The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-06-05
fBASE HOSPITAL
HEAD SPEAKS TO
NURSE GRADUATES
Indianapolis Lieutenant Col
onel Delivers Address to
Reid Memorial Class.

The drudgery Of hospital work in
Europe during the war was described
by DR.. Edmunde D. Clarke of Indiana
polls, at the graduation exercises of
Reid Memorial hospital Wednesday
evening in the High school auditorium.
During the war DR.. Clarke was a
lieutenant colonel in charge of Base
Hospital No. 80.
When Base Hospital 80 was first
established, ordinary cases Of sickness
In civil life were taken care of. The
first convoy received at this hospital
consisted Of 250 gassed cases. These
men had been gassed with mustard
gas, SO called because of its odor.
Base Hospital 80 was in seven out
of the fourteen hotels in the town and
the other seven were taken by Base
Hospital 81. The town was one that
had been used before the war as a
sort of summer resort, and the bathing
conveniences were particularly de-
sirable.
Trace Fractures On Body
The speaker declared that when the
patients were brought to the hospital
they were taken Immediately from the
train and given a bath and then fed
and put to bed. DR.. Clarke said that
the men would sleep until it was neces
sary to wake them up and feed them.
After rest they were given a thor
ough x-ray examination. Wherever
a fracture or foreign substance was
located it was traced on the body,
making the operation much easier.
DR.. Clarke said that very few mis-
takes were made when this method
was used.
In many cases, he said, the sur
geons felt that the man would be will
ing to submit to an operation rather
than lose an arm or leg. Conserya-
tism was practiced and only a few
cases found to be mistake. Out of
1000 cases where there was damaged
tissue only twenty-five arms or legs
were removed in Base Hospital 80.
1t was also discovered that unless
bullet had gone into bone, struck
an artery or damaged an important
part of the body, the man would re-
cover without an operation.
Death Rate is Average
The death rate in Base Hospital 81
was 1.3 per cent, which, the speaker
stated, was an average in the base
hospitals.
When Base Hospital 80 was estab.
lished in December it had capacity
of 500 beds. Later it was made a
1,250-bed hospital, then 1,750, and in
July, 2,150, and at the time it was
made a 2,150-bed hospital exactly the
same space was occupied as when II
had 500 beds. Sacks of straw were
used for the less severely injured men
such as those who had their hands
or feet injured. The most seriously
wounded men were given the better
beds.
The work Of the nurses in the base
hospitals was admirable, he asserted
Dr. Clarke said it became necessary
for him to establish working hours
because they did not know when tc
stop work The work was drudgery
from morning to night. The second
ary and laboratory work was all turn
ed over to the nurses. In many cases
after a patient had recovered sufh
GENTLY to be returned to the trenches
he was kept in the base hospital tt
help there. In every case DR.. Clarke
said they begged to go back to the
front because they preferred the
trenches to the hospital work.
Eleven Nurses Take Pledge
The eleven nurse graduates tool
the Florence Nightingale pledge will
Miss Clara Pound, superintendent o
the hospital The girls made an at
tractive appearance in their schoo
uniforms.
John L. Rupe, president of the hos
pital board, presented the graduate:
with their diplomas after which Mis-
Erbs, assistant superintendent, pin
ned on them their gold badges which
signify they have completed the re
Guired training course.
The invocation and benedictiol
were pronounced by the Rev. Georg
G. Burbanck, pastor of the st. Paul
Episcopal church. Frederick K. Hick
played two beautiful violin numbers
AVE Marie by Schubert, and RI
gaudon,' by Mosigny. He was accom-
panied by Miss Edna Marlatt. Ernes
Renk, accompanied, by Miss Alic
knollenberg, sang two numbers
Dawn and cone Fleeing Hour"