institutions. Strict compliance with the Health Law should be accorded. Dutchess County Almshouse, Oak Summit, N. Y. ISAAC P. CARMAN, Superintendent. This almshouse with its well planned and well built cottage group ought to rank as high as any in the State. It is in fact one of the lowest in comparative position. There are three reasons which contribute to this undesirable result: 1. There are but two employees to oversee and perform the work of an institution with a population of over one hundred. It is impossible for them to do more than half that is absolutely necessary of the work. 2. Proper equipment is lacking. nished, bare and comfortless. The rooms are underfur 3. The policy followed is otherwise penurious in the extreme. A few hundreds of dollars intelligently spent from year to year would make a vast improvement in the general condition of the institution. The care of the sick is particularly neglected and mismanaged. There are ample rooms designed for hospital uses, but they are used as general dormitories while the sick and infirm are cared for by fellow inmates in whatever rooms they may happen to be lodged. The male population is slightly in excess of the normal capacity. While any effort to utilize inmate labor is highly to be commended, it must not be forgotten that inmate labor is incompetent to direct its own activities, if so our almshouses would lose the greater part of their population. Close supervision is needed to make the labor even of able-bodied inmates profitable. No inmate should be retained in any almshouse simply because he is useful to the institution. The statistical table following this report shows the number of employees at the other almshouses of the district. Newburgh Town and City Almshouse, Newburgh, N. Y. WILLIAM W. COLLINS, Superintendent. To overcome the two main defects at this almshouse, overcrowding and lack of hospital facilities, the city of Newburgh has appropriated $16,000 for a new three-story wing and a Mansard roof on the men's building. The wing will be a men's hospital, with a tuberculosis ward on the third floor. The additions will provide sitting-rooms for the men, a dining room, ample toilet rooms, and sixty-three private bedrooms. Ex-Governor Benjamin B. Odell, Jr., a resident of Newburgh, has presented the city with a four-acre site on the outskirts of the city for a tuberculosis hospital, and will erect buildings accommodating twenty-five patients. This is likely to relieve the almshouse of the care of some of its tuberculosis patients. Newburgh City Children's Home, Newburgh, N. Y. The building is far too small for its present population. The dining room is especially crowded and uncomfortable. The recent employment of a kindergarten teacher for the younger children has had a good result. Continued effort is needed to make the home more homelike. Orange County Almshouse, Goshen, N. Y. ALEXANDER C. SUTHERLAND, Superintendent. The remodeled dormitory building for men is thoroughly satisfactory. The brick building should be rebuilt along similar lines to provide adequate and suitable hospital accommodations for both men and women, as well as dormitories for women. A common kitchen should be built to do away with the present system of food service which involves duplication of work and additional expense for fuel. Orange County Children's Home, Middletown, N. Y. The building is overcrowded and inconvenient. The Health Law should be better observed; few of its provisions are now carried out. Poughkeepsie City Home, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. DAVID W. HITCHCOCK, Superintendent. Since the opening of the new infirmary and hospital there is excellent provision for all needs at this almshouse. The new building is somewhat elaborate in design and fine in finish, but it was built by private funds and is strictly reserved for the use of inmates, many of whom are old people whose dependent state is due to misfortune rather than fault. The homelike and comfortable rooms in the main dormitory are reserved for the better grade of inmates. This classification is not without its advantage. Putnam County Almshouse, Carmel, N. Y. NATHAN B. SMITH, Keeper. This is the only almshouse in the district of frame construction. It also enjoys the distinction of having a smaller population than any other almshouse in the State. Its isolated site and frame construction render fire protection and means of escape of the highest importance; neither is sufficient. The water supply is deficient even for service uses. Rockland County Almshouse, Monsey, N. Y. J. E. SHERWOOD, Keeper. The new administration at the Rockland County Almshouse is making many improvements in the plant and administration. So run down and defective was the institution, that it will take several years to bring it up to the proper standard. The women's building has been painted throughout, new plumbing placed in the men's building, 350 feet of 2-inch hose purchased for use on the hydrants, a 14 by 15 feet cesspool dug, and an 8-horse power gasolene engine installed to pump water. Westchester County Almshouse, East View, N. Y. WILLIAM C. LAWRENCE, Superintendent. The administration of this almshouse has been notably improved. The condition which rendered efficiency impossible has been removed, and the work of officers and employees systematized and organized. Many improvements have been undertaken, almost without exception with good judgment. Additional room for male inmates and extensive changes in the hospital are still needed. Respectfully submitted, JOSEPH C. BALDWIN, JR., Commissioner, Ninth Judicial District. |