St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-21

that all the nursing is done by the
young women in the training school,
and at cost that is simply nominal.
At the present time the training school
is in charge of Miss Mary F. Sewall. a
graduate of the Massachusetts general
hospital at Boston. Miss Sewall is
most efficient superintendent, but it is
an impossibility for any one person to
supervise the work OF fourteen young
| girls who come to the school without
| any previous training, and necessarily
a great deal has to be left to the
| faithfuness of the young women and
their devotion to their work. The great
need at the training school at the pres
ent time is more assistance Ill the way
of nurses as we'll as trained help. In
all we'll regulated training schools the
work in the wards is In charge first Of
nurses who are graduates of training
school and who have had besides wide
experience in hospital work. These
head" nurses are in turn responsible
to the superintendent for the work per-
formed in the wards by the young
nurses. A training school that gets
along without this supervision cannot
give to the young nurse what she ought
to have as result of her training, and
worse feature of this deficiency is the
too great responsibility imposed upon
her.
Not Enough Nurses.
At the present time the nursing force
is entirely inadequate, fourteen pupil
nurses and the superintendent conSti.
tuting the entire staff. A few more as
sistants ami a couple of 'head" nurses
would make the training school in point
| of efficiency compare very favorably
| with anything in the country. How
ever. taxpayers always think that money
| is scarce, even when matter that in
wolves city's pride is concerned; but,
| although the board has had to work
slowly. great deal has been accom-
| plished, and great deal more is hoped
| for in the near future.
With the completion of the new build
| ing, the opportunities of the institution
| as general hospital will be greatly in
creased. ByMarch it is expected that
! the six large wards in the building will
| be ready for occupancy, and these will
accommodate about $50 patients. There
| will be in this building besides, about
| ten private rooms shat can be used for
pay patients. IN this building all cases
that come in will be cared for except
contagious diseases and the troubles of
babies. At present the upper floor of
| the administration building is used for
! the female ward, and the building that
was intended for the babies is used for
the male department of the general
hospital. 1t is useless to 60 into
the details of the crowding that has to
be done; it Is sufficient to say that dur
ing last winter it very often became
necessary for patients to sleep on the
floor. Removing the men over to
the new building Will also do away with
the necessity. which now exists, of per-
forming the most serious operations and
then carrying the patients from the OPP
Grating room. which is in the adminis-
tration building. out of doors aud over
to the male ward, distance of nearly a
block. The new arrangement provides
for the removal of patients from the op-
Grating room to the different wards
through the corridor that connects the
new building with the main one.
Besides these improvements, ne W
feature. and one that will be much ap
preciated by the physicians on the staff
is the new amphitheater that is building
in connection with the operating room.
At the present time there are no ac-
commodations whatever for the students
that come to the city for clinical in
struction, and crowding around the
operating table during operations is not
satisfactory. This the
Surgeons Seriously Object to,
as the presence of so many people in the
small room with the patient is not con-
duciye to the conditions necessary to the
successful performance of serious opera
tons.
SThe medical and surgical work is al
done by the members of the staff, or
which are the names of most of the
prominent physicians in the city. The
members of the medical and surgical
staff each serve three months at time
and during that time they attend all
cases that come into the house that are
| luCluuCu III lllclI llSbs Ills WOEh Olt6
keeps doctor at the hospital for severa
hours during the day, and for all thi
| he receives no remuneration Whatev er
At the city hospital corps of assistant
is provided, consisting of four gradu.
ates of the state university that give
their service for the experience the,
gain. These young men reside in thu
hospital, and prepare and keep the his
tory of each case so that when the physi
clan calls they can tell exactly how tn
patient has been since his last visit
The "internes," or house officers, will
be chosen from the graduates of the
university by competitive examination
after this year.
st. Luke's Hospital.
Compared with the city hospital, st
Luke's hospital has probably accom-
ing Its work and concentrating its eff
forts. This can be easily accounted for
In the first place the work of the hos
pital is all done under one roof, while a
the city hospital this concentration viii
he impossible until the new building i
completed. The popular impression
seems to be that at st. Luke's only thos
people are taken as patients that cal
afford to pay for the attention they re
ceive. This is entirely wrong as tn,
records OF the hospital will show. Dur
ing last year 26 per cent Of the patient
received were those who could not an
were not asked to pay. Besides thi
the rates III the wards are made yer,
moderate. so that all that desire entt
| the hospital for treatment can do 81