Evening journal., 1904-03-08
SENTIMENT CHANGES
TOWARD HOSPITAL
Continued from First raEeJ


! /
, fact that it is supported entirely by
+ subscriptions. it is astonishing how this
; managers have succeeded in making
] both ends meet. Not one cent is ap-
propriated by either the State. county
] or city to help along with this work
/ President Tilghman Johnston, Of the
, institution, recently stated that the de-
mands on the hospital are increasing
daily and that It is a big burden OF
the officials to secure enough funds tc
keep out Of debt. To do this the man.
n ayers and trustees have to give the
work much Of their time. for which
they receive no compensation what
ever Even with the well equipped
new addition which was recently COM
pleted, the hospital cannot meet the
demands on it and hardy day passes
but what some one has to be refused
ladmittance.
Work is Limited.
Speaking on this point Mr.. Johnston
says; "We have to limit the work to
our income. We are depending on the
public for support and If the work was
not limited we would soon be so much
in debt that the hospital would have
to close. The refusing Of admittance
does not apply to accident cases, as
the institution is compelled by its char
ter to take in all accident cases. Even
though cots would have to be placed
in the corridors"
It was explained by Mr.. Johnston
that the hospital has four means Of
support. They are annual contribu-
tors cash donations. money from pay
patients and income from endowment
fund which has been legacies left by
wills. There are twelve endowed beds
in the hospital.
The four means OF support last year
aggregated about $4,000 and 1t cost
over S17,0 900 to run the hospital, which
put it in debt $4,000. The year. how
ever, was started with cash balance
of $1,000 and $1,000 of this had to be
drawn. That was the first year in it's
existence that the institution did not
live within its income
Some idea Of the growth Of this hos
pital can be gained from the fact that
in 1890 there were 161 patients admit
ted at a total cost Of SS503.97 and last
year the number of patients were 627
and the cost of running the building
was s17,159.75. In 1890 it cost S117 a
day to care for each patient and last
year it cost between S1.25 and sl.4O a
day for each patient. This increase
can be attributed to the high price Of
produce. groceries and other articles
and also to mere modern methods Of
caring for the patients.
Appreciate Hospitals.
President Johnston says the Increase
i'm number of patients is not only due
10 increase I'm population but princi-
pally to the fact that the public now
appreciates the great work they are
doing. 1t is realized that the very
best medical attention can be received
i'm hospitals at a less cost than any
where else. Some years ago many
people dreaded hospitals and it was
looked upon almost as an admission
of poverty TO be treated in these in
stitutions. That state of affairs has
changed and now the hospitals con-
tain many free patients who are able
to be treated at home but realize they
can get better attention at the hos
pitfalls. There are now forty patients in
the institution. when with the present
income the capacity should not be over
thirty.
Prices For Pay Patients.
There are not all free patients in the
hospital. Private rooms can be OBJ
tanned from SO to S25 a week and
those who can afford it are charged 81
a day in the wards. Even this is
much cheaper than one can be attended
at home. For instance, a man who
boards is taken III and is removed to
the hospital He can get in a ward
]
day. If he should remain at his board
ing house, for a nurse and physician It
would probably cost him from $50 TO
I SS5 a week and the attention would
not be better
The hospital since it was first started
has been practically maintained by
public subscription. Many private in
/ dividuals and also manufacturers give
a certain amount for the maintenance
each year. The hospital was built on
this plan and also the new addition
This new building cost $4,000 and
about $4,000 is still owed on it.
Some years ago the Levy Court ap-
propriated $500 annually TO the hos
pital, but this was discontinued after
the adoption of the new constitution.
+ Ways Of Raising Funds.
During the year the Board Of
Women Managers hold bazaars, rum
mage sales and entertainments for the
benefit of the institution. Mrs. +. l..
Gilpin. president Of the board, stated
that the funds derived from these
sources last year had gone towards
buying such things as bed clothing and
other articles.
Doctors Services Free.
The part that physicians take at the
hospital is very commendable. It is
probably not generally known that the
/ physicians give their time and services
without any charge whatever. The
resident physicians are generally stu
dents who have just graduated and
they remain at the institution for six
months at a time. Among the visit
ing physicians are some of the most
prominent doctors in the city They
visit there every day to look after the
patients.
Appropriation Needed.
The work at the institution and cost
Of running 1t is Increasing so RAPIDLY
that it is the general opinion that the
local government should make a sub
stantial appropriation to help out with
the work. Mr.. Johnston, when spoken
TO on the subject said the hospital need
ed public help and the trustees would
like to secure such an appropriation.
Mrs. Gilpin expressed herself on the
subject in about the same manner. She
said that the work had increased so
largely that Z was a burden on the