Morning journal and courier., 1882-01-27
The Hospital.

The Annual Meeting and Reports-What
 Has Been Done in the Past Year-Inter-
 esting Statement by the Prudential
 Committee.
 The annual meeting of the Connecticut General Hospital society WAS held yesterday afternoon at 3 o'clock in the chapel at the State Hospital. The directors first met, present Messrs. Prof. Daniel c. Eaton, Prof. Moses c. White, Dr. Carmalt, Dr. c. A. Lindsley, H. II. Bunnell, Prof. H. W. Far nam, M. F. Tyler, Dr. T. H. Bishop and Prof. Wayland, the last named pre- siding. The report of the prudential committee was read by Prof Farnam and accepted. It is given below.
 The report of the visiting committee, viz B. F. Mansfield, M. Zunder, c. H. Williams, Thomas R. Bacon and E. W. Babcock, secre- tary, was read and accepted. The report was brief and commendatory. The committee found much to warmly approve and little or nothing to criticise. The burning of the
 bandages and other refuse matter (instead of
 burying it) was great improvement, and in-
 sured perfect safety to the institution in it's
 thus being disposed of. The committee re-
 ported that they had made regular visitations
 to the different departments, and they could
 heartily speak in it's praise to the public.
 The reports of the superintendent, MT.
 Starkweather, and of the finance committee,
 (read by Prof. Daniel c. Eaton,) and the
 treasurer's report were read and accepted.
 The directors meeting then adjourned and
 ll, oI
 vened and elected the following directors for
 three years, they being the same as last year
 with the exception of the substitution of the
 name of Thomas Hooker for Wm. Gale, the
 latter being in Europe: James F. English,
 D. L. Daggett, E. E. Salisbury, L. J. San
 ford, S. H. Moseley, Thomas Hooker, H. w.
 Farnam, Daniel c. Eaton. In place of Wm.
 Franklin, resigned on account of other du-
 ties, the secretary, Dr. Bishop, was elected
 director for two years. Mir. H. H. Bunnell
 read the report of the treasurer, L. 5.
 Hotchkiss accepted, and the report of the
 directors was read and accepted. Adjourned
 To the Board of Directors of the General
 Hospital society of Connecticut
 Gentlemen-Your prudential committee
 has tho honor to present it's annual report for
 the year 1881 as follows: The increase in
 the work of the hospital which we had occa-
 sion to notice at the last annual meeting has
 continued during the past year. The daily
 average of patients has risen from 67s in '79,
 and 91a in 1880, to S9 in 1881, with maxi
 mum of 106 and a minimum of 76. 556 have
 been admitted and 48O discharged. There
 have been 65 deaths and 14 births. This in-
 crease in the number of patients has been
 accompanied by diminution in the expen-
 ditures per capita and a narrowing of the
 gap between earnings and expenses.
 The weekly cost of maintaining 8
 patient has fallen from $6.55 in 'SO to
 $6.37 in 'S1, while the deficit in running ex- penses, Qeaving out of account improve
 ments paid for by special funds), has fallen
 from $3, 7SO97 in 80 to S2, 433. 52 in 'S1 Thus
 with the aid of the hospital Sunday collec-
 ton of 80, amounting to $2, ,9S6.91, and of
 our income from invested funds, we have
 been able not only to make up the deficit,
 but also to pay off the lastss$2, GOO of our
 debt.
 An analysis of the superintendent's re-
 port shows, however, that this favor able exhibit is due not to 8 decrease in the cost of caring for the patients, but to quite special causes, for the saving that would ordinarily result from an increase in patients has been more than counterbalanced by the great rise in the prices of provisions, and this shows it. self in the rise of the cost of food for in- mates from 251 cents in 80 to 294 cents in 'S1, as we'll as in the fact that while the daily average of patients has risen 80-100, the ex- penditures for food have risen 25 30-100, or $2, 978.27. This increase in the cost of food would have considerably enlarged our deficit positive fall of 8 7-1O or $1, ,4O8.47 in the other items, chief among which are repairs
 and improvements with fall of $1, 2O4. IS,
 clothes and bedding, postage, printing and
 stationery, furniture, crockery and gas.
 These facts show that the lowering of the
 deficit has been brought about only by com pairing year in which the outlay for special improvements was very large with one in which great economy was exercised in this and some other branches of expenditure. In attempting to prepare budget for the com ing year we shall therefore have to assume that the high prices of provisions will con- tinue, ifs they do not go higher while it will be hardly possible to avoid greater out lay for permanent improvements and repairs, many of which are urgently needed. We may therefore expect that the difference be- tween earnings and expenses will be greater than during the past year. On the other hand, however, we are more than usually we'll prepared to meet this deficit with bank balance on January 15 of $1 1,597.11, Hos pital Sunday collection of $3, 223.18, and no doubt we may safely hope barring accidents, to go through the year without again appeal ing to the public or making use of the guar antee fund.
 The proper disposal of the bandages, etc., taken from the wounds has been for some time serious problem. This refuse matter was formerly burned in large excavations lined with boards in the rear of the stable All that part of the grounds seemed destined in time to be honeycembed with the vast cells of foul matter, and to endanger the health of the neighborhood. Last winter the prudential committee undertook, in accord ance with & suggestion of the board of visit ors, to burn all this matter in the furnace of the laundry, and they think now after nearly years trial of the experiment that they have solved the difficulty.
 The large number of patients has made it necessary at times to crowd the wards more than is desirable, while the nurses needed for their care have been equally crowded in the only rooms we have been able to give them. It gives us great satisfaction, therefore, to know that the ladies of the Training School have been actively engaged in raising funds to build 8 house for their own purposes in accordance with the terms of contract made with the hospital and ratified at the quarterly meeting of the board of directors, held Oct. 21st, 1881. This contract provides that the Training School shall have thepower to ersct building to be used solely for its purposes 1 on the hospital grounds; that the General Hospital society shall heat and light this building; and that in case of dissolution of partnership between the hospital and the Training School the disposition of the new building shall be left to & commission ap- pointed by the two parties jointly. We shall be very glad to see this building go up dur ing the coming year, as well on account of the nurses as on account of the hospital, and the additional outlay that it will entail will be 1 money well expended. There has been no change during the past year in the heads of the different departments of the institution. We are happy to add that there has been no 1 change in the faithfulness and efficiency of the Training School, of which we have such frequent occasion to express our apprecia- tion, or in the devotion of the officers of the hospital. We gave Nr. Starkweather 8 l months vacat ion in August, and were most fortunate in securing for the position of su- perintendent during his absence the valuable services of Mir. Richard E. Rice. MT. Stark ! weather was, we felt, entitled to this resi- the first he had in three years of faithful service ! in his responsible office. Our thanks are due to the board of visitors for their frequent