Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-02
.SOLONS SELECT
POLICE SURGEONS
COUNCIL STICKS TO TWo-HEAD
SYSTEM
Non-Partisans Though Deserted by
Pease, Fought Against Dual sys-
tenn - Drs. Garrett and
oulnt Appointed

gold the two-head system for the re-
ceivlng hospital was continued by the
city council yesterday and Drs. Garrett
and Quint were appointed to the dual
position of police surgeons. They Will
have FIVE assistants.
Recommendation of the Wren com
mittee, on which Messrs. Wallace and
LYON also served, call for new hospital
quarters. This feature of the report
was referred to the finance committee,
al It will involve considerable outlay of
money.
The other clause favoring one sur
geon-in-chief, which was earnestly
fought for by the non-partisans, was
stricken out of the report by the Re
publicans, aided by President Pease.
The Wren-w Wallace report is as fol-
lows:
Your committee, appointed for the
purpose of looking into conditions ex-
listing at the receiving hospital, begs
to report:
"The quarters now used for the hos
pital consist of four rooms as follows:
size about 14x20 feet, containing four
beds, the only ventilation in this room
being one window and one outside
transom. There Is a toilet off this
room, which has practically no venti-
lation. We understand that there are
always patients in this ward.
"One room, known as the operating
room, size about 16x24 feet (out of
which is partitioned a small room 6x6
feet, used for washing up after opera
tions and for keeping the sterilized
water). This room has a tile floor and
is equipped with sink, running water,
glass cases for bandages and instru-
ments, two small leather lounges,
operating table, surgical Instruments,
basins, buckets and other hospital ap-
pliances. There is a large window in
the north side of this room and the
light is fairly good.
This room is so situated that 1t is
the only passageway between the Of
flee and the mems ward and conSe-
quently cannot be closed up when not
in use and taken care of as an operat-
ing room should be. A patient under
going an operation in this room must
necessarily be disturbed if anyone else
Is brought in for treatment and your
committee is informed that this has
been the case repeatedly.
lone room, known as the office, size
about 15x16 feet. This room contains
two beds, an X-ray machine and cases
and shelving on which are stored all
drugs and medicines for use in the hos
pital. The surgeons desk and all hos
pital records are kept there. There is
a toilet off this room, which is very
poorly ventilated. The female patients
receive first treatment in this room and
if seriously injured are removed to the
women's ward, which is on the Sec
ond floor.
zone room, known as the women's
ward, situate on the second floor of the
Jail, size 10x16 feet, containing two
beds. This room Is better equipped
with hospital appliances than those on
the lower floor, but it very difficult of
access for a patient who is unable to
walk, as the only APPROACH to it is
up a winding stair, up which patients
are carried, often by TRUSTEES. There
is also a toilet off this room which is
we'll ventilated.
1.-The bedding and linen in use at the
hospital is sufficient for present use.
There is no inventory kept of the
stock of drugs, therefore the commit
tee is unable to give list and quantity
of these.
According to the annual report of
the receiving hospital for the year
ending November 80, 1906, there were
251S cases treated, of these 1870 were
serious operations.
1.-THE general conditions surround
ing the hospital are extremely unfavor-
able, the odor Of the Jail, which opens
into the hospital, the poor ventilation
and the noise made by patrolmen walk
ing up and down the hall are conditions
which are unavoidab1 owing to the To-
cation of the premises.
There being no nurses employed,
TRUSTEES from the Jail are assigned that
duty in the mems ward and the police
matrons, of whom there are three, take
care of the female patients. We are
informed that the surgeons prepare all
bers of your committee noticed the
TRUSTEES handling bandages and they
apparently have access to drugs, in
struments and other hospital para
phernaha. The surgeons state that of
necessity the TRUSTEES have to assist in
cleaning up drunks brought in off the
streets, and In bathing wounds and
preparing minor cases for treatment.
"The hospital force during the last
two years consisted of two chief sur
geons and two assistants. These sur
geons, by mutual agreement, set apart
certain hours of the day during which
they were each to be in charge of the
hospital.
I'VE find, however, that this agree
ment was not lived up to and that
neither of the chief surgeons has made
1t practice of being personally, or
having his assistant, in constant at
tendance during the time allotted to
him.
"Dr. Smith informed your committee
that he never visited the receiving hos
pital unless he WAS called for that he