New Britain herald., 1919-10-14
WOMAN'S HOSPITAL
 BOARD HAS MEETING
Reports for Year Show EnCour-
 aging Results

The Woman's Hospital Board held it's annual meeting this afternoon at 3:30 o'clock in the parlors of the First COngrega tiOnal church. The at tendance was good and all of the re- ports were excellent. The annual statement of the secretary Miss Mary F. Bingham, reviews in detail the work of the past year with it's several deVelOpm ents and looks for ward to a new era of success. It follows:
 superintendent Leaves.
 Tn the year 1919 many changes have taken place in our local hospital perhaps more than at any oth3r period of it's history. Tn the first place, we were greatly surprised to learn in the fall of 1918 that our uperintendent, Mrs. Jennie l.. Bas- sett, who had been with us for many years, had decided to sever her con- nection with our institution Our re- lations with Mrs. Bassett were most pleasant and cordial and we felt that the hospital was in safe and efficient hands, It was fully decided, however, invitation of our president all off
 
 tees and others interested in the well fare of the institution met at the home of Mrs. George w. Traut to spend an afternoon socially with Mrs Bassett before her departure from us While together, Mrs. Traut spoke of the year when Mrs Bassett. first came to us, comparing the hospital and it's work as it was at that time with the y,1 f ic 4nIo i,, the executive board and the woman's board presented Mrs. Bassett with d purse of gold-a joint gift from bot} Mrs. Bassett expressed her apprecia- tion of the work of our board and spoke with much feeling of the sym pathy which had always existed be- tween the ladies and herself. That afternoon will long finger in our memories as a delightful occasion presided over by our cordial hostess and president
 Considering the size of our plant and the probability of it's growing to be much larger in the near future, it seemed advisable to the executive board to call some experienced and efficient man to fill the vacant office. John Fay of Poughkeepsie was the
 
 was not wholly a stranger because he had formerly occupied a similar posi- tion in Hartford and was we'll known to many in our city. Soon after MT. Fay's arrival a meeting of the board was held at which MT. Fay was present, and arrangements were made whereby we could be of assistance to him in his work. One of the first things which the new superintendent suggested was that the reception room be made a little more attractive and the corridors leading from the main building to the new part be made a little less bare. A committee com posed of Mrs. E. J. Porter, Mrs. J. A. Traut, Mrs George Traut and Mrs. George Hart was appointed to take the matter in hand, and at the present time the new rugs, light curtains and mission furniture make a very nice change from it's former sombre ap- pearance. The curtains, too, in the corridors are great addition. Boxes of flowers have been in the windows of the reception room all summer and the superintendent as- SureS us that when winter sets in plants will be blooming in the cor riders, making the institution as K, too, in the halls has been nicely ren- ovated by the employees of the hos pital.
 Money Badly Needed.
 Up to the present time we have maintained our institution as we'll as it could be done with the money al- lotted to us by the state and city. We have always been aware of defects and of many things which might be diff ferent, but changes could not be made without the expenditure of a large sum of money which we did not have. In April last there passed from us one of our aged and highly respected cit izens whose pleasure it was to watch the growth of the city which had been his home for many years, and to which he had become greatly at tached. When the will of the late Darius Miller was made public it was found that it contained many bequests to New Britain and that the hospital was very generously remembered. In fact the sum set aside for our use is so great that soon we can enlarge our plant and it's work, and can main- tain hospital whose standard of eN- cellence is second to none. It is prob ably known to you all through the columns of the press that provision wa, made at the close of the war for sick and wounded soldiers, not only those belonging to our city, but to some of the adjoining towns, the eX- pense to be met by the governme ment In this way they were not obliged to go to regular government hospital. and cur local hospital was for the time being thus constituted a govern m hOSnjt91 have been treated, two or three being for shell shock. At present we are as usual lacking in private rooms,