Little Falls herald., 1914-12-25
THE STATE BOARD OF CONTROL

l. EHIT 80 -, - .. .er- f-
4 IBUILETIN NO. MINNESOTA
4. sANAToR1UM FOR CoNsUMP-
i TIVES
Resume Of the Operations Of the
4 Institutions Under the State Board OF
Control for the Biennial Period Enoiug
July 81, 1914.
That the people of the state, both
Ephysicians and laymen, are awakening
to the necessity Of early recognition
Of tuberculosis, and of institut tional
| treatment of the same,i is evidenced
! by the increased population of the Min
nesota State Sanatorium for .Consump-
tiyes. located at Walker Since 1908
this institution, which is under the
state board Of control, has given treat
ment to nearly 1900 tuberculous per-
sons, and the applications for admis-
sion continue in increasing numbers.
At the present time the Walker san
atorium has a population Of 1873. The
normal capacity Of the institution is
| 108 and the excess which the first fig
ures show has only been cared for by
the over -crowding of wards, porches
and cottages. At the beginning of the
biennial period. August /, 1912, the
sanatorium had SO patients under
| treatment. The total admissions Tor
the year were S279, making 1858 persons
number 261 were discharged. During
We're. treated and 282 discharged = =
\ 1oS1 la
1912-1913 was 95, and in l913-1914, III.
Not all Of: the discharged represented
cures, but there was an Improvement
i'm practically all. Of the cases" While
+overcrowding is one Of the principal
discomforts at the present time, this
will be- relieved with the; completion
Of buildings now in course Of construc-
| tion. These consist of an additional
wing. to the main building, adequate
bathing facilities, service building,
an assembly hall and children Is paw
lion. . At the present: time nine children
are under 5trea tment and most of these
| attend school an hour or two daily. 4
While nearly $500 patients have
been registered since the institution
opened not all of them were tubercu-
| lous. Where examinations disclosed no
disease, these cases were Immediately
discharged. A few remained: less tan
one month. OF 693 patients discharged
from the institution the records show
| that .253 are alive and working, l15
] are still alive but unable to work, and
269 are dead. Nearly all the deaths
were due to- pulmonary tuberculosis,
which is the most dreaded form of the
disease. That better than IS per cent
Of those discharged from the institu-
..ion since it was opened are alive and
/ Jerking Is indicative that the sanator-
j. .l1; treatment is highly effective.
| !. In the case Of the discharged pa
III ents-2Ql ! O f. them were treated With
INSTRUMENTATION through, graduated
iexercise. At the time Of their discharge
|. over one third OF the number given
were taking from four to seven hours ,
exercise daily. In 63 per cent of the
| discharged cases this form: Of treat
| ment was not indicated. Their con-
dition was more serious and for them a
complete rest was prescribed, combined
| with such hygienic measures as were
necessary. .:.-~.~s+..
During the biennial period ending
July 81, 1914, $50 affected patients
tients listed as incipient in 1913, 50
per cent showed the disease apparently
arrested, $3.50 improved, and only
11.76 per cent: unimproved, OF 103
patients admitted as moderately ad-
vanced, 1912 per cent were listed as
apparently arrested, 22.33 per cent
quiescent, 1853 per cent improved, and
| only 1862 per cent we're unimproved.
In 1914 the improvement of those reg
istered as incipient was 37.5 per cent
and of those moderately advanced
1866 per cent. In the case Of the far
advanced Improvement was shown to
the extent of As per cent in 1913, and
3043 in 1914. The far advanced cases
totaled about IT'S. @3&t
The Physical Surroundings
During the last biennial period near
" 28 acres of land have, been cleared,
and it is hoped to double this amount
during the next two years. This clear
ed land has done much toward aug
menting the food supplies of. the insti-
tuition. The dairy herd is one Of the
hest in the state and it's milk produc-
ing record has placed it second in the
{ list OF state institutions. i
/ While the impaired health Of most
of the patients will not permit of hard
ilabor yet many prefer to be employed
and as a result the institution has pro-
5fted. They have constructed a num-
Der Of small buildings and aided ma
terially in the Improvement Of the
grounds. A landscape survey Of the
grounds is now being made and it is
expected that the patients will aid in
carrying out the plans. ###
| When the legislature authorized the
Walker sanatorium it was with . the
idea that the institution would care
for incipient cases alone, but only a
small fraction Of the patients received
are in the incipient stage. The major
ity Of them are moderately advanced,
and are received because there is, no
other place for them. This state Of at