The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-02-07
The Council and City Hospital

tive body, with eye cooked toward the
political aspects of the matter, has decided
that there is no rush as to the bond issue for
the City Hospital.
There is public health and always has been
puuMo health What Of it? Voters have been
conveyed to the polls before now in wheel
chairs. Automobiles always are plentiful on
election day to transport the lame, the halt
the blind and the goofy to cast their ballots
The vote-that's the thing. The hospital can
ride awhile longer.
Meanwhile, at City Hospital, the superin-
tendent, the business manager, the doctors,
the internes, the nurses wait in dread, make
shifts serving them from day to day to care
for the scores of patients constantly being de-
posted at their doors.
There are no beds in which to place them.
But, nevertheless, they must be and are given
accommodation and treatment, by employ
ment of ingenuity which only Superintendent
W. A. Doeppers and his staff can explain.
The city has been notably free from cpl
denies of serious nature for many months.
This does not mean that it always will be so
conditions as they are, might mean, would
mean, that scores of lives would be lost trace
able solely to one reason-lack of suitable hos
pital accommodations to care for contagious
cases.
Not bed is empty today in City Hospital.
Wards built to accommodate twenty-four beds
have fortythree to forty-fve in Them with
Io+1,v To +ba
lors, intended for convalescent patients, are
now row on row of BEDS every one occupied.
In the basement, in every conceivable
place where bed might be placed, there is
a patient. In one room, with single window,
level with the ground, where rain sweeps In on
bad days, are six patients with ventilation
enough for not more than three.
In the ward for contagious cases of children
are little patients suffering from whooping
cough diphtheria, measles, chickenpox. Are
thew segregated according to their ailments,
safeguarded with every means of protection?
They are not. Between each bed is sheet
and nothing else But then these patients have
no votes.
Serving the hospital is an ancient power
POAAAU
supply the needs Of the institution. Two
secondhand boilers, purchased from defunct
brewery provide the power. In the worst pos
sible location, the power house belches smoke
from it's chimneys that penetrates every room
in the building and its monotonous thump-
thump twenty-four hours day is torture to
the nerves of the stoutest patient
-
closed the nurses eat in three shifts, because
there is not room to allow for any other sched-
ue They lose time from their classes, from
their ward duty.
Stored in this building are supplies worth
thousands Of dollars, ever in peril of destruc-
ton, because the structure is fire trap of
the most dangerous sort, with wooden stair
cases, sagging floors and crumbling ceilings.
The indianapolis City Hospital boasts one
Of the most modern and complete surgery de-
partments in this part of the country. But
of what use is all this expensive equipment
when there is no bed available for a surgical
patient? AS we'll bestow look of dignity and
knowledge on a councilman and expect to
make anyone believe it his own.
year was 1922. In all other cities for which
statistics are available, the per capita cost was
from $3.43 to ST. So there can be no COM
plant that affairs and finances of the institu-
ton are not administered ably by the execu-
tive staff.
The bond issue Of 81, 100000 to provide for
expansion and improvements at the hospital
was passed by council during the Duvall re-
gime. A legal technically was discovered by
a far-seeing councilman The action was re-
scinded, announcement being made that an
amended ordinance would be put through. But
it never has BEEN.
The Chamber of Commerce recommended
that 100000 be spent. But that recon-
mendation apparently was all that the cham
Der has contributed to see the matter through
In the meantime, the hospital staff carries
on to the best of it's ability, faithfully caring
for patients who would be turned away from