Annual Reports Made At Meeting of Corporation
The retíreiment of Mr.. Herbert M. Plimpton as President of the Board of Trustees of the Norwood Hospital was announced at a meeting of the Corporation held on January 28th. Mr. Plimpton’s retirement was received and accepted with sincere regret.
Mr. Plimpton has served as president of the hospital for 25 consecutive years having been elected at the first meeting of the corporation held on December 31, 1918. It was through his generosity that the sum of $50.000 was given to the hospital to erect a building later dedicated in his name.
In a letter announcing his retirement, Mr. Plimpton stated that he was establishing a fund to be held in trust by the hospital, the income only to be used at the discretion of the trustees.
The present board of trustees of the hospital was re-elected at the meeting of the corporation while John R. Russell was a newly named trustee. Charles J. Prescott, Jr, again serves as treasurer, and Robert Brown as clerk.
The treasurer’s report for the year showed the hospital deficit as $26,181.41. A comparison of costs showed that the average total cost per patient per day was $6.71 as against the average total income per patient per day of $6.46.
Highlights of the report given by Hospital Administrator Robert Brown were:
The hospital today includes 163 beds in which 4540 patients received 36,611 days of hospital care in 1943. This number of patients is 500 more than in any previous year and hospital days increased 5000. The daily average of in-patients treated for 1943 is 121 compared with 106 in 1942.
The building of the new wing, the outstanding event of the year, is more than justified by those figures.
On the New Wing
The new wing was completed and occupied on January 1, 1943. The report of the Building Committee gives in detail all that has been accomplished in construction but that report cannot describe what it means to patients, nurses, and personnel to have such a complete set-up as the new addition gives.
The ground floor houses an X-ray suite, given as a memorial to Mrs L. Simmons by Mr. John George Simmons of Canton. The equipment in this suite is as modern as may be found in any hospital in New England.
The first floor is equipped for medical and surgical patients with four single and four two-bed semi-private rooms.
The second floor is given over entirely to obstetrical patients. Here we have private, semi-private and ward accommodations, plus as fine a nursery as can be found anywhere.
At one end of the nursery is a room equipped with incubators for prematures. No longer is it necessary for our babies to travel miles for this life-saving equipment. All this has been made possible through the kindly interest and generosity of Mrs. Philip R. Allen.
Several private rooms have been converted into Labor Rooms ami a second emergency delivery room is available. The gift of a new delivery table costing some $800 would indeed be welcome.
The number of births last year totaled 831 with 13 sets of twins.
Third floor 23 beds in four wards are available for convalescent patients. Owing to the shortage of nurses these wards were occupied only five months of the year. The need of this service is great. An urgent appeal is made to all available nurses to aid in starting this floor.
We are especially interested to review the residence of the 4540 individuals who were in the hospital in 1943. Norwood with 1910, or 42 percent of the total leads; Walpole follows with 838 or 18.8 percent; Dedham remains in third place with 427 or 9.4 percent; Canton is a close fourth with 377 or 8.3 percent; Westwood-Islinglon 280 or 7 percent; Foxboro 172 or 3.1 percent; Sharon 126 or 2.8 percent; Medfield. Dover, Millis, and Norfolk 99 or 2 percent. From other towns and cities, there were 323 or 7.1 percent of the total. These percentages show a gain in all towns except Norwood, Canton, Sharon, and the non-contributing towns.
Welfare, Old Age Assistance, Soldier, and other relief agencies of Norwood, Canton, Dedham, Boston and Foxboro paid during the year in settlement of charges against 327 patients who were unable to pay and for which the agencies assumed responsibility, a total of $12,0.11.24.
The Blue Cross paid $33,3368.90 in hospital bills of 810 subscribers. This number represents 18 percent of our total patients and 13 percent of our total billings. There were 250 more subscriber patients this year than last year and the payments show an increase of $12,013.
544 Industrial Accident cases from 120 companies accounted for the payment of $15,801.3 5. This is only 39 more cases of this type than in 1942 which is remarkable, in that industry was speeded up to production greater than ever before.
Free Service
The quantitative service provided to patients who were unable to pay is of special interest. 149 patients were given free care and 197 were able to pay only in part for the service rendered. The total cost to the hospital for this service was $11,150.62. We do not need to tell you that without the very generous financial assistance given us this free work could not be maintained in such measure.
During the year several hundred men, women, and children volunteered their services in the hospital, helping where they could. 76 of this number trained in the hospital as Rod Cross Nursing Aides. In service, they gave 10.714 hours, the equivalent of 1287-8 hour days. It would take one Aide 3 1/2 years, working 8 hours daily to perform this service. At an hourly rate of 50 cents, this would represent $5357. We are grateful for the services of the women of the Canteen Corps for performing 1220 hours of service in the preparation of foods. This service made it possible for us to serve special dishes that would have been impossible without this help. Girl Scouts and Camp Fire girls have given their time after school and on Saturdays.
It is a pleasure to note the increase in membership in the Corporation. 124 individuals paid $3325 in dues which income is used exclusively to reduce our mortgage of $35,000. 19 of these members joined in 1943. We cannot hope to be free of this indebtedness by payments from this source for at least ten years unless additional members are secured.
We are deeply indebted to the Women’s Aid for the enormous support which they contribute each year to the hospital. The interest they have displayed in sewing: has meant that all the needed linen has been supplied.
In April, 1943, the trustees of the Morrill Memorial Library established in the hospital a library of some 176 books to be distributed weekly among the patients and staff. During: the period from April through December nearly 2000 books and magazines were distributed, and the reading average of some patients was a book a day.