Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-10
ON MODERN LINES
improvements Just Com
pleted at Garfield Hospital.
100000 EXPENDED
TWO NEW BUILDINGS EQUIPPED
AND IN USE.
Working Departments in North Wing,
Pavilion for Operations in
South Wing.
100000 EXPENDED

directors or GdrneiQ Memorial f1oSpitdi heS
invited the public to inspect the new add
lions to the main hospital building tomor-
row and Saturday, from to in the after
noon. Congress made an appropriation OF
s1OO,OOO for improvements to this hospital
building and the work of making these i'm
prcvements has been in progress for months
past.
The additions consist of two new build
ings-one, known as the north wing, being
assigned to the working departments OF the
institution and the other, known as the
south wing, being an operating pavilion. 1t
is the latter which will probably attract
the attention of visitors tomorrow and the
next day.
The new pavilion is three stories in
height and is surmounted with long sun
parlor. 1t contains an amphitheater where
clinics can be held, small operating room,
anesthetic, examination, steriliZing, dress
ing and storage rooms, private rooms Tor
surgical patients, rooms for dispensary
service and complete operating outfit. 1t
is built to the east of the main hospital
building and joins, on the south, the OLD
east wing.
The building is most pleasing to the eye.
though in an entirely different style of
architecture from any of the other sec
lions Of the hospital. While this building is
spoken of as complete in itself, it is not
separate or distinct In any way from the
other portions of the hospital. 1t is part
of the large main building and Its cor
ridors are simply extensions of the Old nall
ways.
Cost of the Pavilion.
The operating pavilion cost between $780,
600 and $4,000, and is said to be one of the
most complete plants Of the kind In the
country. 1t is fireproof throughout, nothing
but brick, stone and cement being used,
m
and window frames. These are all of solid
oak None of the doors are paneled, but
each is made of heavy slabs of oak, highly
polished and about two and half lncnes
thick The absence Of the usual panelng
gives the doors an odd appearance, WHICH,
Is most attractive.
The central feature of this section OF the
improvements is, of course, the amphlthea,
ter. or large operating room, on the seconu
or main floor. This room Is said to be one
of the best of the kind in the country. 1t IS
large has an unusually high ceiling, even
for such a room, and has light from the
top and side: At least half or me norm TN
wall, beginning about ten feet from the
floor, is Of ground glass in steel frames All
of the appliances in the room are OF nickei
or steel and glass The steel is enameleo
white and the nickel highly polished. Inc
floor is laid with mosaic thing and the SIDE
walls, to a height of ten feet, are OF gray
marble. .o.., .
The seats for students rise in tiers from
height of about ten feet above the floor 10
the level of the floor of the third story o1
the building. There are ACCOMMODATIONS
for eighty-five students. All OF the chalrs
are set in the floor with detachaoie tast si,r,
ers. so that they may be removed easlly
when the room is cleaned. The platforms
for the chairs are of cement, and the step
from tier to tier is set in glass thing. Inc
seats themselves have no cracks or creslces
and are thickly enameled In Whlte.
Operating and Instrument Tables.
The operating table, instrument table ana
the various necessary stands In the room
are made of plate glass and enameled steer.
Holes for electric lighting plugs are piaceu
in the wall nearest the operating table SO
that portable lights might be used In oper-
ations. The cases for the instruments ; anu anu
dressing material are all of plate glass ana
enameled STEEL while the sterilizers are Oh
pure nickel The air in the operating room
is forced through steel hue by an eiectric
fan so that it is possible to neat the room
to the desired temperature in few mo-
ments.
In the room below the operating room the
air from the outside is admitted. There is
but one inlet and one outlet beside the
door, The outlet is into the fue that con-
meets with the operating ROOM and about
this outlet is a little room with walls or
fine cloth, sort of a compromise between
boiling cloth and cheese CLOTH The fresh
air. coming in from the outside, passes
then passes through series Of steam pipes
by means of which it is heated and then on
to the fan, which forces it into the operat-
ing room. Every particle of dust and dirt Is
taken from the air in this manner. The
cloth used for filtering is changed every
week or two weeks The large operating
room occupies the entire north side of the
new building, with the exception of small
section on the east.
The smaller or private operating room is
in the northeast corner Of the building, and,
though much smaller than the other, is just
as complete In every detail. Next to the
small operating room, and across the corri
dor from the larger chamber, Is the room
reserved for instruments and instrument
cases. This room is finished in glass thing.
has mosaic floor and its fittings are of
plate glass and steel. Next to this is
sterilizing room, where instruments and
dressings are sterliZed The steriliZer for
tic instruments is fitted with two trays,
and a number of surgical appliances can
be steriliZed al the same time.
The Surgeons Room.
The room next to this on the south, il
arranged for the use of surgeons Those
who know something of hospital work are
acquainted with the fact that surgeons
must wash their hands and arms until abso-
lutely no particle of foreign matter can re-
main on them. 1t requires ten or fifteen
minutes to do all this cleaning, and then
arms in antisceptic solutions several times.
In the room reserved for the surgeons has
been placed a series of basins of thing,
with hot and cold water connections These
basins are so arranged that the water and
waste pipes are operated by the feet in
stead of the hands so that surgeon need
rot touch anything about the room after
he has washed his hands for the last time.
In a corner opposite the basins is a steel
stand used as a receptacle for the basins
of antisceptic solutions used. The sur
geons desire to be so sure that their hands
are thoroughly ascepticized that In some
cases they use three or four different solu-
tons. one after the other. This stand Is
arranged to hold four or five bowls or lars
containing such solutions.
Adjoining the room for the sterilization
of the hands and arms is a dressing room
for the surgeons equipped with a shower
bath. On the south side of the building on
this floor are the rooms for storing dress
ings, the administration of the anasthetics
and the examination of the patients. These
rooms. and the corridor leading to them,
and to the other rooms described also have
tiled and cement floors and the walls are
of glass tile to a height of six or eight feet
from the floor. Each room Is equipped with
such furnishings are necessary to carry
on the particular work for which 1t was
designed, all of the appliances except the
instruments being of white enameled steel