The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-07-25
AT THE HOSPITAL.
Mayor Ellert Pays a Visit
to DR.. Titus.
TWO SUPERVISORS ALONG.
They Find a Great Deal to Criti-
CiZe.
INFERIOR BUSINESS METHODS.
Patients Not Given the Food That
the Physicians Order
for Them.
INFERIOR BUSINESS METHODS.

dence which more than ever convinces
them that it was not necessary for DR..
Titus to tu.n out 100 patients this month
to keep within the 100000 appropriation
made for the hospital.
In other words. the investigation con-
firmed in their minds the opinion that DR..
Titus is a very poor business man and in
competent to manage the business inter-
ests of the hospital.
The most peculiar discovery Of the day
was the manner in which the doctors order
food for the patients. Chops and steaks
are ordered py the dozen, but when they
get to the patients they may consist Of any
thing in he meat line from boiled beef TO
sausages. Shakespeare's little verse about
whats in a name" evidently does not
fnd approval with the hospital manage
ment. Perhaps slice from the neck OF
bovine tastes better when olga fled with the
name of steak At any rate scraps of all
kinds are served as chops and steaks.
Under this system the menu from the Pal
ace might just as we'll be placed before the
furnishing patients and an opportunity
given them to feast their eyes on the names
of the choicest delicacies. 1t would cost no
more and it might do the patients great
deal of good if the theory upon which the
doctors are evidently proceeding be true.
The Mayor and the two Supervisors
who accompanied him went through sew
eral of the wards and asked each patient
what food he received AND how he liked it.
Most of the sufferers complained that their
food was poor IN quality and poorly cooked.
The tea and coffee, they SAID, were abOm-
Unable and the meat poor. A bov 10 or IL
wears, who was laid up with a disabled
foot, in reply to a question from the
Mayor said he never ate the meat that was
given to him because he wasn't very strong
and couldn't cut it.
Another item was found wherein the
records Of the hospital are not sustained
by facts. Where patient is on a milk
diet he is supposed to get three quarts of
milk each day, but according to the state
ments of over a score of patients they do
not get this amount. The statements are
also corroborated by the nurses. The
milk is served IN tin cups supposed 30 hold
| pint, and as result patient gets TWO
quarts of milk when he should get three.
| None OF the patients complained that they
| did not get all the milk they wanted, but
| the Mayor and the Supervisors objected TO
| the action of Dr. Titus in making it
matter of record that the patients were
| given so many quarts OF milk day when
| such was not the fact.
| After Mayor Ebert and the Supervisors
! had completed their tour through the hos
pital they called on DR.. Titus to interrogate
| him on the chop question and ask him
| 3D0uJ tue SNORT measure OF MIX gwen 10
the patients. The doctor said that when
he took charge of the hospital it was The
custom to designate all kinds of meat on
| the diet tables as chops and steaks. When
| it was absolutely necessary that a patient
| be given the genuine article the word
Special" was written after chop or steak
! as the case might be, and then the cook
| understood that he must serve what was
called for. Otherwise he sent any kind of
| meat that he might have handy.
| DR.. Titus said he recognized the fact
| that it was mistake to have all kinds of
meat listed on the table as chops and
steaks, but he said it was a mistake that
! he neglected TO eliminate when he took
charge OF the hospital and reOrganiZed the
| diet tables.
| Another strange feature of the chon
question is that unless the word Especial"
| is written after an order for chops or
steak on the diet table The same kind of
meat is sent. What the object of order
| ing chops part of the time and steaks the
rest when exactly the same thing is sent
| in each case is not quite clear 10 the minds
! of the Mayor and the Supervisors. Neither
did DR.. Titus have an explanation to offer
| for the custom.
| When the question of food supplies had
been investigated sufficiently to convince
the Mayor that the patients were not re-
| ceiving what was ordered for them, he
turned his attention to the employees Of
the hospital. Mayor Ellert and the Su-
pervisors contend that if DIR. Titus had
discharged thirty or forty of his eighty
three employees he would not have found
it necessary to have turned so many pa
tients out of doors during the last three
weeks.
DR.. Titus showed the party about the
buildings and grounds and explained
what his EN- ployes were doing, and at the
close asked the Mayor il he still thought
the force of workmen too large.
Yes, sir, l do" promptly replied the
Mayor.
"Whom shall 1 discharged" asked the
doctor.
Il can't tell you just by walking through
the grounds and buildings once" replied
his Honor; but if | were to be here a day
or two l could easily enough get along with
thirty or forty fewer men,
Mayor Ellert and DR.. Titus had a very
warm discussion about their respective
business instincts just before the Mayor
left the hospital. The Mayor has all along
cOntended that the doctor had great deal
to learn before he could become financier,
and the doctor expresses the same opinion
of his Honor. Willis going through the
wards the Mayor found that in one ward
the doctor in charge had not provided
diet-table, and that the nurse was giving
| the patients what he saw fit. AS this is
| in violation of the rules of the hospital the
Mayor asked DR.. Titus how it happened.
| DR.. Titus could not believe the state
ment at first When assured that there
| was no mistake he said he was not aware
| that the doctor in charge of the ward was
| neglectiDg his duty and that he would see
about it.
"But why don't you know about such
| tbings?" inquired the Mayor. You are
| placed here TO superIntend this hospital
and by your own admission you don't
| know what is going on in it. L understand
| you have said Idon't know anything about
| business principles or conducting a hospi-
| tai, but it seems to me that such ignorance
| as you have displayed is not very becom-
| ing to one who poses as my superior in
| these matters"
| DIR. Titus had no particular excuse to
| offer why he did not know that one of his
| subordnates was neglecting his duty and
| the only thing he could say was that he
would investigate the matter.
The Mayor and Supervisors believe the
| discoveries they made yesterday justify
! further Investigation, and they will spend
another day at the hospital soon. Mayor
Ebert beives DR.. Titus makes mistake
| in paying too much atten tion to minor de-
tails and letting more important affairs go
as they happen to.
| With regard to this criticism the Mayor
| tells a funny story He says few weeks
ago man came to his Office at the new City
| Hall aud complained that he had been
turned out of the hospital. One of DR..
| Titus rules is that where dose of medi-
cine is prescribed for a patient it is re-
| eorded when given in order to make GER