The herald., 1896-09-13
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
An Institution That Is a Credit to the City
and State

and State
| Few things gre more threadbare than
the subject Of California climate, but it
thrusts itself into everything and is the
cause of three out Of every four effects.
| Which prelude is to excuse the following
| reference to it.
To our climate-as nearly perfect as
any earthly thing-is due the hundreds
and thousands of health seekers who
| flock to the southwest, and to Los An
| geles in chief, every year. To this influx
| of invalids iselue the demand for proper
| housing and care of the sick To this
| demands due the arising upon every
| side of sanitariums, and in se0 eral in
| stances of hospitals.
The hospital of the Good Samaritan
| is not yet a~fact entirely accomplished.
| Literally and figurately it is a body
without wings, and it has need Of the
wings before it can become altogether
the angel of mercy it is meant to be,
| gathering the suffering under their
| shadow. This body-a cement building
stands on West Seventh street, near
Pearl, facing over the city, lying a little
| below it; from the rear overlooking the
residences and gardens of the southwest
| part of town, and the valley and foot
| hills beyond toward the sea and the sun
| set. The building cannot yet be called
| imposing, although it is clearly notice
| able. 1t remains for the wings to be
| added for it to be a beautiful and cred
liable structure. 1t will be, in dimen-
sions, 12O feet front by 100 feet deep; 1t
| will be two stories high and contain 81
rooms, including three wards.
! Nine years ago a few well-known and
charitable men and women succeeded,
| after much labor, in starting a small
/ r., s%r,I 1Oay toll
| and Home for invalids. Very soon its
work outgrew the narrow quarters Oh
| Sixteenth and Hill streets, but it was
| some years before the funds sould be
raised to justify the directors in COM
| mencing the construction of that part
of the Good Samaritan hospital now
! standing. (The name was changed in
1881 1t is charity by the bye, abso-
lutely non h-sectarian. A portion of a
section of the bylaws reads: 1T is the
expressed intention of the hospital to
minister to suffering humanity without
| distinction of race, creed or condition,
and to forbid the entrance of no patient,
| nor such attendance, temporarily or spir- .
| itually, as patients may DESIRE"
! 1t is commonly said that hospital is
a popular charity, appealing to the SYM
| pathieS of all, but only those who have
| some idea of hospital work, who have
! become more or less familiar visitors.
can really appreciate it. modern
| hospital is very different affair from
| the house OF suffering of not so many
years ago. There is more required than
q 5he eoid iders Hy RhHyfsls f sSrseEy ~ hfa apaa0
clean but dainty" the superintendent
will tell you. The Hospital of the GOOD
Samaritan is dainty, from the big white
vases filled with pink fiowers-pink IS
the hospital color-to the sunny rooms
and the services on the trays that are
10 a
Thenstoo, the place is exquisitely neat
| and free from the odors that one con-
meets with hospitals. At present 1T is
| very crowded, there being no regular
| wards, the administration building-all
| that is vet constructed-has to be used
| for the patients. Eevn with this there
| is no confusion to harrass the patients
or to delay the pink and white uniform
| ed nurses, as they move about IN the
| quiet, cheerful, busy way peculiar to
| nurses.
The most interesting part of hospital
is the operating room. 1t may sound odd,
| nevertheless, in the Good Samaritan
hospital at least, it is truly beautiful
room. When the preparations for an
operation are going forward the sun
| streams in on the glass of the walls and
! on the cleaning white tiled floor. There
are rolls of white linen, shining porce-
lain, and the doctors are moving about,
covered to their throats in aprons spot
lessly white, others going through the
process Of cleansing their hands and
arms. Which does not mean mere mat
ter of scrubbing with soap and water,
but putting them into two solutions, the
first of which turns them deep purple,
the second restoring them to their nat
ural hue, before the final plunge into
sterilized water. From o'clock until
a. mj nurse will have been washing
from ceiling to floor with bi-chloride of
| instruments
and utensils have all been steriliZed, as
has all the water used. When every
thing is ready the door of the anesthetic
room opens, the unconscious patient
who never sees the operating room nol
| anything connected with it, Is brought
in and only the doctors, nurses and the
superintendent remain on the scene.
1t is hoped that before long there will
be wards to equal this model operating
room, as active measures are being
taken to raise the $4,000 needed to finish
the building.
Hospitals are expensive, to run and
to build Some idea of this may be
gained from these figures. Each free
bed-adult-costs $500 per year Cor per
manently $50OO;) children, $3.50, or $1,000
permanently. Any sum from this to the
Sc of membership in the corporation, OF
, the smallest donation is gladly received
as are also books, fruits, magazines ant
r flowers.
No one needs to be convinced that 6
hospital is deserving. but of it's interes
7 one can only be convinced by visiting
| and experience.
The Hospital of the Good Samaritan
l. is open all day on all days of the weel
and nothing gives the superintendent
. more pleasure than to show the hous
to all who are sincere in their wish to SCI
! it and in their sympathy with its beau
, tiful work.
A splendid outdoor fete is to be givel
, in aid of the hospital on the oath, 25tl
| and 26th instants at the beautiful
. grounds of Mrs. M. S. Severance, afford
{ ing everyone delightful opportunit!
of assisting this good work.
Sued for Libel
: SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 12-Tht