The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1904-01-29
Southern Insane Hospital.


10 the vicinity of Evansville is the
southern Indiana Hospital for the
Insane, three miles east Of the city
on the New burg road. OF itself the
hospital il a little community-not
90 small, either, for the superinten-
lent report ior January shows a
total population OF 745. OF these
eight are officers, 105 are employees, /.
and G32 patients. OF the patients
81 are men and 3l1 are women.
rne-e figures include only the pa
lelt- actually present during the
month. aud do not take into ac-
count the patients that are absent
ju Through. Many pretentious
couniry towns have populations not
in excess OF "Woodmere," the To-
cal name that has been bestowed on
the hospital, and which was sugges-
ted by the magnificent groves and
the chain Of lakes that lie in front
OF the hospital buildings.
Thousands Of the Courier's read
srs will recall the with enthusiasm
the summer beauty Of Woodmere.
One OF the popular drives is that
Afforded by the trip out Newburg
road and around the broad avenues s
that encircle the hospital lawns.
In the late spring, when the bur-
geOning earth is most lavish in dis
tributing the essence of life, there
j. in all Indiana no prettier spot
than WoOdmere.
From a financial stand point the
the hospital is not an unimportant
factor in Evansville business circles.
An examination OF the financial
statement to the governor for the
fiscal year ending Oct. 81, 1908,
discloses that the treasurer OF the
hospital within twelve months dis
bursed s1O5,563.2l. OF this sum
s3S, ,320.63 went for salaries and
wages; $50, 1858 for food sup
plies; 81 ,53S.72 for clothing; sl9,-
l917 .65 for stationery. laundry sup
plies, furniture and bedding, medi-
lcines, postage, freight, farm and
garden, amusements. fuel and light,
engineers supplies and other items
of the kind; 81 900 for repairs and
lSfiO.2S for painting,
II cost the state last year to care
for each patient at Woodmere an
average Of s169. SO. This includes
all the expenses OF the institution.
administration cost, medical atten-
ton, medicines, clothing and sub
sistence. The actual average per
capita cost for.supplies was s6S.14.
For the present year the appro-
priations made by the legislature
for the Southern Hospital are as
follows:
For maintenance. -slOl, lbo W
For clothing. ...-...- 4,OOO W
For repairs ....-...... 4,UJO W
For laundry building. 10000 90
For dynamo and engine $500 90
For tile floor in kitchen 1000 OO
For painting. ....... 1,OOO W
For each patient in excess OF 62O
the hospital is also entitled to draw
from the treasury at the rate OF s16O
per annum per capita. For the
month of January the excess was
twelve.
The new laundry il now building,
and will be completed within a few
weeks. The tile floor in the gener-
al kitchen is finished, and the en-
sineers are at work installing the
new engine and dynamo. In addi-
ton to the foregoing an appropria-
ton OF 81, 800 was made to be ex
pended, conditionally, in improve
ing the water supply No plan has
been devised to make this improve
ment. The hospital at present has
it, own water supply, but It Is not
adequate. Negotiations with the
authorities looking to a connection
with the city mains has been on,
.hus far no conclusion has been
reached.
The superintendent and the trus'
tees Of WoOdmere are going to ask
the rext legislature for substantial
appropriations for certain necessary
additions to the buildings. Cne
feature that D-. Laughlin is partic-
lularly sOlicitous a0out is the estab-
llishment OF hospital for the care
Of the consumptivs insane, where
these consumptlves may be entirely
apart from tho other patients.
Among the patieLil Of the hospital
there is an appalling number OF
deaths from tuberculosis Of the
lungs. Within the period since the
Opening OF the Southern hospital
There have been 45l isaths, and OF
this number ninet' i've resulted
from this disease. In round num-
bers, one in FIVE died from con-
sumption l-Evansvlle Courier.
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