OCR Text |
Show Philanthropists- Seek to Save Poor Children of Great City A tent hospital for tuberculous children chil-dren has been opened nt Sea Dreezc, Conoy Island, Now York, it Is under tho management of tho Association for Improving tho Condition of tho ( 1'oor, being a part of their summer colony of homes. It Is tho first hospital hos-pital In America to bo maintained In winter ns well ns in summer for tho oxcluslvo purposo of seasldo treatment treat-ment of tho non-pulmonary forms of tho disease, such ns scrofula and tu- . bcrculosls of tho bones, Joints and lymph lobes. It has been shown In France, England Eng-land and other countries that this peculiar pe-culiar form of tuberculosis can bo cured by sea nlr. In Franco, whero ) thero aro the most successful tent hospitals, girls and hoys suffering irom tuberculosis nro kept as near tho water ns possible, somo living on ships anchored out nt sea, whllo In other cases amlmlances nro employed to carry tho children to tho ocean , edgo every day. Tho tont hospital, though tho Idea of sclontlfic men, Is pnrtlnlly tho outgrowth out-growth of tho Intuition of nurses, A largo number of tuberculous children havo boon coming to tho Son Dreozo colony ovcry year, nnd tho effect of tho salt nlr upon them so Impressed tho attendants Hint they recommended recommend-ed nn ocean hospital, to bo kept open tho yenr around. Somo $15,000 was appropriated in February nnd tho work started. Other help hns boon given, and tho sanitarium Is now completed. com-pleted. Tho Institution Is not nn ex-net ex-net copy of nny European beach hospital, hos-pital, but represents tho best Ideas of all snnltnrluins of Its typo. Tho camps nro ns picturcsquo as thoy nro useful. Dullt on a gigantic octagonnl plan, tho ocean homo seoms n vcrltablo nest of tents. Each sep-nrato sep-nrato ono rises from n point of tho central platform, nnd Is dovoted to n special purpose. The platform is gonorous and comfortable, nnd encircles encir-cles nn open spaco of sand. Tho wholo Is Just nbovo high wntcr mark. One tent Is tho olllce, nnothcr tho Sketch of Tent Hospital. dining room, n third Is dovoted to recreation, rec-reation, and tho rest nro dormitories. Tho furnishings aro not only scientific scien-tific but dainty ns well, whlto being tho provnlllng color. Over tho can-vns can-vns tops nnd aides Is stretched waterproof wat-erproof khaki. Instead of glass windows win-dows thero nro wire screenings, letting let-ting In plenty of air nnd nt tho samo tlmo keeping out all Insect life. Tho doors aro of glass. Over tho platform canvas and khnkl nro stretched, so that tho llttlo patients may havo their outings oven on rainy days. Tho very delicate will bo carried or wheeled about All sorts of ingonlous things havo been dono In tho way of ventilation, so that as ono sits In a tent ho feels ns If ho wero In tho opon air, though thero Is no draught and no shock from sun or wind. In front of tho nost of tonts nnd nearer tho roadway aro others devoted to medicinal work. Tho association has felt tho need of such a sanitarium for somo tlmo, ns Its staff has been unablo to treat in their othor homes tho many children chil-dren suffering from tho disease. Tuberculosis Tu-berculosis hns boon ono of tho greatest great-est hindrances to tho labors of tho summer colony. It is tho terror of tho tonoraents a monster tho doctors Hjspital For the Treatment of Pulmonary Diseases Established Es-tablished on the Sea Shore Has Been of Incalculable Benefit in Short Time. tors wero changed from darkened places to thoso whero tuero was plenty of sun. Wo furnished woolen clothing and nourishing food nnd Increased In-creased tho heating arrangements. In ono branch of tho work wo added a corps of dlslnfectors to our staff. Theso trained visitors went directly to tho homes of diseased children, cleaned ovory room, disinfected nil furnltitro nnd clothing, and gavo llttlo llt-tlo talks to members of tho family on how to provont tho spread of tho disease. "Our tent hospital will first of nil At Play. try to euro tho llttlo patients who havo been carried through tho winter by our workers. Wo will thon tako in convalescents from other sources who would In tho general run of things havo to go back to sweltering tenements nnd perhaps undo nil tho good thoy had received at tho sanitariums. sani-tariums. "Tho tent hospital U tho climax of our fresh nlr work for tenement children. chil-dren. In tho tonts they will practically practical-ly bo living outdoors. Thero Is very llttlo hopo of recovery for a tuberculous tubercu-lous child who 13 obliged to sleep In an overcrowded tenement houso when tho tempcraturo Is at 100 degrees. Quiet and nourishment aro also two items to bo taken Into consideration. "Tho superintendent, Miss HIggon-bothnm, HIggon-bothnm, Is ono of tho most successful trained nurses among crippled children. chil-dren. Sho has mado n Hfo study of their nilmcrts and needs, and besides tho sclontlfic knowledgo necessary, possesses n sympathetic naturo that binds tho llttlo folks to her. Thoy havo all posslblo faith In their recovery re-covery It she says so. Special supplies sup-plies havo boon furnished for theso patients. They Includo flannel coats, trousers or petticoats, sweaters, woolen wool-en bathing clothes and eiderdown enpes. Tho treatment will Includo special exercises. A novel set of Games has been ndoptcd that will add to tho children's pleasure nnd instruction instruc-tion nnd not fatlguo or Injure them. "In this work action Is tho thing. Delay moans death sometimes. A sick mother and languishing babo often havo to ba sent to tho seashoro tho very day of tho visit Hero Is another point In our mothod that Is, wo tako tho family, treat It ns a unit, and do not separate mother and children. Wo even try to havo them In a little room of their own nt tho ocean homo. Vll n i1 H W'T rw I I -mm 'Gf Interior of a Tent lad workers nro nlways nt war with. Dr. Hcrmnn Dlggs of tho health department de-partment estimates that some 3,000 or 4,000 children undor fifteen years of ago suffer from It "In our work at tho seasldo home," said William II. Allen, general agont of tho association, "wo nro confronted confront-ed with It on overy Bldo. LaHt season sea-son wo fought It In many ways. Wo raised $1,000 to relievo families whero thero woro bad coses. An ltom vns to present bods so that mombcrs of tho household sufforirg from It would not hare n sleop with well one. Quar- Somotlracs this is difficult, families nro so largo. Our oxpcrlonco p'-ovos that thero Is no danger of rnc6 sul-cldo sul-cldo among thoso people. Famlllos graw larger Instead of smaller, If wo are to bolJevo figures. Six children Is tho usual number, eight no novolty, and ton general." Teaching tho children how to play la ono of tho pleasant tasks of tho klndergartnors. Many a tenomont child knows nothing of amusomont. Sand gomes nro porhnps liked host, ani tho youngsters nro very original, ftubways, clevatod roads, stores, flro departments, pollco headquarters, houses nnd parks aro mado of sand, shells nnd pebbles, and tho children mimic tho ways of tho city In a very llfcllko manner. Tho seaweed floating float-ing In with tho tides Is a constant Joy. Tho kind that snaps Is called firecrackers. The feathery sort trims llttlo sunbonnets, and tho brown coral types mako wonderful dress trimmings trim-mings for miniature dames. Tho fiddler fid-dler crabs, Jellyfish, and all small dwellers of tho ocean aro captured and mado friends with. Often thoy nro swapped to tho orphans at tho St John's homo noxt door for moro concrete con-crete objects, such ns pink candy sticks or marbles, Whon tho wild roses como, roso parties nro tho order of tho day, nnd tho homo can hardly hold tho flower treasures brought In by tho llttlo ones. Soptcmbcr ushers In tho gold-enrod, gold-enrod, tho favorite of tho cost Sldo mothers, nnd bundles of It nro sent homo by tho day parties to the neighbors neigh-bors who can't got n vacation. For tho boys thero Is nothing llko baseball. base-ball. Teams aro gotten up by tho youngsters, nnd called after nil tho colleges, tho boys oven nssumlng tho names of tho big players. Tho children chil-dren dnnco on tho piazza, nnd tho mothers rock back and forth, humming hum-ming and crooning In their willow chnlrs. Other fresh nlr societies nro watching watch-ing tho work being' dono by the association as-sociation In Its tent hospital, and no doubt cro tho season passes by plans will bo mndo to dot tho ocean front with tents for tho Isolation nnd euro of tuberculous cases nmong tho poor children of tho Grenter City. Now York Times. |