With infantile cases increasing, the city and health authorities were taking a proactive view of establishing the isolation hospital. The small, temporary facility at City (Holyoke) Hospital had treated 67 patients since the epidemic began.
Once again, the city sought bids for the construction, plumbing and heating of the facility in September 1916. The total low bids for the three construction elements approached $90,000, far exceeding the City Engineer’s projected estimate of $52,000. The city’s total appropriation for the project was $60,000. Had the project been completed in the preceding year, the construction cost would have been $42,000.
City officials sought to scale back the project. Invitations to bid were issued with the revised plans. In February 1917, M. J. Walsh & Sons was awarded the construction contract, M. T. Doherty the plumbing contract, and Holyoke Supply Company would supply the heating system. The total cost was $56,000. The project completion date was established as November 1, 1917.
In April 1917, the Board of Public Works granted the Eureka Improvement Association, composed of employees of the Eureka Blank Book Company, the use of 5 acres of land for farming. The farm was located between the pump station and the Griffin house on Cherry Street.
Due to labor shortages and delays in receiving construction materials, an extension was granted to complete the project by February 1, 1918.
On January 4, 1918, the Board of Health, in honor of the late City Physician, Charles O. Carpenter, decided to call the new isolation hospital the Carpenter Hospital for Contagious Diseases.
The physical hospital structure, plumbing, and heating were completed in March 1918. City Officials inspected the hospital on March 5, 1918. The Board of Health sought $30,000 early the following month for equipment and furnishings. Mayor Ryan requested that the Board of Aldermen approve a $25,000 special loan for this purpose. He stressed that opening Carpenter Hospital would relieve the overcrowding situation at the Holyoke Sanatorium and result in the transfer of the 4 patients housed at the small City Hospital facility.
On July 1, 1918, the Carpenter Hospital for Contagious Diseases officially opened, about 15 years after initial discussions took place regarding the construction of an isolation hospital.
Although the hospital appeared as 3 buildings “thrown together on the side of a hill”, city officials were impressed by its internal workings. It was noted to be the finest hospital of its kind west of Worcester.
The new hospital freed the entire second floor of the nearby Holyoke Sanatorium for new tuberculosis cases. The second floor had been used as nurses’ quarters.
There were some ideas for easing the burden on nurses walking back and forth between the 2 facilities. The Board of Health suggested a staircase; however, that would be dangerous with winter’s ice and snow. Another concept was to cover the walkway with a roof and enclose it with windows during the winter months. A cable line, one at the top and the other at the bottom of the hill, was a thought. However, the steep hill was thought to make the journey risky.
The Administration Building housed the Superintendent’s office, along with the nurses’ living room, dining room, kitchen, and bedrooms. 25 feet away was the hospital building, with doctors’ offices, rooms for infected nurses, a general patient ward, and several private rooms. The laundry had the latest in appliances.
The first physician in charge was Dr. John J. McCabe. Dora Fitzgerald served as supervisor from 1924 to 1936. She was a public health nurse with the Holyoke Health Department
Many of the patients suffered from diphtheria, scarlet fever and influenza. The hospital could accommodate 24 patients at a time, but it was downsized due to available funding. However, as will be evident, its small capacity would come into play in sustaining its existence in the 1930s. More on this and the hospital through the 1920s and 1930s will follow in forthcoming chapters.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
No comments:
Post a Comment