The herald., 1893-05-20
THIS SHOULD Be LOOKED INTO.
The Kings Daughters and the
County Hospital.
Serious Charges Made Against the
Management of That Place.
A Dirty Building With Bad Sanitary
Conditions and No Hot Water for
Patients, Together with a Num-
ber Of Other Charges.

The Kings Daughters have been in
vesti0ating the condition of the county
hospital and the treatment Of patients
in that institution and have called for
its investigation.
The ladies have been engaged in a
preliminary examination of their own,
and have found sufficient abuses to be
remedied to call forth a formal protest.
The charges are of serious nature
and involve the methods of the hospital
treatment of patients and It's sanitary
condition.
They say that they stand ready to
prove all the allegations they have
made, and that they will demand that
the blame be put where its belongs
either with the superintendent, DIR.
Hagan, or with the board of super.
visors.
They have formulated their protest in
the shape of a petition to the eupervis-
ors, which was filed yesterday and is as
follows:
The undersigned committee, ap-
pointed by the order known as Kings
OduBhtCIb Vi phlQ GUILTY, respectfully
represent that in the performance of
their duties among the inmates of the
county hospital, they have observed
such condition of affairs that warrants
the report to honorable board, in the
hope that such changes will be made as
to insure better care of the sick and
suffering inmates. We complain
First-That the halls and wards are
dirty, no scrubbing having been done in
some OF them through the months of
March and April, the man who per-
formed that duty having been dis
missed.
Second-That the sanitary conditions
in some parts of the building are very
bad. The water closet in the women's
department. of the building is very
much out of repair, the basin becoming
clogged, overfowing on the floor and
leaking down on to the floor and some
times on the beds of the mems ward be-
meath.
Third-That the hot water has been
cut off except on three days Of the week,
thereby causing great inconvenience to
the nurses and depriving the patients Of
baths and the hundred and one things
absolutely necessary for the comfort of
sick people, and also rendering the ne
cessary cleansing of the newly admitted
people impossible.
Fourth-That patients are forced to
leave when still suffering from illness
and too weak to earn their living, when
they become burden on taxpayers,
who cannot see them starve to death
OF this latter fact we have been in
formed by the Ladies' Benevolent
~ D. II L.
and the Gospel Mission.
Fifth--That both men and women
have been refused admission who were
fit subjects for the county's care. They
also become burdens on private charity.
Sixth-That there. are not nurses
enough in the women's department to
properly care for the sick. One day
nurse and one night nurse (the present
number) being inadequate to attend to-
the needs of the patients.
At one time there were 40 women, in
the beginning OF March, in the hospital,
many at the point of death; now there
about 20, 6 or of whom are very i'll.
We have ourselves seen the dying cry
ing for a drink, and the one nurse en-
gagged with a critical case in another
ward, unable to minister to her wants.
Against this inhumanitY we protest.
Seventh-That the food ie not proper
ly prepared for sick people, the meat be-
ing hard and indigestible and the soup
without either nourishment or flavor.
That none but ducks eggs are allowed
and to those dying of consumption hens
eggs have been relish which they find
it hard to do without.
Eighth-That the crippled old women
have to work too hard, far beyond their
strength suffering severely thereby.
Therefore, this com mittee invites in
vestigation of the alleged mismanage-
ment at the county hospital, and a
speedy righting of the wrongs perpe-
trated on the helpless, sick and dying
poor therein.
BERTHA LANDT,
@. H. BosBYsHELL,
E. NJ. HAMILTON,
G.. M. PoTTs,
The board did not hold session yes
terday, and no date was set for hearing
upon the matters involved, but it is un.
derstood that the ladies propose to call
next Wednesday and present their in.
formation in detail before the board in
an oral manner.
1t was learned that when DIR. Hagan
took cha ge OF the hospital, several
months ago, he made number of re-
commentators to the supervisors, in
which he called attention to some OF the
matters referred to by the committee O.
ladies. The board appointed a commit
tee to investigate and report, but it il
not OF record that the committee has no