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 THE BROOKLYN EAGLE

NEW YORK CITY.  SUNDAY.  MAY 9,1909

CONEY ISLAND HOSPITAL

READY THIS SUMMER

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Accommodations for 100 Beds

In Finely Equipped Building

on Ocean Parkway

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NEIGHBORHOOD HOSPITAL IDEA

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First of Institutions That Will Be Established in Each Section

of Brooklyn

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  Practically completed and guaranteed to be in readiness for use during the summer, Coney Island Hospital stands as the farthest outpost of Brooklyn Borough in the campaign against disease and distress. The structure is located almost at the extremity of Ocean Parkway, and with but the width of a creek separating it from the great pleasure resort. Its location is most strategic, for within a short distance are territories that are destined to be thickly populated in a few years, and with the electric ambulances it is expected to give thorough service not only to Coney Island, but to Bensonhurst, Bath Beach, and Seagate.

Though in an unfinished condition the new hospital is of a type to attract attention. It is on a plot of ground comprising twenty-five acres, and is far from any other building. Within sight are the waters of the ocean, and the cool sea breezes sweep the galleries where convalescent patients will soon be sitting in the sun. The spot is ideal for hospital purposes.

The structure has an added local interest  in being a department of the Kings County Hospital, rather than a separate institution. An exchange of patients between the central hospital in the heart of the borough and the new “frontier” is to be carried on as necessity arises. Whenever the city wards become crowded with convalescents, a portion of them will be sent to regain strength in the clean, ozone charged air of the open country near the sea. If the wards  of the new hospital ever become crowded  with too many accident cases, or too many cases of illness of any nature, the patients can be taken aboard an ambulance, and brought to the wards of the Kings County institution.

The plan of the originator of the scheme, however, is to provide for the Coney Island community a hospital of its own. The people of the section will thereby feel a personal interest in the institution. Added comfort will be given by the fact that long car rides and added expenditures are saved on visits to patients in the institution. Each section of the borough will, in time, have a hospital of their own, as a branch of the central Kings County institution.  Much more good can thus be accomplished, than by adding addition after addition to a structure located in the center of the city. The hospital at Coney Island is the first one to carry into effect the neighborhood hospital idea. The public servants who have the matter in hand have, however, made plans for a gradual extension of the plan. Within a few years it is expected that the borough will be equipped in such a way as to handle in a competent, thorough manner all kinds of sickness and accidents in each section.

 Lack of funds is the great impediment in the way those who would see a rapid realization of the plans to make Brooklyn a borough ideal in this respect. With all the encouragement from the office of Commissioner Robert W. Hubbard, and his local deputy, Thomas W. Hynes, there is still a great deal of official red tape to be unwound to secure the necessary appropriations for the carrying on of this work which so closely touches the needs of the people. Commissioner realizes the needs of Brooklyn and has bent his energies to giving it an adequate hospital service. Through his efforts, as well as those of the persons locally interested in the venture, has been due to the rapid building and equipping of the new Coney Island Hospital. And with this building scarcely completed, plans are afoot for the further extension of the neighborhood hospital idea. So far these plans have progressed that within a short time work will be started on another similar structure, to be located in the Brownsville district, at the junction of Miller and Dumont avenues. There has been a provided appropriation of #350,000 exclusive of the site, for this, the new Bradford Street Hospital. The appropriation is generous enough to place the contemplated structure in the same class as the new Coney Island building, which is completely to meet the needs of modern surgery and therapeutics.

 

A Model Hospital

 

The Coney Island Hospital consists of a main administration building, a home for nurses, a building for the lodging of general help, a morgue, a stable, and a heating plant. Its general plan is ideal for hospital purposes. The buildings are so places as to permit additions at any time. The hospital is built for the future, as well as the present, and so wisely has the general scheme  been carried out, that, whereas the original cost a bed accommodation was close to $3,000, the new additions will be able to fill the requirements at nearly $1,000 less per bed.

The erection of the structures utilized all the appropriation of $300,000 made for the purpose. The architects for the building were Helmle & Huberty of  190 Montague street , and the plans are all  drawn to embody every feature of a modern hospital, as suggested by Dr. John J. Fitzgerald, the general medical superintendent of Kings County Hospital. Under the direction of Dr. Fitzgerald, and Deputy Commissioner Hynes, the structure has been completed in a model fashion.

Accommodations will be provided for 100 beds. All of the buildings are perfect as sanitary construction and cleanliness are concerned. Simplicity and effectiveness are dominating features of the architecture. An imposing entrance leads up to the main auditorium. Within, everything is of white concrete, in many places faced with enameled tile. The floors are of terrazzo and composition tile.

On the ground floor, beside the reception rooms and wards, are the kitchens, storerooms, and pantries, all thoroughly equipped in a sanitary fashion. Not a corner is to be found in the entire building. Everywhere rounded edges of concrete are placed as effective barriers against the encroachment of rats, mice, and vermin. Without the slightest difficulty it will be possible to flush thoroughly any room with running water, either boiling hot or cold. In addition pipes from a central vacuum cleaning plant lead to every section of the buildings. Through the agency of the of this plant, it will be possible to clean the rooms without raising the slightest suggestion of dust in rooms where the saving of human life may depend upon absolute cleanliness.

 

Fine Ventilating System

 

The ventilating system, another feature, is a marvel in itself. Not a bit of impure air will have to be breathed by the inmates of the institution. Ventilators open directly under the hot water radiators in all of the wards. The fresh air will be heated and distributed through the rooms. The foul air, drawn by fans in the roof, will be sucked out, and a perfect ventilation will be assured at all times, without the slightest danger to delicate patients from chilly draughts


Part of the equipment of the main building provides for a clinic and distribution of drugs to poor patients. Reception rooms are provided for visiting physicians, and each of the interns will have a separate room. The wards for men and women, on


opposite sides of the buildings, are lighted by windows on two sides. Immediately adjoining each of the four wards are solariums, or sun parlors, for the use of the convalescing patients. In addition there are provisions made for the dangerously sick in separate rooms, in which perfect quiet will be insured.

The operating room and laboratory are on the third or top floor. Patients will be taken there in electric elevators, wheeled to a reception room, placed under anesthesia and swung through folding doors into the operating room itself. The operating table is swung directly under a skylight. On one side is the sterilizing room and the rooms where the surgeons will prepare for their work.

The preparation room is a model in every respect; every provision is made to obtain absolute antiseptization before operations. When the surgeon washes his hands, so careful must he be that it is necessary not to even touch the faucet with his hands; therefore instead of being of the ordinary type, the faucets are so constructed that the surgeon turns them on with the knee as he stands at the basin. Everything else is constructed with equal care to secure absolute cleanliness. The storeroom for the sterilized instruments can be hermetically closed. In fact, nothing is needed to make the entire equipment as up-to-date as twentieth century surgery can suggest.

 The same attention to the minutest detail has been paid in the other buildings. The nurses home, with accommodations for twenty-five nurses, provides a separate room for each. The resident staff and the deputy surgeon and deputy nurses will be located in quarters in the main building.

The morgue, from the receiving vault up to the chapel, is up to date. Tile of immaculate white cover the walls for a space of eight feet from the floor. A freezing plant has been installed for the preservation of bodies. An operating room provides facilities for coroner’s inquests. A chapel is at the disposal of relatives and friends of victims of accidents who are unable to afford more elaborate obsequities.

The heating plant, far removed from the main buildings so that coal gases and smoke will never blow over the rooms occupied by the sick, is equipped with boilers capable of supplying 150 horsepower in steam energy for heating the rooms and running the various plants in connection with the hospital.

Two emergency boilers have been installed capable of supplying duplicate horsepower at short notice.

Inside fire escapes will provide exit for patients in case of emergency. The stairs of the fire escapes, as indeed al of the stairs in the building, are made of concrete. The fire escapes will be enclosed in absolutely fireproof walls. Steel doors leading to the stairs will never be used except in emergencies. Laundries providing facilities for the sterilization of bedding and clothing, a refrigerated plant, model kitchens and bake ovens are features of this model structure.

Temporary hospital facilities at Coney Island are provided in the Emergency Hospital, back of Neptune avenue in a small building utterly inadequate to meet the demands placed upon it.. Indeed, many emergency calls in the Coney Island district have to be answered directly from the Kings County Hospital. This entails a long drive of seven or eight miles for the horses before the patient is even reached. To provide immediate service, it is intended that the new hospital be equipped with automobile ambulances. Two will be installed at first, and more will be added as occasion requires.

The Kings County Hospital and its various departments fill a place in the borough’s life that is constantly growing in importance. Three hundred persons, including employes and patients, are now at the Cumberland Street Hospital. In the main Kings County Hospital there are 900 patients, and the almshouse department looks out for an average of 2,000 old men and old women each day. The present Bradford Street Hospital is merely for emergency cases, although there is a need for a permanent structure to handle routine cases. The new Bradford street structure will accommodate 100 patients. The Coney Island Hospital will accommodate 100 patients, and still there is need for more equipment and better facilities for the saving of lives, not only of the poorer people, but of all classes.

The work of advocating increased facilities is being carried on with intense earnestness by such men as Commissioner Hubbard, Deputy Commissioner Hynes, and Dr. Fitzgerald. Obstacles set by self-sufficient city boards  and officials are overcome to some degree, and the work of advancing the physical welfare of the people is carried on despite temporary discouragement’s. In addition to the Coney Island Hospital and the contemplated Bradford Street Hospital, plans are made for a new wing to the male division of the Kings County Hospital, whereby 150 more patients can be accommodated, and other improvements are being pushed with all possible haste to meet the growing needs of what will soon be the most populous borough in the greater city.


 



 THE BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE

 NEW YORK , TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 1912

 

CONEY ISLAND MEN

FIND HOSPITAL O. K.

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Additional Ambulance Recommended by Residents

 

          As the result of rumors of inefficiency at the Coney Island Hospital, the condition at the city institution was investigated on last Saturday by the civic committee of the Coney Island Business Men’s Association.

          In a report filed by the committee, at the meeting of the association held last night at its headquarters, Surf ave. And W. 8 st., the charges are unfounded. The committee consisted of William Blank, chairman, Murray Kahn, John Foley, Dr. Prince Nussbaum, and Stephen Barrera.

          The committee in its report stated that they made a thorough inspection, accompanied by Dr. Phillip I. Nash, chief of the visiting staff; Dr. Adam Eberly, staff superintendent; and Miss Maude Keene, superintendent of nurses. The committee reported it found the institution in an exceptionally good sanitary condition. A number of the patients were questioned and all expressed themselves as satisfied with the conditions and treatment they received.

          The committee made several recommendations they believed beneficial to the section. It was learned that, due to present conditions, the hospital is equipped with but one ambulance. In event that the ambulance is out on a call in some part of the district, it was

learned that a second call would necessitate summoning and ambulance from either the Norwegian or Kings County

 

hospital, or the alternative of waiting the return of the hospital’s own ambulance.

          The committee points out in its report that the district covered by the Coney Island Hospital ambulance service is the largest in the boro, and the urges organization to advocate the installation of an additional ambulance.

It also recommends the assignment to the hospital of one or two more doctors to the staff, as well as a social nurse. The latter has been installed in some of the institutions in Manhattan, but it was reported the appropriation for such nurses was cut from this years budget.

          Another matter taken up by the members was the transit service to Coney  Island, by the B. R. T. Since the close of the summer season, the railroad officials have reduced the service to a bare skeleton service. On the West End and Culver lines through service has been discontinued entirely while on the Sea Branch line south of Kings Highway the service has been reduced. Members also complained that waiting rooms were closed.

          The organization has decided to circulate a ballot among the residents of the resort to ascertain their attitude on the conditions. When these are received, the matter will be taken up with the Rapid Transit Commission, as they feel they are unable to secure any satisfaction from the officials of the B. R. T.

THE BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE

NEW YORK, SATURDAY MARCH 31,1917


3 INTERNES QUIT

AT C.I. HOSPITAL;

FRAME-UP CHARGED

­­__________

Charged With Delaying Work,

Dr. Lear Blames Dispute

With Priest

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AMBULANCE SERVICE HIT

__________

 

Visiting Physician Mans Car-

 Associates of Dr. Lear Leave in Sympathy

__________

 

          The three internes of the Coney Island Hospital handed in their resignations and quit work in a body today, leaving the hospital without any internes to respond to ambulance calls, and making it necessary for one of the staff of visiting physicians to do emergency duty on the ambulance. The internes are Dr. Edward Lear, Dr. Isidor E. Shack, and Dr. Matthew Levitae.

          The three internes declared that they are fighting for a “principle” and left the hospital because they “refuse to be subservient to a priest.” The priest in the matter is the Rev. D. J. McCarthy, rector of St. Marks R. C. Church, at Sheepshead Bay, who has been a Catholic chaplain at the hospital for the past six years.

The trouble in the hospital came to a head yesterday afternoon, when the Medical Board of the hospital, of which Mr. Joseph P. Murphy is chairman, summoned Dr. Edward Lear, one of the internes, to answer charges of insubordination preferred by Dr. Albert F. Griffiths, of 1055 Ocean avenue, the obstetrician of the hospital staff.

          The charges against Dr. Lear were that on three separate occasions he had delayed laboratory work connected with the ward on which he was doing duty. Dr. Lear admitted today that the charges against him were true, but declared that the pressure of work at the hospital was responsible for the delay. Dr. Lear was advised to resign by the medical board and did so.

          Today Dr. Lear declared that the charges of insubordination were merely a pretext to force him to resign and the real reason for forcing him out was his refusal to apologize to Father McCarthy because of a dispute between the two.

          Dr. Lear said today that about a month ago he was about to perform a minor operation on John F. Gaffney, a pneumonia patient at the hospital, when Father McCarthy came from another bed in the ward and ordered him away from Gaffney’s bedside.

          The interne said he refused to leave and then Father McCarthy threatened to punch him and pushed him from the bedside. Dr. Lear then left, he said, but under protest. A few days later, he said, Dr., Murphy came to him and asked him to apologize to Father McCarthy. Dr. Lear said he refused and that subsequently he heard from various sources that he would be ousted at the first opportunity. The insubordination charges were merely a “frame-up” to oust him he declared today.

          Father McCarthy, when told of the statement of Dr. Lear, declared that the assertion that he was directly or indirectly responsible for the charges against the doctor was wholly without basis. He had a slight dispute with Dr. Lear, he said, when Dr. Lear arbitrarily attempted to interfere while he was administering the sacraments to Gaffney and another man in the ward, but Father McCarthy denies absolutely that he threatened to punch Dr. Lear, or used any force in dismissing Dr. Lear from the mans bedside.

          Deputy Commissioner Henry Wright, of the Charities Department, declared that the charges against Dr. Lear were the “accumulation of a lot of things, such as general loose work, failure to get up histories of cases, running off when he should have been on house service, and violation of house rules.”