The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1924-06-26
THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 1924
ADDED HOSPITAL FACILITIES.

I,
ADDED HOSPITAL FACILITIES.
It is admitted that Kenosha needs added
hospital facilities. 1t is admitted that it needs
increased hospital equipment and more than
anything else it needs some pernanency to be
given to it's plans for caring for the SICK. For
q good many years our hospital problem has
been "hand to mouth" problem with spas
modic drives to secure money and almost con-
tinuous requests upon few people to keep
these institutions going. Certainly real mod
ern county cannot look forward TO this as the
best solution of one of the big civic problems.
Few hospitals are self sustaining and it IS
difficult to have vision enough to see the time
when hospitals in Kenosha can live and serve
without being subsidized in one way or an
|Other The problem is not one which interests
just few people 1t is a big public question
and it should be met by some organization
which will include all the people who are in
terested in the service to be rendered by these
institutions
The one real way Of meeting this problem
and properly dividing the responsibility
for the support of institutions to care for the
sick is to build county hospital We mean a
hospital which will be built by the county and
maintained under the direction of the regular
officials of the county. This is not an innova-
ton Thousands of counties in the country sup
port hospitals and scores of counties in the
immediate neighborhood of Kenosha are find
ing this method the real solution of the pro-
blem of caring for the sick and the unfortu-
nate.
There is no reason why the city OF Kenosha
should maintain a hospital for the people OF
Kenosha county, or that some kindly disposed
body of devoted members of a religious organ
ization should slave their lives away in a
vain effort to help solve the problem of hospi-
tails The problem is one which should be met
fairly by every resident of the county.
This matter should be laid before the county
board of Kenosha county and it should be ask
ed to submit referendum to the people of the
whole county That referendum should read !:
"Shall the county Of Kenosha erect county
hospital at cost of three hundred thousand
dollars and provide funds for the erection OF
the same, either by taking the money from the
general funds Of the county or by issuing
bonds to provide for the expenditure"
We are inclined to believe that the people
of the whole county would welcome chance
to get behind such an institution. We believe
that under county management that hoSp1-
tai could be operated in manner which would
make it a real institution and one which would
not prove too great a burden on the county.
1t is not beyond the province of the reason
able thing to expect that the county could Sc
cure the services of members of some sister
hood to have charge OF the operation OF Sucn a
hospital 1t is certain that under such oper-
alton the county could economically provide for
the care of it's own charges and offer splen-
did institution for the care of others who want
to pay in full for everything they may need
along the line Of hospital service.
Hospitals do not fail financially on account
Of bad management, but because a large
amount of the service which they rendered
must be rendered without remuneration. 1t is
unfair to expect any hospital to take care of
people for nothing, and if these people cared
for are not able to pay, it should be possible
to have this service cost divided between all
the people,
The poor we have always with us and this
Is particularly true to the people who seek to
operate hospitals The public should pay for
the support of its dependents in hospitals just
the same as it pays for them anywhere else.
We believe that the hospital problem in Ke-
nosha may be best solved by the placing of the
burden of construction, equipment and main
tenance on the shoulders of all the people of
Kenosha county, and this only can be done by
having county institution in which all will
be equally interested and for which all will be
proportionately responsible
1t is to be hoped that at the next meeting of
the county board, this matter will be taken up
and efforts made to advance the plan that
there may be hopes for an early and right
solution of the problem.