Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-07-04
THE THOMPSON HOSPITAL.
Committee at Work on Plant for
Present Use Which Will Also Be
Adaptable tor Future Developmel


Adaptable for Future Developments
Mr. Bradley gives the following in.
formation with regard to work on the
hospital, which work has made good
progress in spite of some Interruptions
due TO the necessary absence OF var
ious members OF the committee ut con
ventions, and to illness in the family
Of Dr. Cobb.
AT the beginning OF the work it was
decided to lay out as complete a plan
as possible including administration
department. medical and surgical
wards, service building containing
laundry, kitchen and boiler plant)
Isolation buildings, tuberculosis build
ing, etc, in order that what is done
with the limited means now at hand
may be dones with reference to the
future requirments of the community.
This work has now been done so
far as it can be accomplished by
means of preliminary plans, several
sets of which have been made involv-
ing different types of construction,
and figures of cost have been worked
out so far as this can be done by
means of preliminary drawings. The
hdo hOm DtlOlt ~ l1t plO-
blem of deciding how far to cut down
and modify these plans so as to OBJ
tain working plant available for the
present and at the same time adapt
able to future developments. This is
not an easy task as a hospital being
made up of number of departments
largely dependent on each other, does
not readily admit of horizontal reduc-
ton without arrangement of some of
its functions.
A hospital built on the frame cot
tage hospital plan, or one of more sub
stantial but not fireproof construction
where kitchens, Offices, operating de-
partment, and patients rooms are all
gathered under one roof, might be
built at once on plans similar to those
adopted in many other towns.
The trustees and the committee,
however, are anxious to take advan-
tage if possible of all of the most re-
cent improvements in hospital con
struction especially such as guard
against the danger from fire, and since
there have been many recent improve.
ments in this kind of construction it
has been found necessary to resort to
working drawings in order to get es-
Inmates sufficiently accurate to form
the basis of decision as to the course
to be taken.
Preliminary work of this kind is
always tedious, but both the trustees
and the committee are resolved that
their work at this time shall be such
as to give the best possible chance
for the future, whether the future
growth of this work shall come through
the Thompson trust OF some other
sources.
Since organizing that part OF the
work of this trust that has been done
through Mrs. Tyler and Mrs. Wells
the trustees have had about year In
which to obtain some definite knowl
edge as to what would be required to
carry out the wishes of the testator
with regard to the uses for sewing
women and shop girls especially pro-
vided for in his VIII. Previous to the
present time they have had neither
sufficient money on hand nor sufficient
knowledge of what would be available
to enable them to build and equip a
first class hospital for the town, and
since the use of the fund for this pur.
pose is necessarily a secondary con
sideration to their obligations to the
sewing women, they have not been and
are not now willing either to spend
their income in advance, or commit
themselves to any large future expen-
ditures. At the resent time as re-
suit of waiting they find themselves
with sufficient means at their dis
posal to contract for a good hospital
plant of moderate size and cost, which
both they and the committee hope to
be able to plan in such a way that
what is now built will so far as il
goes not only meet the requirments OF
present hospital work. but leave pro
per opportunity for future benefactors
to meet future needs.
There will be no delay in building
this beyond what is necessary in order
to be as sure as possible of getting the
best thing.