Inside View of Carville: Oral Histories of Patients and Staff from the Last United States Leprosarium

Abstract

Inadequate education and treatment access make Hansen’s disease a global problem. Carville, LA, was an internationally renowned USDHHS Hansen’s disease medical/treatment facility that found a cure. The purpose was to verify and summarize 28 archived oral histories of patients/staff from the National Hansen’s Disease Museum and record more. The procedure analyzed, classified, chronologized, and summarized unpublished oral histories validated by Garraghan’s historical methods. The verified category results were the stigma (contagion; fear; disfigurement) and human rights’ discriminations (quarantine law; pseudonyms; no marriage). This is a unique historical manuscript of patient/staff life at the last U.S. leprosarium for posterity and education.