The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-09-03
CITY HOSPITAL.
Angels in Checked
Ginghams and
White Caps.
BLESSING TO RICH AND POOR.
Its Management,and Meth
DDS Told by a Spy
Man.

1t is common belief that angels
wear wings.
1t Is an equally common belief that
heaven is situated somewhere among
the. clouds, too far off to get at until
one is dead
This may be all right for some PEG
pie but for hundreds Of sick folks in
Worcester, heaven is situated UP on
jacques avenue, and angels wear white
and blue checked bingham and little
white caps. And there are lots of we'll
people who believe the same thing.
The first thing which strikes one on
entering the big brick building known
as the Worcester city hospital is the
absolute cleanliness that prevails. Not
the painful cleanliness of some house
holds, where the parlor is kept shut all
the time for fear there will be a speck
of dust on the hair-cloth sofa, but the
cleanliness that is next to godliness.
And the second thing that makes an
impression as one passes through the
large entry hall into the corridors and
wards. is a sense of peace and quiet
ness. The soft football of a nurse or
the low moan of a sick person is the
only thing which breaks the stiffness.
But it is not oppressive. Of course,
there is an odor of ether near the sur
gical wards, but ether has a clean
smell.
When a patient comes to the hos
pital he is first taken to the admitting
room, and his eligibility Is considered,
whether he Is sick enough to be admit
ted, or whether he has any sort of con-
tagious disease. In the latter case he is
sent to the isolation hospital If he is
found to be all right, his history is TAX
en-. That is, his name, age, birthplace
occupations etc. Then he is given a
which he is assigned. The bed card
has on it his number, his name, the
date when he was admitted and a blank
for the date of his discharge. These
cards are Of different colors for differ
ent diseases and are hung over the pa
TENTS bed together with the charts for
registering temperature, pulse and res
Diraton.
After he is sent to the ward. he is
given bath, if his condition will allow
it, and put to bed. The doctor under
whose charge he happens to come, then
makes a physical examination, and di-
agnoses the case, after which the pa
tent is put under such treatment as
may be necessary.
The receiving of emergency patients
differs slightly, as the exigencies of the
case demand. If the patient has met
with an accident that demands immedi-
ate attention, he is taken from the am
bulance at once to the operating room
and given his bed card after he has re-
covered from the effects of the ether.
After the patient has been put to bed
in one of the long line of white cots, in,
say, the medical ward, and the doctor
has prescribed the course of treatment,
the nurse begins her work. which is to
see to his wants, take his temperature
pulse and respiration at stated hours,
and make reports to the doctor in
charge of that particular case. The
charts on which the temperature pulse
and respiration are registered, are cul-
ed into squares, the horizontal lines re-
presenting degrees of temperature, etc,
and the vertical lines the hours at
which the observations were taken,
making it possible to record fully the
patients condition during an entire day
or night. IT, at any time, in the judg-
ment of the nurse, the patients eondi-
tlon seems to be- getting worse, the
doctor is called, who, if necessary, takes
charge of the patient, or orders a
change Of treatment. The doctor pre-
scrlbes the diet the patient is to have
and 1t is the nurses duty to see that
ne gets It. Each ward has its own pan
Try, linen closet and bath room. The
food is all prepared in the general kit
chen, but Is served from the pantries in
the wards.
Passing down a long corridor from
the medical wards, one comes to the
operating rooms. Standing in the hall
way, just beside the door at which the
ambulance stops, is stretcher on
wheels, used for conveying patients
mere. The operating rooms open off
thls hallway on either side. One is
used as an emergency room, where OPP
eratlons are performed as soon as the
patient is brought in, IL necessary On
the other side of the hall is the amphi-
theatre, where the more difficult opera
uons, or those where there is time for
preparation, are DONE All that Is kept
IN thls room besides the seats arranged
IN tiers Is the glass top operating table
The instruments and apparatus are
Kept IN separate rooms, in cases or on
shelves. Adjoining the amphitheatre is
the stertli2ing room, where all the in
struments are boiled before using, and
al the dressings thoroughly steamed.
For performing a difficult operation,
great deal of preparation is neces-
sary. The instruments to be used are
placed in bath of superheated water
and boiled for some time. The gauze
ana bandages used for dressings are
put into wire cages, which are in turn
put into strong steel cylinders and
SUBJECTED TO the heat of steam under Is
pounds pressure, or at the temperature
OF l4O degrees. The doctor and the
nurses who are to assist him then get
ready for their work. In another room
aoJolning the amphitheatre there are a
number of sinks, where the doctors
ana nurses wash their hands with anti
septic soap and put on the long gown
which cover their other clothes during
the operation.
In the meantime the patient is not al
IoWed to see the operating ROOM He is
put on q stretcher and carried to little
room opening into the amphitheatre,
ssAad there the ether is administered be-
Tore he Is put on the operating table.
Mhen he becomes unconscious, he is
wheeled into the amphitheatre and put
oh The glass top table, ready for the
operation. The dot<or begins his work,
me nurses standing near, ready to as
slst as he needs them. All the water
used during the operation has been
neated twenty or thirty degrees above
me boiling point, and 1t is one of the
duties of the nurse to hold the basins
while the doctor washes the wound.
Nhen the operation is complete the
patient is taken into the recovery
room before regaining consciousness,
20 recover from the effects of the ether,
alter which he is taken back to the
ward, mard. The recovery rooms are fitted
win cots, and are about the most quiet
rooms in the building, being isolated
rom the ward rooms as much as
Possible.
IN an emergency case, there usually
- not time enough for so much prepar-
SSsloh II possible, the patient Is given a
oetn, and then taken Immediately to the
operating room for such cases. Here
olost OF the ambulance cases are treat
W. as they usually consist of fractures
er burns caused by accident. While The
sspy man was visiting the hospital a
wv days ago, O boy was brought IN who
.lad broken his arm by fall. He was