The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-05-12
PLEAS AND SENTENCES.
OUR DISPENSARY SYSTEM.
A NEW PLAN SUGGESTED BY THE MEDICAL
PROFESSION.

A NEW PLAN SUGGESTED BY THE MEDICAL
PROFESSION.
There was an important meeting on Thursday night
OF the New ork Public Health Association the hall
OF the Academy OF Medicine in Thirty first street. the
subject under discussion being the abuses In medical
charities especially regards our dispcnsary system.
The long and important, but the fea
ture the evening the report OF Dr.. Stuyvcsant
i. Norris, the chairman OF committee recently APP
pointed by the Health Association to inquire into this
branch OF the subject and confer with the managers Of
the dspcnsares 10 the best means Of reforming any
abuses which might be found exist The conclusion
the OLD system ought to be rcmodeod
and tho only way to effect tho necessary reformation
would be TO establish providcnt dspensaries. About
800 900 people are in this city gra,uilousy
every year. and this number Or. Morris claimed. is
vastly IN excess OF the number oil persons who arc
emitted TO Tree treatment he thought II proper rules
were adopted regulating the dispensares there would
be n falling oil OF nearly forty per cent He also re-
ported that the house physicians OF the dispcnsnres
are unanimous IN speaking OF the abuses which exist
anu say that OF the persons now treated Tree one
third 10 one-naf would DO able TO pay small
foe Financially the dispensarics arc not success,
and DR.. Morris showed that oil SIX leading
pcpsaries III New York tho annual delict is
thousand lars, only having surplus OF $3.50 Is
So far only two efforts at TINS free
treatment have been made Az the New York Dlspen-
say May OF last ten cents has been charged
one class OF patients The result OF this experiment
December The Northeastern Dispcnsnry demands u
fee OF In all where the patient Is able
to pay at all, 1t Is said, with satisfactory results. DR..
Morris, in behalf OF the committee. then pre-.
sentod plan for wedding out the Ircc
patients OF tho dispcnsares VINO are able TO pay
or partially able TO pay The basis OF the plan 10 tho
weekly income OF the Individual or family applying Tor
treatment All persons who are In receipt OF less than
certain sum TO be treated rs ut present, while all
persons Receiving said certain sum are TO be CON-
| PEELED TO pay full rates, while the classes between
these limits be treated upon what IS called, In
England, the providcnt system, which Is based upon
the financial condition OF the applicants To ascertain
this condition plan proposed II Is suggested
that each OF the dispensaries shall appoint person
whose duty II shall be take of daily IRON the DIS
pcnsary registers the and addresses OF all appl
cants Thorn their homes and lind out their
dition, the OF their weekly receipts Iiths
is more than the maximum allowed Tor Tree patio IS
| the agent IS In some way mark the ticket that
the person holding u may be recognized MS an I'M
proper person Tor Tree assistance upon lis next app-
cation, and be requested to JOIN IN the proyldent
scheme, which provides Tor small periodical payments.
THIS plan. argued, was nothing less than health
assurance 1t works well in England and ought TO be
introduced here IN view Of the act that there IS so
much unnecessary free treatment IN The disponsarics
| In this city,