San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-23

The hospital buildings are of the
most improved modern fireproof con-
struction. The surfaces of these
buildings are of high grade imper-
vious brick, trimmed with sandstone.
The complement of ward buildings
consists of an infirmary ward, five
single story wards ard five two-story
wards. These buildings are arranged
in a semi-circular formation thanking
the infirmary ward and subsistence
building in double rows. The. grouping
of the buildings places the admins
and at q central point. The arrange
ment of buildings is such that all face
south and are distributed sufficiently
to assure a pleasant outlook TO the
occupants, without acrificing the
compactness of arrangement that is
essential in hospital construction. The
capacity of the hospital is $50 pa
| tents.
The infirmary ward, in itself a
[ complete hospital, will house 100
men. An idea of the size Of this
building may be gained from the state
ment that it contains 1920 square
feet of floor space, exclusive of the
basement and that its front elevation
is 295 feet in length.
In this building are located the fol-
lowing departments pharmacy, phys
iotherapy, dental clinic, surgical serv-
ice, technical laboratory, eye. ear, nose
and throat, clinic and the X-Ray Lab
loratory. az FL
/ This ward has its own kitchen ana
dietetic department, and one of the
notable features Of the food service Is
the, attention paid to the selectiye
requirements ON the part of the pa
tients as TO variety of food. The hos
pital has direct access to the San An
tonic markets. besides a very rich
surrounding country that provides
fresh produce in abundance.
Subsistence Building.
This IS three-story concrete struc-
ture in which are located the facili-
ties for preparing the food for all am
bulatory patients, officers, nurses and
personnel. The dining room for pa
tents will seat nearly 400 and occu.
pies the first floor. The officers and
nurses cafeteria, and an additional
dining room are arranged on the sec
ond floor. The building is equipped
with elevators, refrigeration rooms.
electrical appliances and, in fact, all
conveniences that are essential in the
funetioning of this department.
The hospital, being a community in
Itself, is equipped with the finest ligh.
and power plant that could be OBJ
tanned. The electric output that this
plant is capable of producing would
meet the needs of a city Of 5000 pop
ulation. Three dynamos of some $50
horsepower each, supply the current
which is conveyed over cables (under-
ground conduit) to every building
Stoves, vacuum cleaning system in
each building, lights, technical equip
ment, laundry machinery, and all Ia
Dor saving devices receive their mo-
tive power from this source. During
a single day in summer. before the
hospital was being operated at full
capacity, 1000 kilowatt hours Of cleo.
triicty were being utilized.
Three Heine water tube boilers of
200 horsepower each, generate steam
for the operating of the dynamos, and
to heat the vast capacities of all
buildings at the station. Hot water Is
distributed for general use by meana
of Cochran hot water feed, located
in the power plant.
Large amounts of oil are consumed
as fuel and it is owing to an eco
nomical arrangement of railway
trackage that this supply, as well as
all general freight shipments, may be
delivered to the immediate hospital
plant. thus eliminating the expense of
motor truck transportation from a
distance.
Pure Water Supply.
The water supply Of Veterans Hos.
pital No. 93 is of significance. From
a well 103 feet deep the purest water
is obtained. A non-pulsating Luitwell-
er pump elevates the water to n con-
crete tank of 100000 gallon capacity,
erected on a 120-foot tower. This gi-
ganic pump will replace the entire
capacity of the tank with water in a
period of eighteen hours. and at the
same time maintain a continued sup
ply for the use Of the hospital. The
water supply insures a 65-pound pres.
sure per square inch against fire
emergency.
The hospital ice plant has q dails
production of seventeen and one-half
tons of clear ice, or of three and one
half tons plus the maintaining of
frigid temperatures in six cold stor-
age rooms each 1xS feet in dimen-
sion.
A modern laundry fitted with steam
and electric appliances and fully
equipped to handle any type of laun-
dry work, as well as to accomplish
sterilization and renovation processes.
is part of the hospital plant.
The Hospital Library.
The Dewey system of classification
is used in the hospital library which
contains over 1000 volumes. including
standard fiction and many useful rel