The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 17, 1901, Page 10

SAP " WAY from the nolse of traffie and e omnipresent trolley car, sit- in what is practically & de- sghtful rark filled with flowers of brightest hues and trees of graceful fo- whose very atmosphere and quiet, stands one of est institutions, Fabiola stitution the necessity for s was conceived by & mo- ce gone to her reward—an founfed by women and man- eption wholly by women. e one-story cottage on where with one nurse and e band of brave women opened to the needy sick Oakland's first free hospital nearly twenty-five years ago, it has grown steadily, and by no means slowly, to its present magnificent propor- tions. It has & staff of twenty attending and consultt physiclans, including sev- erel specialists, and a resident physictan. Instead of one nurse there is to-day & staff of forty men and women, principally the latter. Instead of & one-story cottage, capable of holding at the most a half- dozen patients, the pres easfly accommodate one dred. D: the year ng February 1, 189, 579 pa- tients were admitted and 619 treated. Of the BT patients discharged during that year 471 were cured, 43 improved, 7 unim- proved and § not treated. While nearly 80 per cent of its patients are natives of the United States, representatives of twenty- Market stree & matron & that year iing those , Hungary and Finlar It has been ®ald that as a rule women are more narrow than men. Perhaps, then, we mt claim that t feminine management of hospital is the excep- le. A very notable st has been the determinatic of its manage- ment to mal. a broad policy. No na- tionality, no creed, no belief, no want of Dellet, bars the wayof & patient who seeks admittance to Fablola Hospital. Physi- clans of all scho acknowledged as such by the State, &nd in good standing, are and have always been recognized on its etafl, “Indeed,” said one of Fabiola’s man- egers and earnest workers, “‘we never for- get how loyally physicians of both schools have always stood by us, from Drs, Nich- olson, Beifridge and others of the past generation, who worked with us harmo- niously, cheerfully end gratuitously, just &s Drs. Larkey, Chamberiain and the younger Drs. Nicholson and Beifridge and & score of them are doing to-day.” Fabiols bas no assistance from fState, county or city, no endowment ani oniy one endowed bed. It leads a sort of hand- to-mouth existence, meeting its expenses from month to month, always keeping out of debt, although faith is often the principal thing in its treasury. No one is ever turned away. Those who are unable to pay are received just as courteously and cheerfully as those who_are. When the free beds are full extra ones are placed at the disposal of the needy as dis- tressing cases come before the manage- ment. A second class of patients are those who are able to pay something, but not hos- pital rates. Buch are charged in accord- ance to thelr means, from $1 a week up- ward, Those who have the ability pay regular hospital rates, no attempt being made to undercut the rates of other hos- pitals. Any profit arising from the care of such patients is applied to thoss who are unable to pay, No salarijes are paid excopt to the regular staff or nurses and the usual hospital attendants, A glance at the report of the treasurer, showing that over §30,000 wes raised and disbursed in a single year, will prove that tliese women have no mean financial abil- ity, Between six and seven hundred dols * MENS WARD IN SENERAL HOSPITAL M Jara 13 expended mouthly on its free beds, not to speak of those who are un- able to pay enough to cover the cost of their care. In connection with the regular hospital work the assoclation provides for a two and a half years' course of training for young women desirous of becoming pro- fessiona! nurses, admitting also a limited number of young men. » student nurseg_are given every opportunity and facility for receiving the best instruction, &nd are consequently held by the man- sgement to the highest ide: Lectures, recitations and demonstrations, conducted by cdifferent members of the hospital staff sictans, take place at- reguiar In- tervals. It s a great safeguard to a com- ty to feel that at any hour of the ¢ or night they can summon to their own homes a nurse from Fablola, one wpon whom they can rely morally, physi- eally and professionally. It ever there was a practical fllustra- tion of the text, “There s that scatter- eth vet increaseth,” it i3 to be found in the history of this hospitai assaciation. Almost a quarter of a century ago, when this subject of a free hospital for Oak- Jand appealed to and lay most strongly on the heart of that benevolent and pub- lic spirited woman, the late Mrs. R. W. Kirkham, Oakland had ne recetving hos- pital and the County Hospital then, as now, was twelve miles away. In her work among the poor Mrs. Kirkham constantly met with cases of acute disease which could not be carried to the County Hos- pital on account of its distance. She talked with physielans and prominent cit- §7ens, pleading, importuning, asserting Cakland’s need for a free hospital, but weas invariably met with the reply, “We sympathize with your wish and deplore our city’s need of such an institution, but the time s not yet; Oakland is too small to support euch an institution,” Bhe final- 1y broached the subject to Dr, Nichelson, ‘who lald it before his medical soctety, and 8 meeting was called which resulted in the organization of the Oakland Homeo- pathetic Hospital and Dispensary Associ- ation, Eighteen women pledged themaelves to contribute $50 each, and with this fund the hospital began its'good work, Fee- bly perhaps at first, like all pewborn things, but {n an incredibly shert time it eutgrew its swaddling clothes and moved o & two-story house on Nineteenth street, near Market, In less than three years it had again eutgrown its quarters and with 7 cents In its treasury eonmtracted to pay $5500 for a house en Allce street, Bnthusiasm alweys attends the start of & work, but it soon gets ta be an eld story and then the true test of “tourage 1s shown in keeping up ome’s enthustasia to such a pitch that it can arouse it in gy PRIVATE ROOM IN SENERAL, HOSPITAL others. The ladles of the hospical asgo ~Mation have always shown untiring en and indomitable courage, but this rtaking to ralse $i500 with a reserve of 75 cents was nothing short o m. In less than three years, how- ever, it was paid for, and larger accom- modaticne were again imperative. They had no operating or surgical room—in , nche of the conditions that are es- sential 1o a well appointed, working hos- pital. In cheesing the present site the ladles gave an evidence of their breadth, theh business . sagacity, their bellef in Oak- land’s future and their ability to see and discount that future. The irregular tract of wild land lying at the corner of Moss avenue and Broadway was unhesitating- ly and almost unanimously pronounced by the assembly of physiclans, ministers and business men called together to dis- cuss the selection of a site to be ineligi- ble on account of its distance from the center of the town. There seemed to be no slternativi} however, and the present location was' decided upon. “But we must not claim too much for women,” sald Mrs. John Yuls, the presi- dent, whom I had asked to tell me of the future work snd prospects of Fablola. “The men have always been the power behind the throne. No; we must allow that Fabiola is the work of both men and women—Cakland's work in short. “It was Mr.'Anthony Chabot who came to cur assistance in our most Important crisis by quietly purchasing the new site and sending the deed a free gift to the ladies of the association. When the erection of a suitable bullding stared us in the face Mr, Frederick Delger started & building fund by depositing to our cred!{ in the bank the generous sum &f $500 Mr. James A, Folger, Mr. T, 8. Barker, Captain Asa Simpson, Mr. Francis Blake and many others contributed willingly and generously, “And thers is Derby day; that too is the work of a man,” I safd with the ghost of a smile, There was just the faintest re. flection of thig smile on lips of the gentle lady as she replied, “I don't know what we would have done without Derby day, We should have had to refuse cases and our work would have been sadly limited,"” “Haye you @&ny plans regarding the ‘work :’na future growth of the hospltal?” I asked, ““We are just putfing in a steam laundry, with all the latest and most appreved fa- cflities for washing and frening, at a cost of 83000, se that we shall rejolcs fn an sbundance of clean linen, No one whe is not initiated inte the mysteries of fits worlings can | ne the demands mada en the linen-reem of a hespital, “We have the plans drawn and will in a few days start on the erection of an Ysolatien ward,’ with necessary work-' roems attached for the sequestratien of any pontagipus case that may develep in - the hospital. This will add greatly to - the feeling of security of the Inmates, Our o (o OPERATING] ROOM. FOR. MINOR. [SURGER: @, WOrR Rasx bedn freatly strengthenaf amd improved by separate children’s and ma- ternity departments; separate, although, of course, all of ese departments are connected by corridors, in some instances seventy feet long. This new ward is to called the ‘John Archibald Annex,’ its buflding fund of §2000 having been do- nated by his nlece, Miss Martin, as & memortal of her uncle. ‘“For six years we have maintained a district nurse, who goes to the sick poon, caring for them in their own homes. She is doing far-reaching work in her ndirect lessons on sanitation, the care of the sick &nd the prevention of sickness, Physi. clans tell us they notice a great difference in ihe mode of living of the families with whom she has besn. “As to our future werk, we have the feeling so strongly that Fablola must be worthy of being regarded as a health sta. tien; & pref te the community, and members of which, at any hour, by step- ping to thelr telephones and desoribing the case they wish cared for; ean have a pompetent nurse quickly at dand, or an ambulance to transfer the patient te the hospital, With each year the publie is beginning more and mere to understand that hemes are not hospitals and that their sick can be cared for with the right surroundings, as it is impossilile te de at home, We will have such hosipital appli~ ances 88 crutches and stretchers qupli~ { cated many times, so that they can be had on call. In other words, we desirs to 8o maintain the hoepital that people will feel that they can rely on us and that Fablola 1s a comfort in time of trouble. “The only appeal I_would make to Oak- land’s charitable and altruistic people is that they would come and see us and learn for themselves of the quality and quantity of work that is being done in Fablola, the one Institution in Oakland that is caring for the sick and destitute. No other appeal to it will be necessary. When criticism comes, when we are ac- cused of ‘not doing real charity work,” we only feel like saying, “You don’t know us. Some time you will have a friend hers and then you will feel differently. The people who know us best like us best.” ™ Altogether it must be conceded that Oakland has reason to be proud of and Pejoice in 183 hospital started by and still under the sole management of {ts women. During Its existence only six women have filled the president’s chair—Mrs. Holten, Mrs. R. W. Kirkham, Mrs Littls, Mrs. Hinckley, Mrs. W. W. Standeford (who has been a director throughout the entire period) and Mrs. Joha Yule, the incum- bent. Its present vice presidents are Mrs. Remi Chabot, Mrs J. A. Foiger and Mrs. W. T. Standeford. These and a host of other seif-sacrific- {ng women have worked together In singu- lar and pleasing harmony year after y with no bickerings or disagreemen petty jealousies. “No one can afford to bs small,” sald one of them, “in such a large work—in the face of such great lssues— those of life and death. It cannot do other than appeal to the best and highest in the characters of those associated In it It appeals to the humanitarian instinct Which all the = o preaver ‘world Dossemses " or less degree—that is, It 1s more or less dormant and needing only to be roused. Fabiola has no endowments and but one endowed bed, the gift of Mrs R W. Kirkham. Among the larger gifts Of which it has been the reciplent !s a new, beautiful and thoroughly equipped ambu- lance from Mrs. J. A. Folger, ons of its vice presidents. Once a year it has ite annual domation reception, when the pub- lio is earnestly invited to call and to bring or send from their homes any trifla which they feel that they can spare. and few homes that cannot donate something if they only think of it—a glass of Jelly, & kitchen utensil, a bundle of oid linen or cotton or at least one article of partly ‘worn clothing. Nothing comes amiss on this yearly donation day, Groceries, fruit and vegetables of all sorts, a pair of sheets, a blankst, and especially discarded underwear, Many of the poor come with- out even a change of underwear where #o many ehanges are necsssary. A young woman is constantly employed In the sewing-room in mending and patching. We cannot all do the actual personz] work of the good Samaritan fn the Bible, dut we can all give a little of our wine and ofl se that Fablola may bind up the wounds of the suffering, remembering that inasmuch as we Jo it unto one of the least of these we do 1t unto Him. ALICHE CHITTENDEN. A