St. Paul daily globe., 1893-03-26
GREAT WORK FOILED
By the Incomplete Condition
Of the City and County
Hospital.
Formidable Inspection Of the
Institution by PPOmi-
nent Officials.
A Hospital That Takes Rank
Second to None in
the Land.
Funds Wanted to Complete
the Ward Building Now
Standing.

committee a sum of money sufficient TO
complete the new ward building which
has been standing in an uncompleted
state for two years. The necessity of
the proposed action was. made plainly
evident by q tour of the hospital, and
none but words of praise were heard in
favor of the manner in which the tinan-
res of the hospital have been expended
and cared for.
Yesterday afternoon a number of
members of the city council, members
of the legislature and interested citi-
zens visited the hospital on an invita-
tiOn from Supt. Ancker for the purpose
of seeing the institution as it really Is,
and with the object of judging of the
necessities for an appropriation to COM
plete the building. a number of ladies
who are interested in hospitals and the
care of the impecuniOuS sick were
present, and seemed to enjoy their visit.
The visitors arrived at the hospital in
knots of two and three in the neighbor-
hood of 3 o'clock. While those who
came early waited for the stragglerS,
they chatted with DR.. Ancker and other
members of The staff on the interesting
subject of hospitals. Then tour of
the buildings was made. All the wards
were visited, the kitchen, dining rooms,
operating rooms, quarters of the Sery-
ants. nurses and members of the staff
being especially interesting places to
the callers. After spending about two
hours in the variOaS buildings, the Wis
ItOrs departed with warm assurances of
their cooperation in the plan of
Finishing the Building.
There were eighty-seven patients in
the hospital at the time of the visit, but
two or three days before this there had
been 1O5. a professional nurse, Miss
Hynes, assisted by twelve young women
who desire to become nurses, together
with thirty-four local physicians and
surgeons, constitute the staff of the
hospital. The salary list of the inStitu-
ton amounts to s475 per month.
There are three buildings in the main
portion of the institution and two
smaller ones which have been built Tor
some time. The work on the buildings
was commenced in 1883 and the sum of
sl54O00 was expended in building them.
The original Intention was that the first
building was 10 be the administration
building and to be occupied by the
Offices. operating rooms, nurses quarters,
steward, S room, cold storage room and
dining rooms for the nurses, staff and
conyaleScent patients. The building in
the rear is used as the kitchen, dOrmi-
tory for the servants and their dining
room. The building which has not yet
been completed was designed for the
ward room. There will be four wards,
each having a capacity of twenty-five
patients. Tie building has two stories
and a basement. In the rear of the
kitchen building is the steam plant.
The two old buildings are occupied at
present by the contagious cases and an
assortment Of other cases, the former
all being placed in one building some
distance away from the others. The top
floor Of the administration building is
used by patients and the fOundlingS.
AS soon as the ward is finished all of
the cases Will Do clasSihed. The con-
tagiOus cases will be kept in one build
ing, the fCuDdlingS and women with
children in another and the four wards
in the ward building will be occupied by
the surgical cases, etc. At the present
time, in consequence of the
Lack of AccOmmod daliOns,
there are patients in the administration
building who keep the tired nurses
awake during the night with their
groans of pain and their dellriOus
shrieks. The children cry at all times
of the day and night, disturbing the rest
of the other patients. 1t is necessary
that the patients, in order to stimulate
recovery, should have plenty of light
and fresh air, but under the existing
circumstances it is impossible to give
them these essentials.
The nurses rooms are fitted up in a
neat manner and are decorated with
many evidences of taste and refinement.
The rooms are all remarkably clean and
neat in appearance and present q scene
of order. In one of the rooms piano,
the property Of Mrs. Hynes, stands near
the door and the music is a great COM
fort to the patients who are permitted
TO enjoy il. On seeing the piano Tim
ReardOn asked if it had been purchased
out of the county funds. and he was con-
siderably disturbed until it was eX-
planned by DR.. Ancker that it was
owned by the head nurse.
In the childrenS room the little ones
romped and played without the usual
accompaniment of loud laughter and
shouting, although they had a good
time. Some of them reclined in their
neat lettle beds, which are decorated in
blue. Several mothers were engaged in
dressing their offspring in a nonchalant
manner. and took the visit as a matter
of course. As the visitors were going
out one of the cooks sent up twelve bot
ties Of warm milk for the little ones, and
they stretched out their tiny hands for
the food with every manifestation of de-
light.
There were all kinds of diseases rep
resented in the various wards. Diph-
liberia, scarlet fever, pneumonia, rheu-
matism, open wounds, broken limbs and
ribs. etc. The nurses were at their va
TiOus stations, and number Of the Wis
itOTS were greatly interested in the
progress of dressing the wounds of
some. But there was one thing plainly
evident; there was not enough room for
the patients. They were crowded into
the wards in a manner calculated to
preclude the possibility of an early re-
cOyery.
1--WE sometimes are compelled to
make up beds on the floOr," SAID DR..
Ancker. Some of the patients are dis,
charged before they should really leave
the hospital. because there are so many
others who are in a very bad way and
must be taken in at once. We cannot
help this, as we are compelled to do the
best we can. We have had as many as
12O patients in the hospital at one time
1t is fact that, IN order to facilitate the
recovery of a patient, the lungs of a
single person must have 1,500 cubic feet
of fresh air to breathe. At the present
time some of them have only about 20C
feet of air. We cannot classify tht
patients. but are compelled to put then
where we can. If the new building
completed we can accommodate th(
additional patients which it will give III
the room for with hardly any other eX
pense than we are now under. Thel
we will have the opportunity of taking
in wealthy patients who will pay 70
their accommodations and assist th
hospital to support itself. We can rul