The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-04-05
MISS HENNESSEY
WRITES FROM CAMP
Former Brattleboro Nurse Has Been in
Charge Of Officers Ward-125
Nurses at Camp Macarthur.

Miss Elizabeth NJ Hennessey, formerly
assistant superintendent. at the Brattle-
boro Memorial hospital, who is now Red
Cross nurse in the hospital at Camp Mae
Arthur, Waco, Texas, has written an in
teresting letter to Miss Flora N. Cattan-
aeh, professional nurse of Brattleboro,
as follows:
Dear Miss Cattanach:
! received your letter some time ago
and the box of powder and soap came
lHst Thursday. Thank you so much; it
il all very useful and can assure you
we will use quite little of it this wealth
err 1t is fully as warm as il would be
in Vermont on the 4th of July We are
perspiring some even now. What will it
be in August? We now have lbs nurses
and are having four or five hours off
duty beside our half day weekly We
haven't as many patients, but we are be-
ginning TO have some typhoid, which
viii make some work for US / have been
in charge OF the officers ward during Feb
ruary and March. This is little different
from the other wards as they are all
rooms, some accommodating four, some
two, and the others just single rooms.
Only the commissioned officers are taken
to this ward
They are building additional wards and
also enlarging the nurses quarters. We
have an entirely new division here as the
32d division have all left for France.
We expect IS new medical men here
very soon for hospital training, assign
ing two TO ward
had telegram from Mrs. Henry
Brown when she went through on her
way TO San Antonio to see Ruth, but was
unable to get to the station as it was
almost time for her train to 90 through
when | received it. Perhaps | will be
able to see her on her way back There
vas a nurse who was to come to this
camp on the train with her so she gave
me Ruths address. ! had letter from
Miss Floyd last week which l enjoyed
very much.
If ! should write something which
isn't intelligent don't blame me, as the
awful hammering that is going on here
would drive one mad if they had any
nerves. They are making the nurses
quarters larger. What was originally the
dining room and kitchen is made into a
reception room and besides building or
an addition the reception room is cut into
sleeping rooms The dining room is ir
the next building which adjoins the quar-
tiers and we have cafeteria service. Each
table seats eight nurses. We choose on,
own people TO sit together The plates
and cups and saucers are on the tabl,
also silver CO. Then you proceed to tn
serving room window and are served
When through eating you return you
dishes to the opposite window, so tina
saves some one clearing the table.
| almost had trip TO Baltimore, bu
didn't get it. We had yery sick nurse
4 who has been i'll for four weeks, AM
4 there was a difference of opinion az T.
l diagnosis. At first it looked like spina
; meningitis, but As it went on they decide
: il was abscess of the brain. she sufferSa
with severe headaches systematically
She also had frontal simisitis fror
which they think she got her infection
> Well, they decided to send her to brai
specialist in Baltimore, and there is a mil
% itary hospital five miles from Baltimor
:. which she was to go to- The chief nurs
told me | would take her. but when tn
!. wire came back from the surgeon geners
:. giving permission to move her there
also stipulated that the nurse who az
companied her would be transferred {
It service in that hospital, so yours truly
p didn't get there as Miss Woodley woul
V, not transfer me. | had visions of askin
y for a couple of days furlough enoug
time to go to Boston If only for a fe