The Hawaiian gazette., 1913-02-18
HILO HOSPITAL
HAS ITS TROUBLES
Warning Medical Factions, With
0steOpathy on the Side,
Scrap II Out.
tMaii Special to The Advertiscr.)

| mail Special to The Advertiser.)
| HlLO, February lit ia seldom
that the Hilo Hospital comes promi-
nently before the public, but last week
il was in the limelight for fair. The
meeting OF tho board of supervisors was
the arena. There were two distinct
and separate acts in the drama, One
was kick against the trustees, Will
I liam Mckay and ID. +. Mctzger. The
other was a more subtle game, the idea
being TO increase the membership of
the board of trustees from three to FIVE,
though it was known that this would
mean that Mckay and Mctzger would
not continue to serve. So the supervi-
sors upheld the trustees in the first
case and then took action which result
ed in their retirement in the second
The kick referred to came from 4.
G.. Curtis who complained that his son
had been forced to leave the Hospital,
where he was being treated by Doctor
Lycan, regularly licensed osteopath,
owing to the fact that the trustees had
insisted that he must have his admis-
sion card signed by licensed medical
practitioner.
Curtis wrote in detail regarding the
various conversations he had had with
the trustees and others on the subject.
His point was that ms regular medi-
cal treatment had been tried and fail
ed, he saw no reason why he should
apply to n medical practitioner for n
certificate, when Doctor Lycan had
been employed with the consent of the
family physician, and as the boy was
! innnrpytnu ttnlpf HE frpntnput
The matter was referred to the
health committee, which called both
Curtis and Mckay Mckay said that
action had been taken in accordance
with the rules.
"Could You not have waived the
rules7p asked Curtis. "You must have
discretionary power. Anyhow, the rules
are broken all the time by the hospi-
tai staff
eff they are I don't know it" re-
torted Mckay. of it was reported to
me, would soon take action.'
Curtis went on to specify. He said
that there was some kind of rule for
bidding the eating of meals on the
premises to all except certain classes of
persons, to which the physicians did
not belong. "And still Doctor Hindley
drinks his coffee there in the mornings,
and that in defiance of the rules said
Curtis. "Miss Fox has told him not
| to, but he just puts her off,
"It has not been reported to me, -
s said Mckay.
: This was the only bit of humor in
!. the affair, which ended with the return
by the committee of report that it
=, was of the opinion that there had been
:, n general misunderstanding between
\ the parties involved. The trustees had
=, acted according to the rules, and the
"a letter should be placed on file. This
10 was adopted.
20 The second hospital matter went con
!, sderably deeper. Asa matter of fact
: it is based on old history. 1t is {
e regrettable fact that for many mooni
,f has the spirit of brotherly love faileC
NJ to shine conspicuously among the med
y zeal men of Hilo. When some year
-, ago Doctor Sexton arrived, as n new
man, and colared the territorial physi
ID, clan Job, bad feeling began, and on
, incident and then another occurre,
~ which contributed to the general dis
nv like which the medicos felt for one an
~ other.
~ Now for some time past Doctor Sex
w. ton has been the medical superinten
al dent of the Hilo Hospital. AS such b
n. has acted, without salary, as the med
n cal adviser of the trustees. There wer
10 Mckay, Metzger and the chairman o
n. the board of supervisors, eX otficio.
N. The plan was to get Sections goa
Al | by so adding to the number of tn
va trustees that majority vote could b
n secured against Sexton. The plan frs
came up publicly at the February NEE
bo ing of the supervisors, when it wa
,r moved by resolution, presented by Ewi
as like, that the membership be increase
he from three to FIVE, one of the ne
m members to be a physician. At tbs
re- time it was explained to Ewaliko, I'll
he iHtroducer, Just what was behind I'll
resolution, and that its passage woul
n. result in the loss of the services {
ns trustees of Mckay and Metzger, VIII
i'll latter having given eminently satisfa
AT ltOry service, would not relish q NOV
RS which might be construed almost as
IN vote of lack of confidence. The truste,
and Sexton declined to put up a figh
however. They said that they wei
doing considerable work for the publ
without remuneration, and that the
n cared not what action was taken.
At that time Ewaliko said that
% did not wish to see action taken whiC
lie might result in the loss of the servic,
)Ii of men like Mckay and Metzger, an
~ it was thought that the matter ha
pa been dropped. But not SO; at la
weeks meeting the resolution ducke
23 up again, and after much pulling an
20 hauling, it finally passed.
". The result was that an entirely ne
~ board of trustees has been appointe
by Ewaliko, TO whom was left the ma
ia ter of appointing usch. They ar,
lac Ewaliko, ex oflieiO; DIR. Archer Irwil
a medical member Father Aloysius, /
u. Mariner and Henry J. Lyman.