Massachusetts Public Health Museum Re-Opens To Rave Reviews

More than 100 visitors gathered last week for the grand re-opening of the Massachusetts Public Health Museum on the campus of Tewksbury Hospital.

Those who took part in a tour of the new exhibits were treated to a journey back in time through nearly 200 years of medical history.

First opened in 1994, the museum was open to the public through July 2012, when it was closed for the major renovation. It is housed in the “Old Administration Building”, an 1894 Queen Anne style building designed by John A. Fox.

The museum now features a combination of art, historical documents, photos and an amazing collection of historical medical equipment such as a vintage iron lung, dentist office equipment, blood-letting tools, insane asylum patient restraints and a wheelchair and braces used by polio patients.

The renovation was sponsored by Mass Humanities, the state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Among those who spoke at the ceremony were Katherine Domoto, MD, MBA, President of the Museum Board of Directors, Leena Akhtar, Lisa Haushofer, and Cara Kiernan Fallon, PhD candidates from Harvard University’s History of Science Department who helped put together the new exhibits and are serving as visiting curators.

Also speaking was M.J. Marcucci, one of the founding board members of the museum, who paid tribute to the volunteers who helped get it off the ground. Representing the Town of Tewksbury at the event was Selectman Doug Sears.