Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-09-24

In the hospital discussion which is
now on in this city, We hear great
deal about the big hospitals in the
metropolis, where they have their
regular staff physicians, who reside
at the hospital and have their hours
OF duty every day without any out
side practice, but there is little ref
erence made to hospitals in the
smaller cities which compare favor
ably with Perth Amboy in the mat
ter of population. The EVENING
NEWS has at hand one of the annual
reports issued by the Thrall Hospital
at Middletown, N. Y. which shows
how the hospital is conducted there.
1t Is interesting because 1t shows
that things are done in at least this
one hospital which some of the local
physicians have declared to be i'm
practicable, even going so far as to
say that they never heard of such
things in the running of hospitals
These facts are presented not in a
way of criticizing the management
of the hospital, but merely to throw
some light on the way hospitals are
managed elsewhere.
At the outset it might be said that
Middletown, N. Y, according to the
census of 1900, had population of
1892. The recent census, as far
as known, has not yet been an
nounced, but the place may be con-
sidered to have population of from
10000 to $4,000 today. This places
1t about in the same class with Perth
Amboy
The annual reports of the Thrall
Hospital at Middletowh are pub
l'@'ea IN hook form, very similar to
the financial statement of the city
Wn.cn is published here every year.
The report includes every fact about
the hospital. 1t gives the reports of
the various officials the treasurer 8
report in detail showing where every
penny came from and where every
penny goes. The diagnosis of all
surgical and medical cases Is given
for the year, not treatment being
omitted. The bylaws are published
In full and in the back of the book
is list of names of every person
who has donated anything to the
hospital during the year. These re-
ports are placed in the hands of the
people that they may know what is
going on at the institution. Need
less to say, there is a great deal more
public interest taken in the hospital
there than in Perth Amboy.
The Medical Staff.
The great bone of contention In
our local hospital seems to be over
the size of the medical staff. Here
We have six physicians, and these six
declare that is enough, arguing that
the tendency Is for smaller rather
than larger staffs. This may be true
In big city hospitals where physi-
clans are on duty all the time, but in
small cities where every physician Is
more or less known, and where the
members of the medical staff are
competing with all the other physf-
clans In private practice, 1t is decid-
edly unfair to let some have the use
and privileges of the hospital and de-
ny those privileges to others.
The Middletown hospital has
NINE physicians on the medical
staff. The bylaws provide that six
of these physicians shall be allopaths
and three HOMEOPATHS The by
Io~'s further provide that physician
Of EACH SCHOOL, and a surgeon,
shall be In attendance during two
successive months In each six
months. Three of the allopatbfc
physicians are the surgeons. They
each serve in such capacity four
months, in each year. The other
three allopaths divide with the
homeopaths the treatment of the
medical eases. AS stated, an allo-
path and homeopath are always on
duty together, each doctor Serving
four months during the year. An
other section of the bylaws allows
all patients to choose which school
they prefer, but in the case of char
fly patients, they must be treated by
the doctor who is on duty at the
time.
This arrangement is found to
work very successfully in Middle
town and there seems to be no rea-
son why it should not work equally
as well here. 1t Is only fair to allow
the patients to select which school
of medicine they prefer. Perhaps