The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-01

AlSer to-day received the report oi
General H. V. Boynton upon the state
of affairs in the hospitals at Camp
Thomas. The report is dated august
20. The general reports that he visited
all the hospitals in the camp without
giving notice of his purpose and ADDS;
Believing the death list of this camp
to afford an excellent standard by WnlcL
to measure it's conditions as to health ana
hospital service, a full report was OBJ
tanned of all deaths in the camp ana It's
hospitals since its establishment IN the
middle of April last. The result SHOWS s5S VS.
this month, when the breaking up OF TINS
camp began. Between these dates, IN
Guiding regulars and volunteers, Iuliy
Is, 900 troops have been III camp III
Chickamauga Park.
The report takes up in detail first the
two permanent hospitals, Letter and
Sternberg, and then states with the
greatest minuteness the exact accom-
mediation afforded by each. The nrst
is at Crawfish Springs, under charge
of Major Carter. and was converted
from a summer resort hotel into nos
pital, receiving the worst typnolo cases
from the camp. Each patient has apun-
dant room. woven wire and hair mat
tresses and abundant bedclothes. Inc
ventilation is perfect, PLUMBING en-
tirely new and bathing facilities ample:
The number of attendants, When All
are WELL is entirely satisfactory, ana
attendants are on the way to take the
places Of those who are broken down.
Major Carter has secured a nerd OF
COWS and has made arrangements for
pasturing them without expense to the
Government. He has sufficient money
from the hospital fund to buy what
ever is wanted in the way Oh milk, ice
and other delicacies. There has been
at this hospital full supplies or lce'
milk commissary stores and dellcacles
such as the sick ought to have, and the
funds have enabled him to buy all that
has been needed in the way of canned
and ported goods, soups, clam juice,
sage matted milk, eggs, koumlss, 1el-
lies preserves, relishes, ginger, oil,
apollinaris, champagne and claret. The
entire hospital is furnished with dis
titled water and the ice used Is made
from distilled water.
Taking up the Sternberg Hospital, in
charge of Major Griffen, General Boyn-
ton shows it is one of the most COM
plete field hospitals ever seen, accord
ing to veterans of the last war. All the
tents are closely f1oored and they are
separate; at present only four men are
in any tent and in addition to the tents
there are nine large board pavilions.
wire mattresses, iron bedsteads and
hair mattresses. There are special diet
cooks. five cold storage rooms for deli
cacies, separate refrgerators for each
row of tents and every proper measure
of sanitation is observed with respect
to the sinks.
1t is stated in addition that all the
hospital refuse Is burned In crematory
and, according to Major Griffen, all of
the 200 patients now sick in the entire
camp could be safely moved now. The
diseases are more of a typho-malarial
character than Of typhoid fever strictly,
the death rate being very low, about 8
per cent of the worst cases.
The report states that in times when
the first division hospital under Major
FRANKIE was crowded there was a lack
by details from the regiments, which
were not as satisfactory as trained
nurses.
General Boynton shows that there is
a full refrigerator capacity for the hos
pital, porcelain lined baths, sterilized
and iced water and every convenience.
In the malignant typhoid ward there
have been but two deaths out of thirty
cases in three weeks. He says that
both the medical officers and the hos
pital attendants at this hospital have
undoubtedly performed their duty with
energy and efficiency.
The next hospital inspection was the
Third Division Hospital, First Corps
in charge of Major Thomas Clark
Here the attendants were found suffi-
cient, though in the earlier days there
were not enough surgeons or attend
ants. The grounds were in excellent
condition, the tents clean, most Of the
tents and all of the space between the
i cots and aisles floored. For time
the hospital was week behind in ob-
tanning it's medical supplies, but this
was before the Government had col
lected It's medical stores in great guam.
titles.
Taking up the last of the field hos
pitfalls, that of the Third Corps, Sec
ond Division, under Major Smith, the
report states that the f1fty-t three tents
are at present not all occupied, though
during the epidemic of measles they
were crowded There were no Rec
Cross nurses and detail of two la.
dies from the Chattanooga association
has visited the hospital daily to cool
the lighter food for the sick.
The report proceeds to treat the
whole subject of hospitals generally as
follows:
In two of the hospitals opportunities oc
CURED for discoveries of what undoubt
eddy. originated many. of the sensational
stories that have been printed ovel
the country to the effect that patient:
in the hospitals lacked sufficient food ant
in many cases had been on the verge o
| starvation In the wards where the con
| valescent typhoid patients were Ioun(
many of the men were constantly aslsin.
for food and as a matter of consequence,
were as constantly denied everything ex
cept the lighter forms of food which cal
! alone be safely administered to recover
| ing typhoid PATIENTS. So far from be
lieving, as a result of my observations
that medical officers have been heartles
or negligent, ] believe that these officer
and the hospital attendants as who'll
have exerted themselves to discharg
their duties faithfully.
NUMBER OF DEATHS