In August 1931, a localized outbreak of polio affected many in Holyoke. Dr. Harold E. Miner, the state district health officer, was impressed by the care given by the Carpenter, Holyoke, and Providence Hospitals and attending physicians. In most cases, the illness was treated early with serum to prevent paralysis. By late August, the number of new cases had diminished.
Another polio outbreak occurred in 1931. Health Officer Daniel Mahoney contacted William G. Dwight, editor of the Holyoke Transcript, and Thomas J. Carmody, the water commissioner, seeking $1,600 for a Drinker respirator, an early iron lung machine used to treat polio. Within hours, the two provided the funds, and Holyoke soon had the first such respirator in Western Massachusetts. Its delivery was anticipated later in August 1931.
In July 1932, the Board of Health voted to close the Carpenter Hospital for the summer for financial reasons. Amazingly, at the time, there were no patients in the hospital, and if this changed, the hospital would promptly reopen for care.
In October 1932, changes were implemented at both sanatoriums to save $4,000 annually. The number of communicable diseases remained very low in the fall. However, in the winter, there were new cases of measles, scarlet fever, chicken pox, mumps, and whooping cough. Given that Carpenter Hospital remained closed, those affected stayed home.
In March 1934, Chairman Stanley L. Skypeck and Dr. John A. Cleary discussed with the Board of Public Works the possibility of adding a floor to the Carpenter Hospital to house tuberculosis patients from the Holyoke Sanatorium. As there was a plan to build a county sanatorium in the near future, the Board of Public Works was discouraged from pursuing this request.
Later that month, the executive committee of the Holyoke Tuberculosis Association, which advocated for state care for tuberculosis patients, concurred with the Board of Public Works. They indicated that alternatives existed for transferring tuberculosis patients to other facilities such as Rutland, Springfield, or Westfield.
The closing of the Carpenter Hospital resulted in the Drinker respiratory machine being stored in the building. A patient who had suffered from paralysis of a lung nearly died due to the unavailability of the machine in the locked and unheated hospital.
In May 1934, city officials agreed to send the lighter cases of Tuberculosis to the Carpenter Hospital, as the Holyoke Tuberculosis Hospital was a few days away from closing. More severe cases would be handled by the larger tuberculosis hospitals.
In July 1934, 12 women from the Holyoke Sanatorium were transferred to the Carpenter Hospital. Doctors were concerned about where the polio patients would be isolated. Alternative facilities were available to handle polio cases, and the Drinkwater respiratory machine was available in a separate room at the former Carpenter Hospital.
The former Carpenter Hospital was then used exclusively by the Holyoke Tuberculosis Sanatorium. With the evolution of anti-toxins to inoculate people against diphtheria, the number of isolation cases dwindled. In 1936, the city spent $19,000 to care for 11 patients.
In April 1937, it was announced that the remaining 7 patients would soon be transferred to the new 100-bed Westfield Sanatorium. This was deferred to mid-December 1937 when the remaining 5 patients were relocated. The Holyoke Sanatorium, formerly the Carpenter Hospital, was closed in December 1937. The property was transferred to the Board of Public Works.
Who did the facility serve then, and what were other uses of the former Carpenter Hospital? The former hospital’s path continues in the next chapter.
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