Daily globe., 1883-07-18
DIR. Gates CHARGES.

against the Sisters hospital was begun last
! evening.
The committee from the city council
upon the board of supervisors of the poor,
consisting of Aid. Channell. Hashow, Han
gan and Comstock, and Mayor Ames con-
stituted the committee on investigation.
! The meeting was called to order at s
o'clock by Mayor Ames. Mr.. Davis, of
Babcock d Davis, appeared as attorney
for the Mieiracordia hospital.
DR.. A. B. Gates being duly sworn testi-
fed as follows: I have decided, after de-
hberate consideration, to present these
charges. visited the hospital without
| prejudice soon after my election to the
office of city physician; from the first I
encountered obstacles and was
unable to ascertain the case or
treatment of the city's patients being
cared or treated In the hospital. The
charges are as follows:
First-Failure to execute the order of
the physician.
Second-Ignorance OF ..the condition of
the patient during the absence of the ply
| sic1an, and in the case of the city patients
positive refusal: to take the pulse or
| temperature.
|
Fourth-Allow1ng the escape of patient
from the hospital.
Fifth-The exposure of a patient to ex-
! treme nervousness.
Sixth-Interference of business pertain n
ing exclusively to the city physician; call
ing his professional ability into question
| and lack of profe ssional ability into ques-
| tion, and lack of professional courtesy on
| the part of DR.. Collins.
SeVenth-Undue economy IN medicines
and food, and finally absolute refusal to
| supply any medicine whatever.
From the time of my first visit to the
| hospital 1 have kept a careful
record of each case in book provided for
| that purpose and this book has been filed
| with notes taken at the bedside of the
patients, and also contained each days di-
| rections for medicines, diet, nursing, etc.
This note book has been open to daily in
/ spection.
Under the first charge 1 have to invite
your attention to the case of Charles An
| derson, (p. 24 on April 26. That had not
| been applied, and it became necessary to
| repeat the request again on May poul-
| tices were discontinued without orders.
i n the case of Mrs. Murphy, on April 80, 1
owe times daily by means of the anatom-
fzer.
The frst-named patient had an abscess
near his ankle. which had been
opened and dressed on the following day.
| The record states: ''Patient had spray on
foot instead of in the throat as ordered"
The sister in attendance did not know
what an atomizer was. In fact she stated
hn
| tually had removed the dressings from the
| abscess four or five times during the day
and sprayed the ankle in the vicinity of
the incised wound. On May 3, for the
same patient, I ordered fifteen drops of
| tincture of chloride of iron three times
| daily. On the 9Th inquired of the patient
if the medicine had been given, when I
| was told by the sister that he got whatever
was ordered for him and that they would
| not neglect the patient. The patient, how
ever, had taken no medicine and was
| surprised when asked if he had received
| any. On consulting the case book the
sister acknowledged that he had not secur-
ed the medicine ordered. In the case of
John Fuirly on July 8, tincture of chloride
| of iron was ordered in ffteen-drop doses,
every four hours. On July II, the record
| reads, yesterday on inquiry found that
the sister had forgotten how often to give
the medicine and the mother superior
| had said that she might give
| fifteen drops three or four times daily.
On page 73, June 26, morphine in doses
| of one-sixth of grain every three hours
was ordered. On the next day the label
on the bottle at the bedside directed that
| the medicine should be given every two
hours. The mother superior persisted
that the directions were the same
| as given in the book until confront
| ed with the same. She then &C
knowledged her mistake.
The second charge referred to the i'm
possibility of obtaining any information
| concerning the condition of the patients
during the absence of a physician. After
my first visit to the hospital 1 requested
that the temperature and pulse of patients
| be taken. The request was re-
peated several times, until finally
the mother superior said that DR.. Collins
| preferred that they should not interfere
with the city patients for fear that some
| thing might happen. What injury could
occur to the patient from taking his pulse
and temperature I have not as yet been
able to divine. Because of this action
could not learn whether
one had had fever during
my absence or not. One of the most valU-
able aids to diagnosis was thus withheld.
! Of the condition of the bowels, [ was never
| able to get satisfactory information.
| The charge of uncIeanliness is substan-
tiated by the case of William Burrell.
On July 8 the following is writ
ten in regard to the man as
he lay in an unconscious condition
He there lay in sinking mass of feces
and urine, having voided both involuntari
| ". His shirt had not been changed nor
| had he been bathed. In short almost
nothing had been done for him since his
| entrance.
A Aslmilar history is that of James Nor
rison. In fact he is now lying in a filthy,
sinking accumulation, etc.
Respecting the fouth specification, the
doctor testified: On June Is, E. Sassen
escaped from the hospital, carrying my
! splints with him.
The city physician continued at great
length in the same line, citing case after
case to sustain his specific charges.
| AT the conclusion of taking his testimo-
ny, Mr.. Davis as the attorney or agent of
| the hospital, reOuested that DR. Gates Dra