Fiftieth anniversary of the Boston City Hospital, June 20, 1914.

  • Boston City Hospital.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Fiftieth anniversary of the Boston City Hospital, June 20, 1914. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    will readily be seen that it is much more expen- sive to carry on a hospital today than it was fifty years ago, yet in spite of this fact the per capita cost has been but slightly increased dur- ing that time. In 1865, the cost per patient was $1.77 per day; in the last fiscal year it was $1.81. This showing is a tribute to the business prin- ciples of strict economy on which the hospital is conducted. All purchases are made by competi- tion from specifications prepared by the Trus- tees, and contracts are awarded to the lowest bidders. All appointments, professional and otherwise, are made strictly upon merit. This method has brought the hospital to its present high standard of efficiency. It is a matter of pride and satisfaction that the Boston City Hospital has never had to take a low position in the ranks of such institutions. From its inception until the present day, the generous appropriations of the City Government have enabled the Trustees to keep it abreast of the times, and in many cases ahead. Let us glance at some of the achievements of the hospital during this half century. Chief among them, it seems to me, has been the tri- umph over the dread scourge of pyemia and sep- sis. The present generation has little knowledge of the horrors and dangers that attended the surgery of those early days. Our hearts should be filled with gratitude to those who by their labors and researches have made possible the present happy conditions. In later years the discovery of the x-ray and the use of radium have opened up unlimited possibilities for good. Wonderful results in the treatment of surface cancer, in the early diag- nosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, the more exact knowledge of fractures and diseases of the bones,