The sun., 1891-06-25
HOSPITAL MURDERS.
Infamous Practices Exposed BY
Mrs. Freeman's Fate.
THRILLING WITH HUMAN LIFE.
Eight Cases Like Hers Within the
Past Three Weeks.

Dying Men and Women Taken from Their
BEDS In Other Hospitals, Ratified Over
the Stones to BeIlevge, and Lefx There,
ir They Survive tho Trip. to Meet Theft
Hastened End-Protosts OF No AvaiI-A
Matter Which Denands tho Prompt AZ.
tention OF the Grand Jury.
Fncts which warrant terrible arraignment
OF the managers Of certain OF the great hos.
pitfalls OF New York are transpiring In connec.
tion with the sacrifice Of the life OF Mre. Mary
Freeman. who died at Bellevue last week q
few hours after transfer from the German
Hospital For long time the newspapers
have occasionally made mention OF the death
| OF patient at Bellevue almost Immediately
inter being sent there from one OF tho other
hospitals. Some sort OF explanation has
| usually been forthcoming when the circum.
stances have been OF a nature to arouse
public Indignation. The public hos never had
| reason for suspectine that there was anything
worse In connection with hospital practice
| than an occasional mistake due to careless.
ness or ignorance.
Tint human life is deliberat trined with
and sacrificed at some OF the great semi-public
hospitals OF this city is an awful charge to
make. THE Sun makes 1t, and The Sun in
vites the attention OF the Grand Jury to some
VI 'uo lacb WulCu II.
Even tho dry statistical records of Bellevue
Hospital warrant the bringing OF the indict.
mont without the addition OF word OF per-
sonal testimony Unfortunately these records
have never been annlyzed. so as to bring to
light tho appalling truth. An examination OF
tho hospital books for tho first twenty-one
days OF the present month by Sun reporter
yes erday yielded startling exhibit During
those three weeks there were admitted to
Bellevue. by transfer from other hospitals 1l9
patients. There came 81 from tho Chambers
Street. SO from Roosevelt 10 from the Pros.
byterian. II from st. Vincents. Q from the
New York, and one from the German. These
cases include those which were taken to Belle.
vue by ambulances which had carried patients
there from the street or their homes instead
OF to the hospitals from which they had been
called. 1t would involve several hours labor
to trace the history OF all those cases after
their admission to Bellevue A partial insight
into the situation was gained by an examina-
tion OF tho death record for the Same period.
Attention was given only to cases in which
death had taken place in lese than twenty
four hours after the patient was admitted.
This was the first significant fact disclosed:
majority Of the deaths which have taken
place at Bellevue this month within twenty.
four hours after admission have been Of Da-
ttents received from the ambulances OF other
hospitals.
1t should be explained right here that in
every one OF these cases tho patient came
either from tho hospital to which tho smbu-
lance bringing him was attached or from the
territory which its ambulance service Is sup-
posed to cover. In other words. not one Of
theee patients III accident or residence cases)
was taken to the nearest hospital.
Pursuing further his investiGa alton. with the
death record OF Bellevue for starting point
The Sun reporter traced tho history Of those
cases only which had actually been under
treatment at other hospitals and which had
been jolted over the stones just in time to die
at Bellevue. Here they are In bare outline:
Gussie Townsend OF 70 East Thirty-fourth
street was very sick with consumption at the
Chambers Street Hospital on June 10. She
was taken from her bed. put into an ambu-
lance. carried two miles over the rough pave.
ments TO Bellevue. and died ten hours after she
WAS admitted.
On the same day Frank westy. who had
boon admitted t. the New York Hospital suf-
ferng with alcoholism. was transferred to
Bellevue. He lived Just three hours aud fifteen
minutes after reaching there.
On tho 11th there was a crying outrage at the
hands OF the management OF the same hospital
Thomas Ludwck OF $50 Hudson street was
very low at the New York Hospital with gas
tritis and general debility. He was transferred
from his bed to an ambulance and carried
across the city to Bellevue. To mako the mat
tor still worse. no history Of the case or any in-
formation whatever about the mans condition
WAS sent. He was dumped at the entrance to
the reception ROOM and the ambulance drove
of before even question could be asked about
the case. The patient died within twenty.four
hours.
Next in chronological order came the case Of
Eraa frop fha -
with which The Sun has made the public IA
miliar.
On last Saturday there were no less than
three such cases. The first was that OF Charles
Evers. sent from the Chambers Street Hospital
suffering with alcoholism. He died thirteen
hours after admission.
Afew hours later came another patient from
Chambers street. She was Mrs.. L. B. Kelly.
who had been one OF the victims OF the intense
hcnt OF two days before. The doctors st Cham
bers street treated her for two days; then they
sent her on atwo.mI ride to Bellevue. She
died nineteen hours after shs was admitted.
Christian HagGar was the third. He came
from Roosevelt. where he had been taken at II
A. NJ. suffering with arsenical poisoning. Four
hours later they sent him 10 bellevue. and he
died few minutes afler he was taken from the
ambulance.
One moro case among tho deaths attracted
the reporters attention. Joseph Is. Dorsey
was brought to Bellevue on the 10Th
in St Nincont's Hospital ambulance.
lie had heon attacked with cerebral
hemorrhage In University place near Eleventh
street. Instead Of taking the man around
tho corner 10 1t. Vlncent's In West Eleventh
street. the ambulance surgeon. seeing that It
was PROBABLY q hopeless case drove more than
mile to Bellevue and tho patient died In lees
than hail an hour after arrival. Nothing Of
course could be worse for a patient In such
condition than unnecessary movement and
there was n good deal Of sharp comment
among the Bel levue doctors over the course OF
tho 81. Ninceuts surgeon.
Here there are no less than eight cases with.
In the last three weeks. every one uf which Is
IL subject for inves'iuation by Coroner and
Grand Jury. 1t is not assumed or asserted
that IN any Of these cnses death was caused or
materially FASTENED by the removal In some
Of the other casas. which were not traced. and
in which death di not follow SO promptly. the
injury TO the. patients may hav. been far
greater than in these. But needs No medi-
nj authority 10 demonstrate tho cold. hlooded