The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-22
H|LLMAN HOSPITAL IS BADLY CROWDED Serious Situation COnfrOnts
 the Authorities DANGER IN SUMMER Institution Has Accommodations for Only so Patients and Yet 9S
 Were Crowded Into the
 Building Yesterday
DANGER IN SUMMER
Fly ANGUS A. AGREE

| The Hllman hospital, the only exclus- 1 lively charity institution in Jefferson coun- l ty. to which the poor can turn in case | of illness, is sadly congested and Is l utterly inadequate in room to accommo-
 date the patients which are being brought
 there. They cannot curtan the number
 of patients for they are brought to the
 hospital without consulting the authori-
 ties. When they are there they have
 to be cared for.
 Every floor of the institution Is full to overflowing and one or two important l branches of the hospital have been abol- | ished in order to give their quarters to l the sick that are constantly coming in. | There is a crying need for more room and | to care for the patients in way to do l justice to Jefferson county, much less l than doing credit to the county, more room must be provided and that right away.
 At present there is no way in which l the hospital can care for those afflicted with contagiou diseases. There are no | private rooms in the institution, every l thing being wards. With the summer coming the physicians of the staff, which l is composed of the best medical talent
 in the state, are facing one of the
 gravest propositions they have faced in
 many a year. With the summer comes I nnumerable cases of typhoid fever to- 1 gether with other contagious cases such are erysipelas, scarlet fever, measles and | others to which the human flesh is heir will arise.
 l Then, in the summer the life of the l infant is placed in greatest jeopardy and of these eases the Hillman hospital receives the majority There Is abso- i lutely no place in this institution which 1 Is given exclusively to the care of chil- | dren Also there is no place which IS | given over to the exclusive use of wom-
 en patients. The women and children are treated in the same ward and often
 times this leads to predicaments that are
 hard to meet Dr. F. F. Hogan. the superintendent of the hospital, stated yes- | terday afternoon that oftentimes sick child would begin crying In the ward and l would have to be moved to some other part of the building in order to let the
 very sick women patients rest in some comfort. He told of the times that these | children have been carried to the re-
 cepton room and beds set up there | for their accommodation; he told of the 1 times that the office of the hospital was l utilized as a ward for children In cases | of such emergencies he told of the times
 that patients had to be left in the base-
 ment of the hospital on cots because
 there was no place to put them. If there I the patients a ward had to be utilized in l the already crowded building.
 | In the basement of the hospital Is the drug room and the outdoor clinic. It IS | impossible to utilize either of these de-
 partments as wards, as without them the hospital would be practically useless, | The first floor contains the reception
 room, the office and two wards for the case of white women and children. In many cases two children are compelled | to occupy one bed, with their feet to one another, These wards are always bedly congested. They receive into 1t patients from every corner of Jefferson county, and have to treat as best they can the milder contagious diseases. Dr. l Hogan commented on the fact yesterday | that when a case of erysipelas came into ! the hospital they had to get rid of 1t | right away, as in the present condition
 the deadly disease would rapidly spread
 to all parts of the hospital.
 The second floor contains one large ward | for the care of negro women. two wards | for the care of white men. Both of these
 are badly congested, In the negro wom- | ems ward children are also cared for as | in the white women's wards and under the | same conditions. It Is no uncommon sight | in either of these wards to see two smal children occupying one bed, When tho present building was erected a study fol
 
 l This study has now been converted into
 q pbstetrical pr maternity ward for white
 women. The room is the same size a. Is used in other hospitals for one pa tiept, yet three beds are provided in thii 1 ward. The obstetrical ward for negro women which was originally intended tC epptain one bed, now contains three wom en patients and one child, making foui lT' the small room
 The third floor contains 6 large warC for negro men. This ts always oyer flowing, owing to the lHnpperable cut ting scrapes and accidents in the city anc the county, Yesterday afternon there wal n negro man on the operating table whs had been badly cut, and the doctors an nurses were facing the serious problem O.
 where to put him. Every bed fin the con gested negro mems ward was utilized, ans they saw no place to put him. The op
 erating room Is also on this floor. as fl
 the room used for dressing patients an, their wounds.
 The fourth floor contains the dinin;