HISTORY OF THE CLEVELAND HOMEO PATHIC HOSPITAL. By D. H. Beckwith, M. D., Cleveland, O. The first hospital in Cleveland was opened May, 1856, as a private surgical institution by Dr. S. R. Beckwith, who at that time was the railroad surgeon for the Lake Shore and the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroads. The hospital was situated on Lake Street and accommodated about twenty patients. George H. Bettely was the house surgeon. When St. Vincent was completed, surgical cases were taken there and the hospital on Lake Street was closed. During the year 1865 many of the citizens of Cleveland deemed it advisable to establish a Protestant Hospital, but not until May, 1866, was there any definite action taken. An informal meeting was called in the parlors of the City Hall, then situated on Seneca Street. Upwards of thirty ladies and gentlemen were present and the proposition to establish a hospital was freely discussed, the result being the appointing of a committee consisting of Dr. D. H. Beckwith, Horace Brockaway and Mrs. S. F. Lester. This committee was instructed to find a suitable building and location that would be desirable for a small hospital, the price not to exceed ten thousand ($10,000) dollars. The committee was to report progress in one week to the citizens at the City Hall parlors. 'Several sites were reported. The committee favored a large frame dwelling, located at No. 83 Wilson Street, opposite Clinton Park, which could be purchased for eight thousand dollars. A Board of Trustees was chosen, the property purchased by them and named "Wilson Street Hospital." Officers: Hon. H. Hurlburt, President; Mrs. S. F. Lester, Vice-President; T. S. Lindsley, Treasurer; L. F. Mellin, Secretary. Of these Messrs. Hurlburt and Lindsley represented the allopathic school, and Mrs. Lester and Mr. Mellin the homeopathic. Trustees: Mrs. Samuel Williamson, George W. Stanley, Mrs. A. B. Stone, Mrs. Mary Severance, T. W. Pelton, Allopaths; Mrs. Daniel P. Rhodes, Mrs. Peter Thatcher, Jacob Lowman, H. C. Blossom, Mrs. L. M. Hubby, Homeopaths. A medical and surgical staff was chosen from representative physicians of the old and new schools of medicine. A. Maynard, M. D., H. F. Cushing, M. D., A. A. Brooks, M. D., Allopathic Staff; D. H. Beckwith, M. D., B. P. Brown, M. D., George H. Blair, M. D., Homeopathic Staff. The ladies engaged in the Protestant Hospital enterprise collected the $8,000, remodeled the building, furnishing and opening it for hospital purposes October, 1868, without incurring any indebtedThe writer was in the hospital almost daily for nearly two years. Each physician had his own patients to care for, and not to my knowledge was there any difficulty in any way among the medical staff. ness. Not so among the Board of Lady Managers, where strife and discord entered. This feeling increased to such an extent that at a meeting of the Board of Trustees it was decided that it would be advisable for the hospital to be under the management of one school of medicine. A fair and liberal proposition to buy or sell the property was made by the old school adherents. The vice-president called a meeting of the subscribers of the homeopathic school to take action on the President's proposition. At this meeting it was ascertained that the Western Home opathic College had purchased the Humiston Institute, located on the Heights, at a cost of $35,000, and would donate free of charge to a Homeopathic Hospital Association as much of the building as would be desirable for hospital purposes. Therefore it was unanimously agreed to leave the Wilson Street Hospital and unite the forces in an endeavor to build up one of the best equipped hospitals in the country. April 28th, 1868, the Wilson Street Hospital became in the full sense of the word a conservative institution. Very few of the contributors accepted the donations that they had made to the Hospital. The building was turned over with its furnishings and equipment to the dominant school of medicine. November 3rd, 1869, a resolution was adopted at a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Wilson Street Hospital, "That in the future no homeopathic physician or surgeon would be allowed. to treat any patient (free or pay) in the Hospital." This narrow-minded, illiberal and unprofessional resolution was in force until the new Lakeside Hospital was built and the Board re-organized. Unless history records the above resolution it will be denied in fifty years from to-day by every medical man in the city of Cleveland. This uncharitable act on the part of the trustees of the allopathic hospital united the friends of the homeopathic profession and their clientage, as well as many good citizens of Cleveland in giving financially to the new hospital. I have never been able to obtain an explanation as to how such a resolution could be conceived and adopted by the ladies and gentlemen who were the officers and members of the Board of Managers of the Wilson Street Hospital. The Cleveland Leader, of April 23rd, 1868, says: "The purchase of the Humiston In stitute on the Heights for an Un-Sectarian Hospital. It gives us pleasure to announce that Humiston Institute on the Heights has been purchased by an association of gentlemen for the purpose of being converted into an un-sectarian hospital. The purchase was consummated yesterday, the price paid being $35,000. "The hospital will be under the control of the homeopathic school of medicine, but patients will have the privilege of having allopathic or other treatment if they prefer it. The hospital will have a pay and free department, and will be open to patients of all creeds and color. Every patient will have the privilege of selecting his own clergyman or priest, but no clergyman or priest will be allowed to visit the hospital for the purpose of proselyting. With St. Vincent to accommodate the Catholics and the Protestant Hospital Cleveland for the present is well provided. The building is a large three-story one and is admirably adapted to the purpose for which it has been purchased. Indeed, if it had been designed and built especially for hospital purposes it could not have been bettered in its arrangement and construction." The citizens who had purchased the Institute made the following proposition: "We guarantee a Hospital Association the use of the entire south wing, the second and third stories of the north wing free of all rent for a period of ten years from the date of possession, with the privilege of purchasing the entire property at the end of ten years at its appraised value. "If the Hospital Association accept the above proposition, they shall pay the insurance on the property used for hospital purposes and make such repairs as are necessary. The undersigned require as a condition of acceptance that the faculty of the Cleveland Homeopathic Hospitalshall have for the benefit for thestudents of the College all necessary clinical advantages in said hospital. Said faculty shall be represented by one of their number when students are allowed to visit the wards. One member of the faculty shall be a member of the Board of Trustees." The Hospital Association was reorganized and accepted the trust. The Cleveland Protestant Homeopathic Hospital was formally opened October 31, 1868. Addresses were made by Rev. Lyman, Messrs. Felton and Goodman. After the intellectual feast the guests repaired to the dining-room, where a sumptuous repast awaited them. Later the guests and friends visited the Hospital rooms, expressing great satisfaction in finding such pleasant, sunshiny rooms and the completeness of their fitting for hospital purposes. The Hospital was in charge of a competent house surgeon and an experienced matron. The surgeons and physicians of the Medical College were the medical and surgical staff. The Hospital did a large amount of charity work. Prof. N. Schneider was the surgeon-in-charge of the Lake Shore Railroad, therefore, many surgical patients were added to the surgical wards. So thorough and careful was the management of the Hospital that it soon became the most popular charitable institution in the city. The building was situated on a high elevation, with good drainage, and had perfect sanitary surroundings. The three acres of ground about the building were filled with trees, shrubbery and flowers. The ladies of the East End were enthusiastic workers and made many contributions for its support. On Thursday, Dec. 2. 1869, a number of ladies met at the residence of Mrs. H. B. Tuttle and adopted the following: This Society shall be called the Ladies' Homeopathic Hospital Aid Society. The object of this Society shall be to aid such bospitals as are conducted on the principles of Homeopathy, by such means, or measures as the Society may decide. Dr. Schneider in his report to the American Institute, June 15th, 1869, said: "The Hospital is purely homeopathic in its departments. It has been open about six months and we have received over two hundred patients. It bids fair to become a useful, charitable institution." February 5th, 1873, the Cleveland Leader says: "It is now some five years since the Hospital was founded, through the efforts of the benevolent ladies of Cleveland, for the purpose of furnishing relief for the destitute sick of the city who used homeopathic treatment. building was at this time purchased on the Heights and has since been in use for the purposes of the hospital. A Of late, however, it has been found that it was at too great distance from the part of the city where it was most needed. Accordingly, the managers began agitating the subject of its removal, which finally ended in the purchase of the property at the present location. The building is two stories in height, of frame, about 40x60 feet, and stands on a lot which has a frontage of 80 feet on Huron Street and a depth of 250 feet, with an additional width at the rear of 40 feet, to an alley. There are fourteen rooms in the house. Seven will be occupied exclusively by patients." The Hospital at No. 66 Huron Street was opened February 4th, 1873, with a reception, over two hundred citizens being in attendance. At a meeting of the Hospital Associa tion held May, 1878, the project of erecting a new hospital to accommodate one hundred patients was discussed. The ladies of the Cleveland Hospital Association made a proposition to the ladies of the City Hospital Board to unite their labors in a great charity fair. The trus tees of both institutions approved of the project. Therefore, a loan exhibition was opened at the corner of Euclid Avenue and Erie Street. The citizens of Cleveland loaned their fine statuary and paintings. Works of art of all kinds were freely proffered for this great humanitarian work. The collection gathered was so valuable that the fire department kept a fire engine on Euclid and one on Erie Street during the exhibition. The city also gave the services of special detectives, who were in the building at all times. The net proceeds amounted to the sum of $12,816.54, which was divided equally between the Hospital Associations. June, 1878, the Trustees appointed as a building committee George H. Warmington, Dr. D. H. Beckwith, Edward Bingham and Capt. A. Bradley. Coburn and Barnum were selected as the architeets. Plans were drawn and presented at a joint meeting of the Trustees of the homeopathic physicians of Cleveland, which plans were approved. Excavation for the new hospital was begun in April, 1879. The work progressed so rapidly that the structure was completed in less than eight months. The building committee were happy to be able to report that neither builders nor workmen received any injuries during the progress of the work. During the years following its dedication the Hospital made a record for homeopathy in the history of the city. It soon forged to the front as a general emergency hospital, many cases of accidents being brought from the docks, the manufactories and workshops which surround it on every side. Since To give an idea of the amount of work accomplished we have only to say that during the ten years from 1890 to 1902 there were treated in the hospital 4,596 free patients and 5,469 pay patients, making a total of 10,065 patients, with 153,783 days' treatment. 1894 the hospital has undergone many improvements-at a cost of over $37,000 in addition to the running expenses of the hospital. One noteworthy improvement has been the erection in 1896 of a four-story annex, in which could be had rooms for nurses, employes and contagious patients. It is now entirely out of debt and has a snug balance in the bank. THE CLEVELAND HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL COLLEGE. Commencement Exercises-Fifty-third Annual Session. The commencement exercises of the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College were held April 7th and 8th, 1903. On the first evening a reception was given by the members of the Board of Trustees, Board of Censors, Faculty, and the President of the Alumni Association to the graduating class and their friends at the Colonial Club, Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, which was a very decided departure from the old-time method of giving a banquet to the class and was most thoroughly appreciated by all concerned. More than two hundred guests were present to enjoy the occasion. Following the reception dancing took place in the beautiful auditorium of the club. Music was furnished by an orchestra of picked men under Prof. Johnston, and added very much to the enjoyment of all present. Continuously during the evening refreshments were served in the banquet room of the Club. Taken altogether the verdict of those present was that the innovation was decidedly a success and should be repeated each year. The formal commencement exercises took place the next evening in Plymouth Congregational church, the spacious auditorium being completely filled with friends of the graduates and the college. We were honored in having present with us to deliver the address to the class the Rev. Harris H. Cooley, formerly Director of Charities, but under the new municipal code, a member of the Board of Public Service, a gentleman to whom homeopathy in Cleveland owes a great deal. During his administration owing to his eminent sense of justice and right there has been established in the City Hospital a complete staff of homeopathic physicians and surgeons. There are also on the resident staff of the hospital two resident physicians, whose duties are to attend to the patients assigned to the homeopathic staff, giving them homeopathic treatment and caring for them in the same manner as they would be cared for in a hospital entirely under the control of the homeopathic profession. We express the sentiments of the entire homeopathic profession of this city when we express to Director Cooley our sense of appreciation of his actions. In passing we might say that full advantage has been taken of the situation by the homeopaths, every service being rendered promptly and in good time, they being always ready and willing to respond to any call which might be made upon them for service, whether regular or extra. Dr. Cooley's address was very timely, instructive and profitable. Prof. James C. Wood delivered the faculty address, giving good advice and illustrating what he had to say with many amusing incidents and homely sayings. He said in part: "I shall begin by advising you not to form a medical partnership. I have never known one to extend over a period of five years. I have never known one that did not give rise to more or less dissatisfaction and bitterness. The profession of medicine is such an entirely personal one that it is almost imposible to form a congenial fellowship with another so constituted that the two are equally esteemed by the public. "Remember that the great test of medical skill is curing the sick. One may be infinitely learned in occult sciences and in didactics and yet not know how to apply his great learning in making the sick well. I have in mind two men, one is scholarly far beyond the average and has but few superiors as a scientist and a profound thinker; the other possesses but a modicum of culture and knows but little of the abstract sciences, which, during the last few years, have done so much to dignify medicine as an art. Yet the latter gentleman has a waiting room of thirty chairs, which is nearly always full; whereas that of his scholarly competitor is nearly always empty. The one has become so absorbed in molecules, atoms and microbes that he looks upon his patient merely as an object of scientific interest. The other has the ability in his everyday practice to use his limited knowledge in making the sick well, and what he does not know he knows where to find. This is the great secret of success. By no means neglect the by paths of medicine. The knowledge gained while traversing them will repay you a thousandfold. A good working library will enable you when in doubt to commune with the best minds in the profession, and you should acquire such a library as speedily as possible. You should take at least two or three good medical journals in order to keep in touch with current medical literature. |