Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1919-04-29
SAYS HOSPITAL
DOES MUCH GOOD
April 20. 1919.


II through the medium of your valua-
BILE paper you would permit me TO
thank those many and numerous most
kind friends who we're so good as TO
Inquire after me during my recent i'll
ness and send me so many lovely mes
sages and beautiful flowers, etc. Ev-
erything / appreciated most highly and
/ value immensely the broad range Of
friendship / found that was mine.
And the hospital! or that too,
would like to say a few words-the
darlingest, dearest and cosiest, ARREST,
sunniest place imaginable, such an at
mosphere OF comfort and rest, ii al
most invites one to be sick. 1t was
mot through the lack of interest ! did
not appreciate more fully what love-
ly institution we Boomers Ferry peo-
pie have to our credit across the river,
but / had just taken everything for
granted. / don't believe half of US
understand what great and good
work is going on under its roof. To
stay there sets one thinking and the
grandeur Of the noble work being done
must influence ones thoughts. Many
little secrets were whispered to me ov-
err there and l got wise to many an
unchronicled act of goodness. l have
left the sheltering, protecting feeling
of it's roof, realizing to the fullest how
blessed we are to have the man we
have at it's head-every ready, ever
willing, always pleasant and holding
out a helping hand, and underneath
his whole bearing the calm assurance
of manner that all is well. He has
always time-he manufactures that
to listen, and in his great work, which
M 40 do Of 1f0h tufr n~
summer Sunday or weekday, he is
so ably assisted by DR.. Keller, him
self as pleasant and genial as it is
possible to be, and the finest staff of
nurses / should think It possible to
have. They are indefatigable in
their efforts to do and to please. To
tell the truth, / cannot find flaw any
where. One of the features of the
hospital that strikes one most forci-
bly, is that as a maternity home it is
ideal special care and attention be-
ing given to this class of work, while
now in the making is the cutest. dain-
tiest little nursery, all in white, re-
plete with every convenience to add
to the comfort of one, two or cvcn
three little sunbeams who may come to
brighten its walls by their presence.
The cuisine is excellent and when
say the Doctor has two COWS, Che
had three) on the premises anyone can
realize there is no scarcity of milk or
cream, and such beautiful cream.
At 80 a. m the busy day starts
The patients wash their faces and
hands and have their temperature and
pulse taken. AT 6:15 up comes the
tray brigade, every tray laid out be-
fitting the respective patient and ac-
cording to the Doctors orders. Next
come the baths and dressings, bed
changings, etc, then the wards are
swept and busted and gone over with
the O'Cedar mop. By 900 a. m. ev-
erything is spick and span and shin
ing, not a speck of dust anywhere
ready for the Doctors visit. Then
sometimes, for the doctors aud nurses,
comes a very busy morning in the OPP
Grating room. Dinner at 11:45 a. m.
and usually all kinds of visitors in the
afternoon; supper at $3.50 p. m. An
other set of rounds from the nurses
and the Doctor and then music of an
evening produced by the true tones of
an Edison diamond disc; then lights
out and those who can, sleep and those
who can't have only to push the button
attached to a cord, lying on the bed,
$50 you don't even have to move to do
that and a white-robed good Samari-
tan stands at your side ready to do
your bidding, turn your pillow, give
you a drink, or re-arrange the covers
anything to help you
1t surely is busy life and one man
is bearing all this burden-for it is
burden-alone. We have never Of
fered to help him and he has never
complained and we have accepted the
good things of this life and have just
been thoughtless.
But, dear friends. every hospital ev-
erywhere receives help from the out
side in every community, so why can
not we be like other people and all
take an interest and try to help the
good work that is going on? The ma
tron was talking to me one day and
she said, 1t seemed so strange when
first took charge of the hospital that
the ladies around seemed to interest
themselves so little in its welfare and
when Christmas came and no one sent
in any fruit, vegetables, turkeys or
other tokens of goodwill of the sea-
son, | asked what was the matter,
didn't the people care for their hos
pital, because wherever | had been the
people had taken such an interest and
pride in their hospital, and they said,
mo, no one did that here" and felt
dumbfounded."
Now, l don't believe people don't
care; they, like myself, don't think,
and so | thought to start the ball
rolling we would run a slide on the
screen and advertise a certain day
each month as hospital day and state
what kind of donation would be ac-
ceptable for that day. for instance,
fruit, rags, vegetable, linen, magazines,
homemade preserves, one jar from
each lady would work wonders at the
hospital; and so on, always something
different, each month, according to the
season, and thus we shall help the
Doctor in his good work, for everyone
must know that he is called upon Of
ten for gratuitous services, so after
all it is part of our bounden duty, a
matter of honor, to help our Doctor
who is absolutely untiring in his eff
forts to be of the utmost value in the