The Rose Melnick Medical Museum
The Rose Melnick Medical Museum was founded in 1985 by Youngstown radiologist Dr. John C. Melnick. It was Dr. Melnick’s dream to create a museum that would cultivate an interest in medicine and promote medical history among students, physicians, and the general public. With the grand opening of the Museum on October 15, 2001, his dream became a reality. The Museum is named in honor of Dr. Melnick’s mother, Rose Melnick, who encouraged him to pursue a career in medicine. The Museum houses thousands of medical artifacts that document the history of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing with a local focus. We love to partner with schools, classes, and community groups for events and presentations. Contact us to pitch an idea or schedule a presentation from the curator!
Dr. John C. Melnick was born in Youngstown, Ohio. In 1949, he graduated from Youngstown College (now Youngstown State University) with a degree in Pre-Medicine. In 1955, Dr. Melnick received his Doctor of Medicine Degree from Western Reserve University. Dr. Melnick worked as a staff Radiologist at the Southside and Northside facilities of the Youngstown Hospital Association. Later, he was Chief of the Diagnostic Imaging Department and Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine. In 1966, Dr. Melnick discovered a rare bone disease, Melnick Needles Syndrome, which is named after him.
Dr. Melnick retired in 1998. In addition to the Rose Melnick Medical Museum, he was also involved in developing a museum at Mill Creek Park and financed the construction of an observation tower in the park, which is named after his father. Dr. Melnick passed away in 2008.
Research and Donations
The Rose Melnick Medical Museum provides diverse research opportunities in the history of medicine through use of its artifact, manuscript, image, and library collections. Students, scholars, and non-YSU patrons are welcome to access these collections. The Museum’s library collection consist of approximately 200 volumes of historical medical books as well as a complete set of the Bulletin of the Mahoning County Medical Society. The archival collections contain papers, daybooks, photographs, and newspaper clippings relating to medical practice and medical practitioners of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. The medical history books and archival collections are included in the MaagNET Library Catalog.
All on-site research is by appointment only. Please call 330-941-3788 or contact the Museum Curator to schedule an appointment or for reference questions.
The Melnick Medical Museum has policies in place to ensure the protection of the collections from damage or theft. Users of the collections will receive the policies and must adhere to all policies in order to access the materials. Access to the storage areas is limited to staff only.
