The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-09-07
HOSPITALS MUST
OWN AMBULANCES
CHANGE is APT TO BE MADE.
CITY NOW HANDLES PATIENTS OF
EVERY CHARACTER.

According to Suggested Plan, which
Meets With Approval of Acting
Mayor Dixon, City Ambulances Are
to He Reserved for Emergency
CaIIs-Each Hospital VIII Be Made
to Get Its Patients to Its Door.
Enormous Increase in Number of
calls Cause of Proposed Change.
| The police ambulances will, in all
| probability. be used for emergency
| calls only after this year. and each of
the hospitals in the city will be re-
! quired to have its own ambulance.
The increase in the number
of calls made for the police ambu-
lances. especially to meet trains to get
patients, who are being brought to Sa-
vannah for treatment at the hos
pitfalls, is responsible for the PROPOSE
tion to make each hospital furnish its
own ambulance.
Quite a number of times recently
when the ambulances have been need
ed to make calls in cases of accidents,
they have been busy on calls for sick
people. The victim of the accident has
in consequence. had to wait until the
ambulance returned from the sick call.
For Hurry Calls Only.
According to the plan that has been
suggested, the police ambulances will
be kept for what are known as hurry
calls" only. They are to be used only
in cases of accidents. or where a per-
son is taken suddenly i'll on the street,
or in some public place.
By this arrangement it is thought
there will be no delay in getting to the
scene of an accident. Often, as in the
case of street car or railroad accidents.
every minute consumed in getting the
victim or victims to hospital counts.
There are only two ambulances own
ed by the city, one for white persons
and one for negroes. With these two it
is practically impossible to look after
all the calls that are now made on the
police department. Then, often, when
an ambulance is needed for some emer-
gency call, it is busy carrying some
sick person to a hospital.
Acting Mayor Dixon Talks.
The superintendent of police will, in
all probability. make some recommen-
dation in his annual report in regard to
the ambulances. The calls, especially
those for people coming from out-of-
town, have increased greatly in the last
few months.
There is no reason in the world why
each hospital should not have it's own
ambulance" said Acting Mayor Dixon.
in speaking of the matter. The car
rying of people to the hospitals is real
ly a part of the hospital work, and
there is no reason why the city should
do it.
Il think the two ambulances should
be retained for emergency calls, but
where people are simply sick at home,
l see no reason why the city should
pay to move them. l am especially OPP
posed to having the city meet people
at the trains and carry them to the
hospitals, when those institutions are
paid for caring for them"
Savannah's Charity Fund.
All out of town patients are of course
pay patients. The hospitals get money
for taking care of them, and they
should move them to and from the in
stitutions, where it is necessary, it is
argued by those favoring the change
that has been suggested. 1t is not
thought the new plan can be put into
operation before the beginning of an
other year, though some favor making
the change at once.
In talking of the matter yesterday,
Acting Mayor Dixon said few people
realized how much the city gives away
in charity each year. To the hospitals
large appropriations are given, as we'll
as number of charitable institutions.
Counting the taxes and street paving
bills that are refunded, and all dona-
tons that are made, Mr.. Dixon says
Savannahs charity bill for year will
easily amount to 100000. On top of
that he does not think the city should
be called upon to pay the cost of car
ryng people to hospitals when the
hospitals are making money out of
them. The wear and tear on the po-
lice ambulances and on the horses is
beginning TO tell and the point has
been reached where the city is going
to do something.