HISTORY OF THE MUNROE-MEYER INSTITUTE &
MEYER FOUNDATION FOR DISABILITIES
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In 1919, a group of physicians concerned about the need for corrective orthopedics in Omaha and a group of women interested in charitable work formed the Society for the Relief of the Disabled. Their goal was to assist children who had become victims of polio. Later, the group became known as the Orthopedic Association of Omaha and managed the Hattie B. Munroe Home for Convalescing Crippled Children.
In 1921, articles of Incorporation were filed under the name of the Society for the Relief of the Disabled. The need for a suitable location where children could recover from surgeries prompted John A. Munroe, a Union Pacific executive, and Clara Elder, who served as the caregiver for Munroe's disabled wife, to offer the house and grounds at 2842 North 66th Avenue, in Omaha, Nebraska to be used as a convalescent home. In memory of Mr. Munroe’s late wife, it was called the Hattie Baker Munroe Home for Convalescing Crippled Children. |
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Between 1923 and 1947, additions were made to the house and a house south of it was converted to a residence for nurses. In 1956, the Hattie B. Munroe Home accepted a 99-year lease at 4420 Dewey Street on the campus of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Health planners envisioned the creation of a children’s center at this location, the current location of the Munroe-Meyer Institute.
The center was made possible through the combined efforts and endowments of the Hattie B. Munroe Home and the C. Louis Meyer Therapy Center. A private board constructed the Meyer Therapy Center in 1958 on the UNMC campus as a memorial to C. Louis Meyer, a long-time Omaha resident and nationally known industrialist whose wife, Mary, made a major contribution for the center. The Meyer Therapy Center, adjacent to the new Munroe Home, functioned as a rehabilitation center for children with disabilities such as polio and cerebral palsy.
In 1968, the Meyer Therapy Center was deeded to the University of Nebraska. Its scope was broadened to include all developmental and other long-term disabilities, the Institute became a training center for a broad range of specialty services for persons with developmental disabilities, and the name was changed to Meyer Rehabilitation Institute. UNMC also in that same year became responsible for running the Munroe Home.
In 1996, the Hattie B. Munroe Foundation and UNMC signed an affiliation agreement, and the previously separate Meyer and Munroe boards voted to become a single board operating a single facility, now called the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation.
In 2000, some members of the former Meyer operating board who were interested in services for disabled adults formed the C. Louis Meyer Rehabilitation Foundation as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Internal Revenue Service letter of determination was issued in August 2001, granting this organization exemption from federal income tax and allowing donors to make tax-deductible contributions.
In March 2010, the name of the C. Louis Meyer Rehabilitation Foundation was officially changed to the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities.
The center was made possible through the combined efforts and endowments of the Hattie B. Munroe Home and the C. Louis Meyer Therapy Center. A private board constructed the Meyer Therapy Center in 1958 on the UNMC campus as a memorial to C. Louis Meyer, a long-time Omaha resident and nationally known industrialist whose wife, Mary, made a major contribution for the center. The Meyer Therapy Center, adjacent to the new Munroe Home, functioned as a rehabilitation center for children with disabilities such as polio and cerebral palsy.
In 1968, the Meyer Therapy Center was deeded to the University of Nebraska. Its scope was broadened to include all developmental and other long-term disabilities, the Institute became a training center for a broad range of specialty services for persons with developmental disabilities, and the name was changed to Meyer Rehabilitation Institute. UNMC also in that same year became responsible for running the Munroe Home.
In 1996, the Hattie B. Munroe Foundation and UNMC signed an affiliation agreement, and the previously separate Meyer and Munroe boards voted to become a single board operating a single facility, now called the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation.
In 2000, some members of the former Meyer operating board who were interested in services for disabled adults formed the C. Louis Meyer Rehabilitation Foundation as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The Internal Revenue Service letter of determination was issued in August 2001, granting this organization exemption from federal income tax and allowing donors to make tax-deductible contributions.
In March 2010, the name of the C. Louis Meyer Rehabilitation Foundation was officially changed to the Meyer Foundation for Disabilities.