The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-30
PELHAM HOSPITAL
WILL COST$aO,
Saving After Drug Clinic
Closes Will Cut This
Estimate.
READY IN FORTNIGHT
DIR. Robert j. Wilson to Be
in Charge at City
Sanatorium.

DIR. Royal s. Copeland. Health Com
missioner, began yesterday In real
earnest to formulate plans to take over
for the treatment of drug addicts the
abandoned hospital buildings formerly
used in connection with the work OF the
naval training station at Pelham Bay
Park He announced that experts in
his department are working out the
details of the project and said that he
expects that arrangements will probably
have been made within two weeks to
take care of the first big batch OF
addicts
DR.. Robert ]. Wilson. director Of the
Bureau of Hospitals In the Health De-
partment, he said. viii be in charge Of
the drug sanitarium at Pelham Bay.
DR.. Wilson Is to make all arrangements
for the care of the medical cases and
will be responsible for the administra-
ton of the hospitals.
This new undertaking by the city will
have to be covered by an appropriation
from the Board of Estimate. Commits
sioner Copeland is preparing to 60 be-
fore the board lat special meeting
which he understands will be called in
the near future to get the necessary
funds DR.. Wilson, he said. Is at work
on an estimate which Will be used as
a basis for the recommendations to be
made to the Board of Estimate,
The commissioner is of the opinion
that the amount that will be required to
operate the Pelham Bay hospitals up to
January 1, 1920, will be in the neighbor-
hood of $4,000. This amount. he said.
will be somewhat offset by the saving
realized when the drug addicts now at
Riverside, on North Brother Island. are
moved to Pelham Bay and the Worth
street clinic Is abolished. DR.. Wilson'S
report is expected to be ready to-day.
BY his tour of inspection of the Pei
ham Bay plant late Monday afternoon.
DR.. Copeland confirmed his belief that 1t
can easily be made available as to take
care of all addicts, and he proposes to
centralize all of the work of handling
the drug addicts there just as soon as
possession has been taken by his depart
ment of the buildings turned over for
use by the navy.
"As soon as the Pelham Bay hospital
Is opened" said DR.. Copeland yesterday,
every patient at our hospitals and the
patient of every physician who desires
to be cured may be sent there. We will
have ample facilities. There are about
two dozen hospital buildings, which have
normal accommodations for 900 patients.
but which have had as many as 1000
patients at one time. There is room, for
eighty nurses. We can hire that many
If necessary, but I-.doubt If that many
will be needed"
Asked whether the Worth street clinics
work will be continued after the Pelham
Bay hospitals are In operation. DR.. Cope
land said; MY Judgment is that the
clinic on Worth street will be through
with Its work in from two to three
months This place was opened to meet
the emergency of caring for the addicts
who were unable to get their prescrip-
lions from the private practitioners. ar
rested under the Morrison law by the
Federal authorities. These patients
either will be of the drug in three
! months or else they will be at the hos
pital. The function OF the emergency
clinic viii then have ceased"
Reports from several hospitals rela-
tive to the cases of addicts who. had been
sent from the clinic to be cured. nearly
all of them giving assurances OF speedy
cures, failed to impress Dr. Copeland.
II am not satisfied with the methods
in vogue in this city at present for cur
Ing drug addicts." he said in referring to
this matter. 1T has been customary for
hospitals to give what the addlcts call
the cold turkey treatment which means
that the patient is taken off the drug al
once. Two or three days later the ad-
dict is declared to have been cured.
II have a report from one hospital al
which seven patients are said to have
been cured in two days, and another
from one where eleven are reported as
cured in 1.-TWO days. / feel confident
that this practice will be met and cor
rected through the opening of the new
hospital. where individual treatment will
be given to each addict"