Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1911-01-11

tees of the Norwich State hospital for
the insane on Tuesday, held at the in
Stitution. The meeting of the finance
committee was held at ten o'clock and
an hour later the trustees assembled
for their session in the administration
building. There were the usual re-
ports received by the board and an
inspection made of the new buildings.
After the session DR.. Pollock enter
tanned at dinner.
An exhaustive report, his third BIZ
ennial was presented by DR. H. NJ.
Pollock as superintendent, covering
the work of the institution, with many
suggestions and recommendations for
improvements at the institution and
outlining the work which has been I'M
der way and accomplished in the past
two years.
Ninety Were Cured.
The report showed that the last BIZ
ennial period showed 434 patients in
the institution and % out on trial Wis
it's, against 713 today and As out on
trials. There have been admitted 5S9,
293 discharged and 1 ,026 have been I'M
der treatment. There were 81 volun-
tary cases and Sc came from other in
situations. Ninety were discharged
In normal condition, AZ much i'm
proved, and % not improved, eight
We're not insane and 124 died There
were 81 deported. There were 56 of
those admitted and AZ of those who
died who were over 20. The sending
of senile cases which cannot be helped
to the institution is resorted to too
frequently and in some states where
the age of 20 has been reached pa
tients cannot be sent to the state hos
pitfalls until they have been examined
by one of the hospital staff. Cases
of this kind which can be cared for
outside of the institution are dis
charged.
CayaraJ n, a ior oraratiopc have baaY,
performed by the consulting surgeons
of the institution, with appreciable
mental and physical improvement. The
hospital dentist has attended to the
needs in a most satisfactory way,
while the medical staff has striven
with commemorate zeal to give as far
as possible individual treatment to
each of our acute cases and l believe
a very decided advance has been made
in this direction.
There has been a serious overcrowd-
ing for the past year and since August
patients have been received only as
vacancies occurred. There are 713 in
| quarters planned for $50, but in spite
of it there have been no serious acct
dents or suicides. The completion of
| the ward buildings will overcome the
crowding. The death rate however,
| has been less and the recovery rate
| greater than in the previous period.
Detention hospital.
The need of a detention hospital is
| again urged by DR.. Pollock in his re-
port as it is a matter of vital i'm
portance and from an economic if not
| humanitarian reason deserves most
| careful consideration.
The population of Connecticut was
l in 1900 908,420 The recent census gives
| it as 1,114,756, or q gain of 206,386, but
| October /. 1900, there were in the Con-
L ,,a1ti1,1t nj fo-- he incrI1n on
| the only state hospital in Connecticut),
| 2,07S patients, or one insane person to
| each 437 of the general inhabitants.
/ On October 1, 1910. there were 2,465
at the hospital at Middletown and 713
| at the Norwich State hospital for the
| insane, total of BIS patients. or one
| patient to each 351 of the general pop
| ulation. The population of the state
| has, therefore. increased 22.7 per cent,
/ the number of insane in state hospitals
/ 52.9 per cent
| l believe that the additions in the
number of the insane in the state hos
| pitfalls could be kept below that nat
urally expected from the states gain
| in population. were it possible to treat
| a larger proportion of cases in the in
| cipient stages of their disease. Pa
| tients must be treated different than
criminals. 1t is no wonder that under
present conditions hospitals are not
| regarded as hospitals but as custodial
| institutions and that insanity is re-
| garded not as a disease, but as dis
| grace that must be concealed as LONG
| as possible.
| The expense of providing a recep-
| ton hospital, under the management
of the state hospital, would not be
| great. Many cases would no doubt
| prefer to enter the hospital of their
| own accord or at the solicitations OF
| friends rather than by commitment
H. hrs 4Y1ta he n,
| sufficiently early to receive benefit
from the treatment and the average
stay would be much shorter than al
present The chief advantage of hav-
| ing detention hospital would be the
| ease of transfer from the detention te
/ the main hospital and the lessening Of
\ expense incident to erection, admins
| tration and maintenance.
INDECENT Insane.
The expenses of the institution in
crease each year in part because OF
the INDECENT insane. At present 50 q
week is paid by the relatives or friends
| of the INDECENT insane and the balance
not exceeding $3.50 is paid by the
| state. I would, therefore, assume thai
| should our present commitment law bt
so modified that at the time of com
err 50 per week, but what part of the
| whole cost of care up to 81 be paid
that quite a material saving would BIZ
made both to the town and state.
Had the 232 of the INDECENT poor il
the hospital September 80 made al
average payment of SO rather than S.
it would have meant an additiona
payment of 1892 a week to the insti-
tuition, or $4,000 a year, which is
nearly 20 per cent. of the amount pait
by the state for maintenance.
| Hospital Farm for lnebriates.
| Many inquiries have been made re.
garding the care of patients as dipso
such have been committed as insan,
who were in reality not insane in tn
usual sense, but merely inebriates ant
dipsomaniacs. The law regardin,
these persons is of little avail as Their
is no state inebriate asylum or fun,
to keep them there. Little good i
! accomplished by sending them to TIL
insane hospitals as the patients can
| not be committed for a definite perioi
but only until he shall have recovere,
his sanity and cannot thus be hell
long enough to accomplish any per
| manent good, and upon release return
to his former habits. Ample facilitie
| should be provided for employment
and the institution should be mad
as far as possible self disappearing.
Voluntary Commitments.
There have been a number of vol
| untary commitments and in each cas-
the full cost, $3.50 week. has bee
| collected from them or their friends
because of their inability to pay. Vol
l 81, h