Isolation Hospital by Pete Zizka article 2 of 3 4-2-2020 |
On April 2, 1912,
the Willimantic Mayor and Alderman secured a building to use as an
isolation hospital. It was felt that the building could be used within a
few days. All the next day, April 3, they were reported to be,” on the
jump, hustling about the city buying and ordering”. Thirty iron beds
with all necessary furnishings were ordered and delivered as well as a
complete set of kitchen utensils. Plumbers worked in the house
installing baths and toilets while outside, Superintendent of Sewers
John Collins had, “a large force of men digging up the street to lay
about 150 feet of sewer pipe.”
Mayor Dunn took a great deal of pride in the whole undertaking
and said that he wanted the hospital to be “real homelike” so that no
one would object to being sent there. It was reported that all the
latest appliances, fixtures and utensils were going to be purchased for
use in the hospital. A large, six burner gas range and cooking range
were purchased for the kitchen. Willimantic citizens were very receptive
to this new facility. On Good Friday, 1912, large numbers of people were
said to have visited the hospital prior to its opening, “perhaps curious
to see the place which they may have to live in later”. On the evening
of Saturday, April 6, the first eighteen patients were taken from their
homes, “into the nicely arranged isolation hospital”. It is interesting,
perhaps even ironic, to note that, “a hack was bought by the city for
that purpose”. Even though the name of every person had been published
in one or more local newapapers, the hack was purchased and,”secured in
order to eliminate any morbid curiosity”. The first patients going to
the hospital were picked up late at night. By Easter Sunday, 1912, the
Isolation Hospital was in full operation. By midweek, at least six more
people were brought to the hospital. Newspaper coverage of every case
remained thorough. Not only were names of the sufferers mentioned, but
also their location. Notices were given of which houses had been
quarantined and which had the quarantine lifted and been fumigated. City
health officials were utterly vigilant and if there was the least
suspicion at all, a person would be watched carefully by a health
official to see if the disease developed. Today’s photo shows the hack
which was used to being patients to the hospital. Nurse Ryan is on the
right.(to be continued)
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