The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-02-01
THE MARINE HOSPITAL
The Service. at the Wilmington Station
Vastly Improved-The Accommodation
and Equipments Are Now First Glass.
The Government Establishes q Consump-
tive d Here

The Government Establishes q Consump-
tive Hospital Here
There have been many improvements
of late at the United States marine hos
pital in Wilmington
Yesterday afternoon a Messenger rep
resentative called at the hospital and
found DR.. C. p. W~ertenbaker, the sur
geon in charge, III full dress uniform and
sword at his side, preparing for his first
inspection of the hospital corps. This is
not a new thing in the service but the
regulation has never prevailed here and
DR.. W~ertenbaker Is introducing 1t. He
proposes to have inspection every Satur-
day.
THE INSPECTION.
The inspection yesterday - very
good in some respects but it is not what
DR.. Wertenbaker hopes to mak it when
ne gets his corps trained. He had the
men and women, six of the former and
two of the latter, to form in the hall and
come to a dress" The men were in uni
form but the women were not. All of
the men were Colored except Mr.. E.. 3.
Scott, tine hospital steward who acted as
orderly. Besides him the corps was con:-
posed as follows: Henry Myers, acting
nurse, Isaac Lilly, acting ambulance
driver, James Donaldson, acting utility
man, owen Gorden, acting gardner,
Joseph Kicks, acting night Waterman,
May Douglass, acting laundress and
Lilly Hefflin, acting cook. When the line
is formed, and dressed, the orderly comes
onward sa1utes the surgeon and informs
him that the company is ready for in
spectfon. He then takes his position by
the surgeon in front of the company
which salutes after which THE ordely
calls the roll. Each person answers to
his name and calls out his position and
when the company is dismissed each
goes to his or her position in the service,
and awaits the surgeon who Immediately
goes around inspecting all the depart
partments. I'm each department. the per-
son in charge salutes the surgeon and
shows him over the department.
The Messenger scribe accompanied DR..
wertenbaker on his tour of inspection.
The main hospital building is a hand
some two STORY brick structure, with the
surgeons office and family residence on
the first floor. The inspection began
with the dispensary on the second floor.
IL 10 q SOo4 SiHoNA AcOAA IN NP VA "
drug store. and it is neatly kept by Mr..
Scott. The arrangement of the medi-
cfnes and the condition of the room un-
dergo inspection.
The next quarter inspected was the COL
Ored ward in the west end of the build
ing up stairs. Here were four colored
sailors who are patienth, and appeared to
be wen cared for, while the room and
L1,o l.oIJ;,-r -1r uoJnor or,sI copcof 1r-tta h1a
On the same floor is the white ward.
fronting to the south. Everything in lit
was as neat as a pin, and there Were also
four patients in this ward. Everything
in the two wards was bright and scrupu-
lOusly clean and reflected credit upon
Nurse Meyer. He has been in his position
for seventeen years, beginning service in
1881. Connected with the wards is a bath
room and lavatory, and they, together
with the clothes and linen closets, the
refrigerator and the piazzas running
around the second floor passed a good
inspection.
The next quarter inspected was the
heating apparatus in the basement, the
storerOom next door, the laundry at the
east end of the basement and the kitchen
next door. The kitchen is supplied with
q range and apparatus for supplying hot
water throughout the building. Every
thing is very neatly kept. In order to
show the rigidness of the inspection, the
surgeon wears white gloves and rubs his
fingers on the tins and cooking utensils
and if the gloves are soiled by the con-
tact he calls the cook down on it.
From the main hospital, DR.. Werten-
1o l-a,- won't tp rtba Ctl blpc aft tha eastern
side of the spacious hospital grounds and
there Ambulanceman Lilly had every
thing neat and in good order.
The yard around the building was the
last to be inspected. There is no vege-
table garden at this season of the year
but in the yards there are beds of violets
and a number of rose bushes in the open
air, DR.. Wertenbaker tells us that he
plucked roses from the bushes on the last
day of THE year. In a pit about fifteen
feet long there is under glass a Maredha,
Neil rose bush that is said to be the
largest and finest specimen in Whining
ton. 1t has borne 200 roses the past sea.
son and there are still a number of buds
and roses on the bush.
NEW IMPROVEMENTS.
Besides the hospital as inspected. there
are two new frame hospital buildings OF
tho grounds, the recent completion o.
which was mentioned by the Messenger
These and all the ~outbuildings are paint
ed red on the outside and white on. The
inside.
The new buildings are ready to be fur
r1shed and part of the equipments ar.
now being put in. When everything is ii
readiness the sick wards and dispensrar!
will be removed from the prick building
and the latter will alone be used as 81
executive building and as the surgeon:
residence. The new building for the gen
oral hospital is a comInodious str1ctur'
two stories high besides a brick base
ment. On the first floor south of a wid'
passage there is a neat room for the dis
pensary, and near it is a dong we'll light
ed room for the white ward. 1t is to b
furnished with twenty-five beds. TIL
cOtOred ward is to the east of it. and /