The American hospital of the twentieth century : a treatise on the development of medical institutions, both in Europe and in America, since the beginning of the present century / by Edward F. Stevens.

  • Stevens, Edward F. (Edward Fletcher), 1860-1946.
Date:
1928
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The American hospital of the twentieth century : a treatise on the development of medical institutions, both in Europe and in America, since the beginning of the present century / by Edward F. Stevens. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    CHAPTER XXII REMODELING A HOUSE FOR A HOSPITAL ET^VERX hospital must have its beginning; few indeed can start with a complete equipment; so the remodeled house should he looked upon as the stepping stone to something more complete. It usually happens that before the house has been fitted for hospital purposes, enough money is expended to go far toward build¬ ing a suitable, up-to-date institution. Even then there will he waste and unavailable room, which must be heated and taken care of. The finish which is attractive and necessary for a residence becomes almost a menace in a hospital. The staircases and halls are generally nar¬ row, the rooms are not properly ventilated, the toilets are badly ar¬ ranged, and the floor materials are not suitable. In other words, an undue amount of energy must be expended in the housekeeping for such a building, and this will detract, in all probability, from the care of the patient. In many of the smaller cities and large towns the hospital center has been started by a gift by some philanthropic citizen of his palatial residence as a hospital. Much good work has been done and is being done in these old residences and all honor to these public spirited citizens who have started these splendid enterprises. The time, how¬ ever, soon comes when the residence no longer functions because of overcrowded conditions or the fire menace in these non-fireproof buildings, and the architect is brought in to enlarge and modernize the residence. Often the hospital committee may be persuaded to use the resi¬ dence as a nurses’ home and have a new hospital designed, while in other cases the building is modernized by new additions. Some of the first difficulties in making such a building into a hospital are narrow doors through which no bed will pass, stairs so steep and winding that they make difficult the carrying of a patient from one story to another, high windows, small bathrooms, the find¬ ing of proper locations for service rooms, proper lighting for oper¬ ating room, etc., as well as the general unhygienic conditions of old finish and floors. In adding new buildings to old, a change of level from one por¬ tion of the building to another is often necessary; this should always be done by ramps and not by stairs, and the ramps should not he more that an eight per cent rise.