's Archives have three separate locations and are open to both external and internal researchers by appointment only. Research appointments are only available on Thursdays and same-day service is not offered.
  4. Read the Terms of Use and fill out a Registration Form. Please make sure to bring a pencil and your hospital ID badge (for UHN staff) or 2-pieces of valid photo ID with you.

Researchers are responsible for conducting their own research. Under special circumstances, if you are unable to visit the Archives to conduct your own research, and you have a specific question about a particular subject, individual or archival holding, we will be pleased to attempt to answer it. Due to staffing and time constraints we are unable to undertake extensive research assignments.

Fee Schedule

Photocopies Digital Image Scanning* Research Services
$0.50 per page $15.00 per image

First 30 minutes free for all clients.

For UHN Staff: $40/hour or portion thereof to a maximum of 3 hours. Internal clients would need to provide Cost Centre Numbers; any exceptions would require approval in advance of service.

No additional research services for external clients.

* Please note: Image files are sent via UHN’s file share. The Archives will only provide scans, not prints. Reproduction services are the client’s responsibility.  

We acknowledge this sacred land on which the University Health Network operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. This territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Confederacy of the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. Today, the meeting place of Toronto is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and learn on this territory

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