Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-07-26
Comparison Of the Cost of the
Vermont Asylum with Those
outside the State.
COAL MORE EXPENSIVE.
Salaries for Medical Attendance md
superintendent Much Less Than
for an Equal Size Institution
In Rochester, n. Y.-An
Glasses Treated Here.

Waterbury, July 10.-Snce the matter o
insane hospital here has been under dis
cussion, representative of the Free Pres
asked Dr. ID. ID. Grout, superintendent, 70
Il statement as to the expenses here com
pared with that at other asylums.
Per capita expense as reported by hospi
tails in other States:
Danvers, Mass, 1905, 1850 selected pa
uents ............. ......... ...........S.i5
Northampton, Mass, 1904, $50 selected
tcHtS ''''''..'' .....'..'''' '.''.'''. SO
Northampton Mass. 1905, 800 selected
patients ......, .......... ............. 3.01
Utica State hospital, n. Y, loo Sc
lcCted patients......... .............. 3.S6
Taunton. Mass, 1905, 932 selected pa
ucnts....... .......,,..., ............. i.2S
Worcester Ins. hospital Mass, 1.250
selected patients 1904. go. .........., $50
Worcester Ins. hospital, Mass, 1850
selected patients 100. -. ........ 4.15
Westboro, Mass. dast report we
have) t760 patients) l9d9.............. 3.92
Boston 1ns. hospital 1906 coo selected
patients ........., .,...... ...t........ 4.S3
State hospital. Morrisville, Pa........ 1850
Columbus State hospital Columbus,
ohlo........ .............. ............ 3.Ii
Maine State hospital Augusta Me-. $50
State hospital, Warren. Pa........... $40
Maryland State hospital. 3.S7
Average per capita cost of the IS
quoted '.'.''. ..''..... .... .........40Si:
Vermont state asylum for the in
sane, Waterbury, VT, for the bien-
NAL term ending June 80 1904 per
capita cost as reported .............. 395
CAS- we figure iO......... ........... 407
Vermont State hospital for the in
sane Waterbury, VT, for the bien-
NAL term ending June 90, 1906, per
caplta...'..' ....'.'.., ......... ...... 3.5S
Gor the past year, ................... 3.21
The weekly per capita cost of main
tenance for the year ending Juno 30,
1919, is.............,. ................... 3.95
The same for the year ending June
81, 1905, ls..,.... ............ ......... 3.2l
Showing a saving by change of adj
istration of weekly per capita)..... "a
In reading the above figures 1t
should be noticed that in several in
situations the expression Selected
patients" is used. This means patients
of n certain class and OF course it is
cheaper to care for a single kind of
patient in an institution, the same as
1t Is cheaper to teach n certain grade
of scholars in n school than 1t Is to
teach all grades in a single school.
In the Vermont asylum there are
twenty different classes of patients
and the total number of patients is
smaller than the number of selected
patients treated in the institutions
mentioned and this explains to some
degree the increased cost of caring for
the Vermont patients.
Perhaps the greatest difference in
the cost of maintaining the Vermont
asylum over other asylums Is the cost
of fuel Figures show that the aver
Gge cost per ton of coal in all the New
York asylums in 1901 was S2.5o while
here for the same year it was $3.50.
If coal could be secured now at the
same price for the asylum here as the
average price in New York It would
reduce the expenses over $4,000 a year
and would reduce the cost per capita
here % cents per week. Then IL is cs
tmated that the difference In climate
makes ii cost 10 cents per capita per
week more than it would to heat the
same institution in New York. This
shows the total cost per capita for fuel
here in Vermont to be 80 cents a week
more than in New York. Subtract this
difference from the total cost per
capita at the asylum last year. or S3?1
minus 80 cents and II gives a cost
Of s2S9-a lower figure than any Civ
en- for the institutions outside the
State.
A comparison Of the salaries paid at
the State Lunatc hospital at Rochester
~ Y. In which $50 patients are cared for
with the Vermont asylum, where 40
patients are being cared for shows that
the salaries of the medical STAFF and
superintendent in Rochester Is $1,000 while
In Vermont 1t Is sLloo. Here to an up
to-date pathological laboratory is con-
aucted and a scientific study of the cases
Is made while this kind of work is not
done in any of the institutions outside
of the State.