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ublic securities, bearing not less than six per cent, per annum, which interest shall he appropriated by them towards the support and maintenance of the Hos- pital." This was done, and the proceeds are in the Hospital box in the vault of the Bank of Nova Scotia, the President holding one key and the Treasurer the other. In the year 1872 an Act was passed by the Legislature authorizing the Commissioners of the Hospital to expend $6,000 in building a Hospital for Infectious Diseases upon the Hospital ground. The Board of Health having obtained tlie use of the old Military Hospital on the Barrack Ground for that purpose, the Act was not enforced until the year 1885, when the Common Council required the building to be removed from the locality upon which it stood. The Commissioners complying with the request, con- cluded to erect one as directed by the law. Two months History of the General Public Hospital. 9 staff were itf, House been coil- ed. appear brmation. ngs Bank Dominion he Ilospi- 44,269.69, e invested less than iropriated the Hos- Hospital President egislature o expend ises upon Df the old purpose, when the )ved from lest, con- 3 months after the work had been commenced, and when about $2,000 had been expended upon it, a cabal was inaugurated by Mayor Macgregor Grant, who, appealing to prt^judices, induced the various council boards to pass resolutions pro- testing against the undertaking. The CJommissioners were hounded to the bitter end b}' a memorial to the Legislature, having the Civic Seals attached to it. This misleading document was replete with false reasoning. Its author did not dare to place a copy of it in the hands of the Com- missioners before it was sent forward. Consequently the members of the Legislature were left in ignorance of the facts, and passed an Act placing the responsibility of the location of the Hospital upon the shoulders of the Com- missioners, thereby subjecting them to prosecution by an}' person holding land adjoining that selected as a site for it. The Legislature having previously declared that the "Hos- pital for Contagious Disease shall be placed on the ground of the General Public Hospital," no action can be taken against its location. Happily for the tax-payer, the Legis- tive Council did not ratify the Act, thereb}' saving to the community the $2,000 already spent, $3,000 or $4,000 tor land in some other locality, with the never-ending risk of prosecution. And now we have a Hospital for Contagious Diseases on the Hospital ground, always ready for the reception of suitable cases, in almost daily use, the cost of which was $6,000, and contrary to the declared opinion of our oppo- nents, the surrounding neighbourhood has not in any way been contaminated or prejudiced by it. A Nursing School was established in the year 1888, Dr. Bayard giving the opening address, and Commissioners Walker and Hetherington, together with the members of the medical staff, the lectures to the students upon the various subjects connected with their studies. The Commissioners feeling the disadvantage of requiring nurses to sleep and eat in the atmosphere of the sick, and 10 History of the General Public Hospital. having no available room in the institution to provide them with good atmospheric surroundings, and not having the means at their disposal to furnish such accommodation, they determined to appeal to philanthropists in aid of their object; also to assist them in carrying out a scheme for " District Nursing" in the city, a desideratum much needed. Knowing the ability and the untiring zeal of the wife of our Lieutenant Governor when engaged in a philanthropic object, and believing that if they could enlist her in their cause its success would be assured, consequently they ap- proached Lady Tilley, and nobly she responded. She, with the able assistance of verv manv ladies in this city, in the provincial towns, and many abroad, gave a building that will be a lasting monument of their good work, and illustrating their kind sympathy for a class who have embraced a calling with few attractions and many hardships, and when performing their various duties in a sick room faithfully and kindly, may be truly classed as " ministering angels," and who deserve all the fostering care that can be aiforded to them. Appreciating the value of this gift, the Commissioners read the following address to her : To Lady Tili-ey. Madam — The Commissioners of the General Public Hospital, in addition to the verbal thanks already extended to you by our President, desire to express to you more formally our appreciation of the great value to the Hospital, and to the community at large, of the Nurses' Home, recently presented to us by you. We would express to you our admiration of the zeal and untiring energy displayed by you, in bringing this charitable undertaking to such a successful completion, and we would, through you, thank all those who, under your leadership, have given so largely of both time and means to this noble enterprise. We sincerely pray that your ladyship's fondest anticipations may be more than fulfilled in the value of this delightful home to the hard-worked Hospital nurses, and that from this cheerful meeting place, there will go forth in I History of the General Public Hospital. 11 ovido thorn havino; the iiniodation, lid of their scheme for jcli needed, the wife of lilanthropic ler in their ly they ap- idies in this ad, gave a their good a class who and many duties in a ' cUxssed as iQ fostering iimissioners He Hospital, you by our appreciation lity at large, We would ring energy ng to such a nk all those nth time and y that your filled in the pital nurses, I go forth in years to come, a devoted band of Didrict Nurses, whose ministra- tions will prove a blessing to the place, and continue a lasting memorial to your efforts in behalf of the sick poor. M.ay you live long, and may your life be cheered by the refection of your good works. Signed by, W. Bayard, M. W. Maker, G. H. Clark, A. C. Smith, R. W. Crookshank, Thomas Walker, G. A. Hetherington, W. C. R. Allan. In all communities there are sick persons, who, for various reasons, cannot or will not obtain admission into hospitals, and wdio are too poor to employ skilled nurses. It is for such persons that District .Nurses are required. Dr. Bayard, in liis address to the nurses at the opening of the school in 1888, said: " They visit the houses of the indigent, or those wlio cannot aiford to pay for a nurse, wherever sickness exists, and attend to the various wants of the patient. I sincerely hope that from this Hospital, we may be able to afford a stafi' of nurses for that purpose. Only those who are daily brought in contact with the misery, accruing from the want of such nursing, can appreciate the necessit}' for it. Imagine a small child with hip disease and abscess, where ignorant handling would produce exquisite agony. The skilled nurse alone, knows how to move the small sulFerer so as not to jar the diseased limb. Another patient, bedridden and suft'ering from disease, requiring constant poulticing; the wife a helpless, nervous woman, with her room in confusion. In a few minutes the trained nurse has removed the crumbs from under him, replaced the cold, sloppy poultice with a warm tirm one, given him a warm cup of gruel, and made him comfortable. Or the sick young mother, in a dark and impure room, with a crying child at her side, too often drugged with ' sleepy stuff' to enable the mother to obtain the rest which nature demands. Here the nurse can teach the mother that infants ■■ 12 History of the General Public Hospital. thrive on light and air, not upon ' sleepy stuiF.' Each nurse could visit from ten to twelve such cases in a day, and return to the Hospital at night. " The road to the heart is oftener through the eye than the e;ir. I am quite sure if we could induce some of our kind friends, who are taking such an interest in this institution, to visit such cases as I have described, and see the misery that could bo relieved by such nursing, there would be no lack of lands for the support of it." There is accommodation in the Nurses' Home for six " district nurses,"' but the Commissioners have not authority to draw upon the funds of the Hospital to pay them. Con- secjuently an appeal has been made to the clergymen of the different denominations in the City, to establish a Hospital Sunday for that worthy object. The Commissioners propose to feed them in the Hospital, and they ask kind philan- thropists to furnish money to pay them. Dr. Thomas Walker is Treasurer of the Nurses' Fund, and will receive donations. The clergy of the Church of England in St. John have responded, giving one nurse, who has been on duty since December, 1894 — none of the others — but it is earnestly hoped that they may soon do so. The proposition is to divide the city into six districts, and detail a nurse for each district, whose duty shall be to seek out and aid those requiring her assistance; and when her district work will admit of it, she may obey the calls of those able to pay for the services of a trained nurse. Since the establishment of the Hospital up to the year 1883, the medical staif attended the sick gratuitously. At that time the work became so onerous, coupled with the difficulty of inducing experienced men to accept the situa- tion, the Commissioners felt justified in paying each member when employed $2 per day for one or more visits. The pay is nothing commensurate with the work, but it is as much as the funds of the institution can at present afford. i History of the General Public Hospital. 13 ■.' Each in a day, I eye than lie of our it in this 1, and see ng, there le for six authority m. Con- aen of the 1 Hospital rs propose d philan- ses' Fund, ;hurch of ne nurse, none of may soon districts, lall be to and when le calls of se. the year usly. At with the the situa- 1 member The pay as much i. Six physicians and surgeons, two oculists, two or more consultants, a dentist, and a house surgeon comprise the medical staff. Their duties have not been divided into medical and surgical, but it is hoped that in the near future this will be accomplished. They are educated men, who take large interest in their work, and ]>erfonn their various duties faithfully, scientifically and effectually, as is amply proved by their record of all the modern surgical operations. The}' are appointed annually, and it may be remarked that no capital operation is allowed to be performed — except under special emergency — without notification and consul- tation with the staff. In the year 1889 it was found that the accommodation for the sick was not sufficient for the demand upon it, conse- quently the Commissioners asked the Legislature to grant permission to sell bonds for the amount of $14,000 to com- plete and furnish the building by adding the western wing. This was done, and now we have a hospital with all modern conveniences, capable of receiving one hundred and ten patients, and affording each patient 1,800 cubic feet of air space. Also a " Hospital for Contagious Diseases," capable of receiving twenty-five patients, with a like air space. Therefore, we may claim that the City of Saint John has ample hospital accommodation for its present requirements, and at a smaller cost than that of anv other town with the same population. The yearly expenditure for the Hospital in Halifax, with few more patients, — sailon.- included — is between $38,000 and $39,000, and the one in Portland, Maine, with nearly the same number of patients, is about $34,000, while the yearly expenditure upon this institution is under $20,000. When deducting the provincial grant — the Savings Bank Bequest Fund — and the money received from pay patients, — sailors included — the rate-payer is not burdened to the extent of more than $12,000 yearly for this good work, and he may credit the institution with a reduction 14 History of the General Public Hospital. in his poor-rate. But he pays more than his share. For the provincial grant — as will be seen In* referring to the yearly reports — does not pay more than half the outlay for the patients from the different counties in the Province and the way-farers, in or passing through tlie city. The Commissioners have repeatedly brought this fact under the notice of the Government, contending that the gran^ from the Province should be largely increased. They were met by the contention that the " Savings Bank Bequest Fund'" was a gift from the Province. '■'•This is fallacious,'" for, after much personal persuasion, and through the able assistance of Judge Weldon and Canon Scovil, the money was obtained for the Hospital, as appears by the following correspondence : Saint John, September 1st, 1873. To the Chairman of Commissioners of the Public Hospital. Sir, — I am directed to enclose to you a copy of the resolution passed by the Trustees of the St. John Savings Bank, and to request the action of your Board in reference thereto at your earliest convenience. I am sir, yours respectfully, John Boyd. Moved by Rev. Canon Scovil, and seconded by Mr. Justice Weldon : Whereas, By the IGth Section of an Act, Chap. 6 of 34 Victoria, passed by the Dominion Parliament, April 14, 1871, the St. John Savings Bank, with its property, assets and liabilities, were trans- ferred to the Dominion of Canada, subject to a proper allowance for any surplus of such property in the settlement of account be- tween the Dominion and the Bank ; And whereas, On the adjustment of said account, the sura of forty-two thousand and seventy-nine dollars has been placed in the Bank of New Brunswick to the credit of the Trustees of the St. John Savings Bank, with the accumulated interest now amount- ing to the sum of forty-four thousand one hundred and eighty-two dollars and ninety-five cents ($44,132.95), to be disposed of as the History of the General Public Hospital. 16 hare. For iiu' to the ! outlay for ovince and it this fact \g that the ^ed. They Ilk Bequest fallacious,^' fh the able the money e following 1st, 1873. il. he resolution ink, and to eto at your HN Boyd. Mr. Justice 34 Victoria, ;he St. John were trans- er allowance account be- the sura of )laced in the stees of the low araount- i eighty-two sed of as the said Trustees, with the approbation of the Dominion Government, may think fit ; Therefore resolved, That the above sum of $44,182.95, to 16th of October, 1873, ^.ith any further interest till paid, be given, by tiiid with the consent of the Government, to the Commissioners of the General Hospital in the City of St. John, to be by them invested in good and sufficie/:t public securities hearing not less than six per cent, per annum, which interest alone shall be appropriated by them towards the support and maintenance of said Hospital, to enable the Commissioners to carry on their work mure efficiently ; Provided nevertheless, That the said Commissioners do first pay out of the said money, the sum of six hundred dollars per annum, in four equal qur^rterly payments, to the widow of Daniel Jordan, Esq., late cashier of the St. John Savings Bank, during the term of her natural life, the same to be paid to her from the time of Mr. Jordan's death. Conse(j[ueiitly forty-two thousand dollars of the above named sum was invested in public securities. It is therefore idle to claim that the money was a gift from this Province. If the Provincial grant is not increased, the Commission- ers will be driven to close the doors of the Hospital against the sick from the out counties. For it is obviously unfair that the people of this city and county should be burdened with the pa*uper sick of the Province. The Victoria General Hospital in Halifax, ^ova Scotia, is a provincial institution — owned, managed and supported bv the Provincial Government — yet it receives not double the number of patients from the out counties that this one does, the figures being for the Victoria 475 ; for this one 819. The foregoing should afford food for the considera- tion of our legislators. The Commissioners have done all in their power — the matter must now rest with the citizens. In consequence of complaints against the management of the Marine Hospital in this city, the Minister of Marine requested the Commissioners to receive the sick sailors arriving in this port into the Hospital, the Dominion Gov- 16 Hisf.ory of the General Public Hospital. ermnenf to pay >//??<7// cods per du}' for each ri)an, and all l)nrial exj)oiisos. This wns ii^sented to in February, 1893, giving to the Hospital in future about two hundred addi- tional patients yearly, for which rhe institiition will receive between ,^3,000 and $4,000 per annum. An " ambulance," for the purpose of conveying persons seriously injured, seriously ill, or laboring under contagious diseases, to the institution, is much required. The sufferers are compelled to get there as best they can, and these infected with contagious diseases are too often taken to the Infectious Hospital in coaches, which coaches are used im- mediately after, without disinfection of any kind. In May, 1894, D?\ Bayard brought this subject to the notice of the Mayor in the following letter: Gkorge Rohertson, Esq., Mayor of the City of Saint John. Mv Dear Sir — Allow me to bring to your notice, and to the body over which you preside, the fact that an ambulance is sadly recpiired in this city. There is no mode by which an individual having received such an injury as to make it imperative that he should be conveyed in a horizontal posture, or one so ill as to demand the same care, can be conveyed to his home, or to the Hospital. Such a want should not exist in a town the size of St. John. As an illustration, I may say to you that a short time since a gentleman fell down a stair-way, and received such an injury that to attempt to place him in a coach would have probably produced instant death. He was obliged to lie where he fell for an hour and a half before he could be moved to the Hospital, and then, at the risk of his life, on a rough express wagon. I have given Messrs. Price fal. 17 II, and all ary, 1893, Ired a(lital since its establishment. On the 27th February, 1C89, a num with a diseased eye was sent in, after the visiting hour of the oculist, by a member of the staff, who had been in attendance upon him for eiijht or ten days, assisted bv an oculist. Ilis disease was ulceration of the cornea, with pus in the anterior chamber (hypopyon). The day after admission the ulcer penetrated the abscess, and the matter was discharged. The next day lie left the Hospital, having been there about fifty hours, when he again went under the treatment of those who placed him there, and ultimately lost his eye. About a year after this he prosecuted the Commissioners, claiming that he h)st his eye in consequence of neglect. When the case came into court, the chief witnesses against the Commissioners were their paid employ^, Dr. Daniel, and a disappointed aspirant to the situation of oculist, Dr. Crawford. The trial resulted in a verdict for the plaintift' — damages, $500; costs, $500. While it is the duty of the oculist to visit his patients every other day, or oftener if necessary, he did not see this man as he should have done. The house surgeon was away on leave, and a friend acting in his place, which may have accounted for, though not excused, the neglect. But had Dr. Daniel dis- played the same zeal for his patient that he did at the trial, or the ordinary zeal that a medical man -attached to a 18 Histori/ of the General Piihlic Jfnsjutal. hosjtitrtl should (lisi»lu> towurdn it, he would have hccii the ocMiliftt, aud Hoc'ured hi.s 'ttt'udaiu'o u[)ou his [taticnt. Had ho doue 80, his patient ertaiuly would have reeeivod the l)eiietit of the treatmei lie uri^ed at the trial. IFe v/ould have prevented the slander upon an institution of which he was a paid meniher, and he would have saved the pocket of the tax-payer to the extent of $1,000. And it may he asked why he, or tlie oculist with him, did not perform the simple operation of opening; the ahseess hefore they sent the man to the Hospital ? The Commissioners claim that the disease in the man's eye was so far advanced when lie came to the Hospital that an operation would have hcen of no avail ; that to afford a prospect of success it should have heen done days hefore. They claim that it is iwprecedentcd to hold the governing hody of a hospital liahle for the malpractice or laches of a member of the medical staff. They can find no such case on record. They claim that the result of this trial has done irrepar- able injury to the institution, inasmuch Jis it has paved the way to litigation and prosecution, which no amount of vigilance and care on their part can prevent. They employ the best men they can obtain, and make rigid rules and regulations governing their conduct, but cannot alwjiys be at hand to see them enforced. Indeed it has already yielded fruit, for an action is now pending in the Supreme Court against the Commissioners at the instance of a woman who claims that she was discharged before she was well. A pauper comes to our door; we admit him, feed and care fur him, and wdien recovered we tell him to go. He likes his quarters, and says no. We discharge him, and as a return for what we have done he prosecutes us. This is small encouragement for the philanthropist. But it will continue ad infinitum unless such claimants are compelled by legislative enactment to furnish security for the costs. They have nothing to lose, and consequently embark into a HlMory of the General Public Ilospiial. 19 1 Hccn the nt. Usui eivod the lie would which ho [toekct of { be asked ;he simple [ the man the man's spital that to art'ord a 5 before, governing aches of a such case •ne irrepar- paved the imount of ley employ rules and always be idy yielded erne Court oman wlu) well. A I and care He likes , and as a ii. This is ^ut it will compelled the costs, jark into a 4 Hpeculative a'.'ti>>n. It will bo claimed that the interest of the poor man should be guarded. True; so should that of the giver. We have to record scandal No. 2. In July, 1H08 a statement ap|>eared in one of the newspapers, that Com- missioner Clark iiad taken samples of various . nds, and medicines from tiie Hosijit'il. The statement was of such a character :is to dennmd immediate investigation, which was made before a full Board. The acknowledgments of Mr. Clark, coupled with the evidence, made \i api)arent that he had taken samples. "". bile the amount taken was trivial, and not in the nature of stealing, still the mend)ers of the Board reluctantly came to the unanimous conclusion, that his usefulness as a com- missioner was destroyed, inasmuch as he could not prevent the employes of the Institution from doing the same thing, having been guilty himself. Consequently a resolution was passed, urgently requesting him to resign. He declined to do so, leaving no alternative but to place the resolution and evidence into the hands of the Municipal Council, as the appointing body. This was done, and the following is the answer received : Saint John, October 5th, 1893. Dear Sru, — With reference to your letter to the Warden, of date 29th August last, enclosing evidence taken before the Com- missioners of the General Public Hospital, in an investigation held by them, and their resolution thereon, requesting Mr. G. H. Clark, a commissioner of the Hospital, to resign. I beg to inform you that the same was laid before the October meeting of the Council of the Municipality, when a resolution was passed to refer the matter to a committee of the Council, " to investigate the same, and all matters connected with the Hospital and its management, and report to the Council." The committee consists of the Mayor, and Councillors Law, J. A. Chesley, O'Brien, Baxter, McLeod and Irvine. I am, dear sir, your obedient servant, W. Bayard, M. D., H. W. Frith, Secretary. President Hospital Board of Commissioners. 90 History of the General Public Hospital. The reHolutioii in a» extraonliimry owa to Huy the leant of it. A Board, after an impartuil iiiveHtiifatioii, finds one of itft mend)ers ^ujuilty of eonunittin^ a wronif, he its re