Hospital plans : five essays relating to the construction, organization & management of hospitals / contributed by their authors for the use of the Johns Hopkins hospital of Baltimore.

  • Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Date:
1875
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Hospital plans : five essays relating to the construction, organization & management of hospitals / contributed by their authors for the use of the Johns Hopkins hospital of Baltimore. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    220/542 (page 114)
    tlie thorough cleansing and varnishing of all furniture, and the thorough renewal of the bedding. It is probable that the chief source of the projpagation of con- tagious and infectious diseases is to be found in the stuffing (moss, hair, straw, cotton, wool, etc.) of the beds. Absolutely new material, or material which has been subjected to thorough disinfection, by means of steam and other agents, should be used at stated intervals in the construction of beds. It is unfortu- nately too true, that the materials employed in the construction of beds are used, over and over again, in large hospitals, without proper cleansing and disinfection. The hygiene of a hospital should commence with the hed^ upon which the patient passes the greater portion of his time. As beds are constructed of porous materials, they without doubt act as sponges for the absorption and retention of dele- terious organic matters and gases. No attention to ventilation, temperature, food and cleanliness of the wards and patients will avail, if the beds are used for indefinite periods. By this principle of rotation in the ward service, we secure for the permanent hos23ital the advantages claimed for temporary Avooden hospitals, which may be destroyed or removed at will. With proper drainage and sewerage, it is impossible that the grounds of the permanent hospital should ever become satu- rated with organic matters. FOEM, SIZE AND AERATSTGEMENT OF HOSPITAL BUILDINGS. In permanent European hospitals constructed on the Pavilion system—the Lariboisiere at Paris, the Herbert Hospital at Wool- wich, the Blackburn Hospital near Manchester, England, the Hospital of Saint Louis at Turin, and the Military Hospital at Malta ; and in American permanent hospitals—the Boston Free Hospital, the Pennsylvania Hospital, the Blockley Alms House and Hospital, the Pennsylvania University Hospital and the Episcopal Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Charity Hospital of ]Sew Orleans, furnish plans worthy of careful consideration. In temporar}^ Military Hospitals—the Confederate Hosj^itals of Camp Winder, Camp Jackson, Eiclimond, Virginia, of Gfor- donsville, Charlottesville, Staunton, Lynchburg, Petersburg, and