New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-03-23
HOSPITAL REFORM.

HOSPITAL REFORM.
THE PAVILION PLAN OF BUILDING ESSENTIAL TO THE
WELFARE OF PATIENTs--ITs SUCCESS AT LEiPsiC
NEED OF SUCH CONSTRUCTION HERE.
20 tie Editor Of The Trtoune'
SIR: II is no less striking than true that, though
ten wears have passed land several OF our me ne"
hospitals been built in New-York within that
time) no adequate attempt, so lar as we Know mas
been made to turn to account for civil uses the ex
nerence gained in the sanitary service of our army
We have to go to-day to Germany to find models 1or
CITY bospitals built on the most approved plan of
construction, and yet we can borrow nothing from
Germany Chat she did not first borrow from us, a
fact for which her medical give US full credit
One cannot open any recent German treatise on
hospita construction without reading, :" To America
belongs the credit" The practical talent OF the
Americans has solved the problem" ETC., etc. The
great shed hospital at Leipsic antedates the Prusso
French campaign and is Of the first fruits OF our
own war "Our American hospital" it was called
by Prof. Thiersch, son-in-law Of the late Baron
Liebg. and the most active promoter OF It's con-
structon.
I,eipsc. as il is known, is now the great German
University Berlin standing only second in rank III
the number of its students aud far lower IN rank IN
the character and condition of ITS hospitals. The
principal source of the greatness OF the University
of Leipsc is its large, well managed funded prop
erty which has enabled it to construct palaces OF
science, and to employ as professors men OF the
the highest merit. A letter of DIR. DEspine' OF
Geneva describing visit to Leipsic, ana quoted
in late number of The London hedtcN
Times. mentioned that the Faculty OF Medi-
cine has especially benefited by this exceptional
GOOD fortune. its buildings constituting almost
- fbao nv yUh
logical and chemical laboratories, pathological in
stitute and an immense shed hospital. The latter
consists of IA large sheds if apply the name
TO what are really handsome payiions They are de-
tached one-story substantial frame buildings, hlled
in with brick: connected through ante chamber,
nv n gallery, and looking on garden. They are loO
nv 81 feet in size inside; with hight to the caves
of Is feet and of 90 feet to the ridge They stand tO
feet apart and are raised stone piers FOUR rect
high for the sake of ventilation. There are also
ridge ventilatOrs, with movable sashes that protect
from cold during part of the day IN winter. warm
air is generated by calorifer, which Is found more
satisfactory than the German stoves. Each shed OF
ward has "A beds with nurses room, baths, Kitchen,
and closets complete. There are isolated sheds Tor
contagious diseases; no lyng-in women are adj
mitted.
During 10 months, August, 1S19-ls13 Prof.
Thiersch who has charge Of the surgical einic per-
formed 266 serious, bloody operations. and did not
lose a case from pyGmia, while, prior to the con
strpcton of the paylions in the old stone hospital,
which isnow the central building he lost from Az To
50 amputations from this cause annually. 1t re-
mains 20 be SEEM the letter observes, whether tins
splendid result can be maintained or whether these
wooden sheds may not themselves become infected.
There is always the resource of burning them at the
end of term of years. Oppert, in the last edition
of his work. not vet translated, but which, in Its
first edition. is n standard English authority, also
describes fully the Lepsc pavilions, and gives the
cost of construction which. with outfit, ontouid-
inps etc. amounts to 600 thalers for each pavilion,
or an average of 62j thalers per bed
II was 10 this hospital that alusion was made in "a
recent valuable report on the erection OF new
Bellevue Hospital, prepared by a committee OF the
State Charities Aid Association. 1t VIII be an mel
dental advantage it, beside helping to secure fresh
air for Bellevue patients, this Association should
"ventiate" the whole important subject OF hospital
construction.
A clever woman once summed up her large eN-
perience of army nursing by saying that "a very
good hospital for a thousand wounded men could be
run. without buildings-given a ten-acre lot, few
tin ems and live OK for soup. Ten-acre lots are
certainly not attainable in New-York but we sug-
cost that il would be "a wise bestOwal of money If
our Commissioners of Charities, and the various
benevolent corporations that undertake from time
TO time 1.-THE building of hospitals were to put
larger share of their funds into more land ard
smaller share than they hitherto have done into
architectural effects, pressed-brick, and dressed
stone piled story on story with massive roofs and
elaborate, costly ventilating fxtures-that do not
ventilate. Indeed we have doubts whether il might
not be humane to insist on the insertion in every
hospital charter of a provision requiring that no
building should be put up costing more than $500
bed
The more space and therefore freer circulation OF
air our hospitals secure aud the nearer we can
come to the Leipsc model, the better will be the
economic and sanitary results. With widely-de-
tached one-story ventilated payilions. built
of brick but built as slightly and cheaply az due
regard to the laws and to our climate will allow,
and to be torn down and replaced when infected,
we shall save more citizens lives in shorter time
than at present and shall have moro money in our
treasures for extending and improving our hospi-
tails, and for providing that pressing need OF all
large cities free beds for the respectable sick poor
Neuc- York, March lS, 1874. CHARITY.
BASEBALL.