Omaha daily bee., 1917-02-11
FORD HOSPITAL
BUILDERS PRIDE
Fine Structure is Thing of
Beauty, Built to Resist
Fire and Time.
PERFECT IN EQUIPMENT

In the Ford hospital built and
equipped by the Home Builders at
cost OF $l50,000, Omaha as we'll as
the middle west can boast OF one OF
the most modern hospitals in the
country. The building faces Twenty
fifth street and is located between
Douglas and Dodge streets.
The structure is one of four floors,
besides fall basement and subbase-
ment, and is absolutely freproof The
only wood used is in the hardwood
floors to give the rooms more home
like appearance and in the solid slab
oak doors. The building was SO
erected that another floor and wings
can be added. The hospital has sew
enty-hve beds
Resists Fire and Time.
The general construction is REIN
forced concrete and is of the rock
ribbed skeleton type, SO that the walls
are not really a necessary strength
to the structure. All windows and
door frames are OF steel and the win
dow bases of white marble.
The Railways have terrazzo Dor
der and are covered with battleship
linoeum, under which is a cement
| base. The stairways are constructed
OF iron and cement and are somewhat
wider than the usual run OF stairs.
Although the different departments
seem to be scattered all over the
building, they have been SO arranged
as to give patients the maximum
amount OF service.
A working unit on each floor is a
nurses duty room, diet kitchen and
dressing room. Besides this there
is a special toilet and bath room.
The Layout.
| The administration department is
on the first floor and connects with
the lobby. The lobby has a terrazzo
floor and serves the purpose of re-
ception room. Private rooms and
wards occupy the remainder of the
first floor.
The second floor is taken up en-
tirely with private rooms, four OF
which have private baths.
On the third floor are the two op-
Grating rooms connected by a steriliz-
ing room. A laboratory, surgeons
wash room, sterile supply room, sur
geon's dressing room, interne's room
and DR.. Ford's private office take up
the greater part of the floor The
obstetric room and several private
rooms are also located on this floor
The entire fourth floor is taken up
with sun parlor and open promenade
with a pergola above. The sun par
lor is accessible by two automatic cleo
trio elevators and broad fight of
stairs.
Important Machines.
Perhaps the most complicated and
important part of the hospital is in
| the basement. Here is located the hy-
dropeutic department, the roentgen
department and the retentioN rooms.
In the south part is drug room and
emergency room, where emergency
cases that cannot be taken to the
| operating room are taken care of.
| A disinfecting room, where all the
bedding is disinfected before being
Numbered, is also located on the base
ment floor. The kitchen, general diet
room and nurses dining room takes
up tuC VI lllC SpdCt.
The boilers, filters and pumps, all
duplicated in case of emergency, are
located in the sub-basement.
All rooms in the hospital are open
rooms and on each floor is a wide
open porch.
Proper ventilation is one of the big
features in the construction of the
hospital. Two ventilators, one at the
floor and the other at the ceiling in
every room, are connected with the
exhaust system which keeps the air
pure at all times. Besides this there
is special ventilator on every win
dow.
Plumbing All Open.
The plumbing is perhaps the most
up-to-date Of its kind. 1t is all open
and can be easily gotten to in case
of trouble On every floor there is
hot, cold and ice water Bubbling
drinking fountains are in every hall
way.
By the new service system there is
small chance of nurse not respond
ing Immediately upon the call of a
| patient. When a patient rings tor
nurse the number of the patients
room registers on glass plate by
the nurses serving room and at the
same time an electric blub lights
over the patients room, thus dou-
bly, calling the attention Of the nurse
There is also a telephone in every
room.
Two electric elevators OF the latest
type operate to all floors, The build
ing is also equipped with vacuum
cleaning system.
The most up-to-date equipment was
purchased for the hospital In the
kitchen there is an electric dish
washer, all electric vegetable peeler
and many other time-saving devices
One of the most up-to-date pieces OF