Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-12-04
WHAT A HOSPITAL
MEANS 70 PEOPLE
is ITS WORTH APPRECIATED?
st. Thomas Can Truthtully Be
Put Down as One of. City's
Best Improvements
is ITS WORTH APPREclATED7
Patients and Their Families Know
What Hospital Is To MarshalItown,
But General Public is Not Familiar
With the Institution-lts Great Work
For Charity.

| When the late Bishop T. NJ. Lehman
set aside in his will the nucleus for the
building of hospital in MarslNIlltown
the city in which he died, and where
his brother had labored for SO long
he probably did not realize that he was
| comforting on Marshalltown one of the
greatest blessings in recent years.
There is no town that is approaching
the aspect of a city but that feels that
a hospital would be great improves
ment, but not until ona is placed in
operation, and its good work demon
strated, can one judge of the exact
benefits to be derived.
1t can be truthfully said, as far as
Marshalltown is concerned, that moth
ing in recent years, in the way of per-
manent improvements, has been so
beneficial TO the community as St
Thomas hospital. When cases of em-
Urgency arise hospital is the only
proper place in which the sick or
MANNED can be treated to the best adj
vantage While we all recognized the
good of a hospital, before we had one,
we never fully appreciated what 1t
meant until after 1t was built Now We
wonder how in the world we ever got
along without it before We had it.
Is Real Worth Appreciated?
yXrl,;1a tJ,;S SituotiOn iS trllA as con-
Germs physicians, people who have been
patients, and their Immediate families
and friends, is the real worth of the
hospital, to Marshalltown and her peo-
pie, appreciated by the general public?
Probably not A hospital is an 1nstitu-
ton that one does not particularly like
to become intimate with, and perhaps
for this reason it does not appeal to,
the average person until 1t becomes
necessary for him to be cared for by
the kind and tender hands that await
the unfortunate at all hours of day and
night. Comparatively few people also
realize what great work is done for
charity by these black robed angels OF
mercy who preside over the destiny OF
Mercy hospital.
Charity is Not Talked Of.
Possibly one reason for the lack of
general knowledge in the work for
charity, done every day by the sisters.
is because it is not talked about. The
work for the poor MS not heralded far
and wide, but it is kept locked within
the hospital walls, in the bosoms of the
administering angels They apply to-
their work the theory that what is done
for charity is not done for the adver-
tisement, but because it is for sweet
charity.
While a costly institution like ST.
Thomas hospital needs every penny it
can scrape up to barely meet operating
expenses it is absolutely necessary to
have a fixed charge for the care given
patients. This is true in any hospital.
If patient is able to pay, he is ex-
pected to pay, but no person, however
poor, is turned away from st. Thomas
hospital because he is unable to pay.
Some Remain Into the Years.
Possibly a patient of the hospital
with a bent toward inquisitiveness. and
a tendency toward keen observance,
would be able to ascertain more about
the inner workings of the hospital than
any one who would set out for the ex-
press purpose of finding out the infor-
nation himself.
Such a patient. If he We're interested,
could learn that the hospital cares for
many and many charity patients every
year from whom never a cent of re-
enumeration is derived. He could also
learn that some of these patients are
in the hospital for years at a time, and
that in the five years life of ST. Thorn
as at least one has been a charity pa
tient for three years. He could also
know that for eight months a charity
patient had private room, and the
attentions of a nurse who would be
termed a special on case where the
patient could afford to pay. No better
treatment could be afforded these pa.
tients if the hospital was deriving a
return of from SIS to s25 per week
for their care. There is no discrimina-
tion--the same attention is paid the
POOR that is accorded the rich This is
the unselfishness of the Mercy sister
hood.
Hospital is Imposed Upon.
At the same time this inquisitive
convalescent, who is lying in his room
and wondering when he can get his
doctors permission to go home, can
observe that the hospital is imposed
upon. He can learn that there are pa
tents who are treated for weeks at the
hospital, and who are able to pay,
who never do pay. and never intend to-
They are TOO prone to think that be-
cause some less unfortunate person is
given free treatment, he should be en-
titled to the same 1t is this class
of people that makes 2 even harder
for the hospital to maintain a self
sustaining position
The only consolation the sisters get
from being imposed upon in this way
is that it is better to err on the side
of charity
Hospital Has to Pay.
But the hospitalnhS to pay its bills,
the same as any-6d business institu-
ton. Furtherluneral is are enorm-
Gus, and theyexican month. It
has big { in. this It, and it
has to msner ced d eSy six
months. l. .derw1 ~
In these 1e.rial EN-
family is these IA
high cost OF thost