Seventh annual report of the trustees of the State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester. December, 1839.

  • State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester.
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Seventh annual report of the trustees of the State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester. December, 1839. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the fields, have been improved; and a cold swamp has been changed to a productive field. Mr. Baxter Ellis, the Steward, has taken the lead in these improvements, with the good judgment and zeal which he car¬ ries into all parts of his manifold duties. The merits of Mrs. Ellis, the matron, cannot be forgotten by the Trustees, after they have had so frequent evidence of her active industry, and her cordial and en¬ livening manners in her ministrations to the patients. In a word, the internal peace of the Institution, and the prevalence of neatness, order, and harmonious action, do honor to those who are employed in its va¬ rious duties and labors. The chapel continues to fulfil the highest hopes of the officers of the Hospital in its happy influence on the patients. At present the Rev. Mr. Reed officiates as chaplain in a very acceptable manner. As the site of the Hospital, by its elevation and exposure to the horizon on all sides, is favorable for meteorological observations, and Hr. Woodward was willing and very competent to undertake the task, the trustees requested, that he would do so, and they now present tables of observations made with regularity and accuracy, through the year, as an interesting contribution to science, in a department in which a deficiency of facts is often regretted. The treasurer’s report, exhibits the finances of the Hospital, with that accuracy and lucid arrangement which are the result of the pains, which that able officer devotes to the numerous and complicated trans¬ actions of his department. The Trustees concur in his opinion, that the cash now on hand, with the balance of last year’s appropriation not drawn from the State treasury, and the payments by patients, which may be expected, will be sufficient for ordinary expenses at the Hospital, in the ensuing year. The usual appropriation for this purpose, is therefore not now required; but it will appear, that the Institution will need this aid in future years, if we look at the uses, to which this fund is applied. For the honor of our Commonwealth, be it ever remembered, that in addition to the large expenditures for Hospital buildings and land, for which no rent is demanded, it is generously provided by law that no charge shall be made against any patient for the services of the super¬ intendent, assistant physician, steward and matron. This liberality is at once benevolent and wise. It is benevolent, as it relieves the ex¬ penses of individuals and families, who suffer one of the most woful calamities of life; and it is greatly wise, as it gives encouragement to the early and most effectual treatment of the unfortunate sufferers. In the same spirit, the trustees have, in former years, fixed the price of