Tulane University School of Medicine - T Wave Yearbook (New Orleans, LA)

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Charity Hospital circa 1900. ► Note the addition of satellite buildings around the main structure pictured on the previous page. A great flood inundated the city the next year and led to the creation of a medical licensing board (The Committee-Medical) to deal with the subsequent terrible sanitary conditions and medical problems. Indeed, the narrative of a young Boston minister who had visited New Orleans in that year described the hospital as a deep disgrace to any civilized or Christian country. A group of citizens visiting Charity in 1818 were horrified by the condition of patients, and complained to the governor and Hos- pital administrators. They noted the Hospital ' s filthy condition, and the total inadequacy of attendants. They also stated that patients had to sleep on mattresses upon which were visible marks of the putrid discharges of those who had died on them of the most pestilential diseases. Chickens roosted in the hospital rooms, and their offal covered the furniture in every direction. They further reported that brick dust was used to absorb the filth on the hospital floors, and that it arose in clouds and choked patients on the few occasions when the floors were swept! It is important to note here that many epidemics struck the city and killed thousands from early French colonial days through the 20th Century. The deterioration of the San Carlos Hospital combined with a marked increase in the local population made it apparent that new facilities were again needed. Completed in 1833 at a cost of $149,570, the fourth version of Charity undoubtedly marked a milestone in its history. Records show the lower story was occupied in part by the Medical College, indicating that when formed in 1834, the new Medical College of Louisiana (now Tulane Univer- sity School of Medicine) was located within the hospital. During busy times in the early 1900 ' s, two (or even three) patients were forced to share a bed. With the arrival of the Daughters of Charity, in combination with the above- mentioned items, the overall medical atmosphere in New Orleans was excellent, and the entire medical complex was, at that time, very likely one of the best of its kind in the world. After the Civil War commenced in April 1861, its chaos made little difference to Charity Hospital. Following a series of re- signations in February 1862, Ernest Lewis, a young student intern, was appointed of 21. Lewis refused to treat General Benjamin Butler ' s soldiers when Butler captured New Orleans with his flotilla and 15,000 man garrison. The General was extremely lenient with young Lewis even though Butler later learned that Charity was housing Confederate soldiers trans- ferred from the old marine hospital when its supplies were cut off following the city ' s surrender. Lewis finally agreed to accept the federal soldiers, and actually convinced Butler that additional physicians were needed to care for them. During the post-war period, lottery tickets were again sold to support the Hospital through the Louisiana State Lottery Com- pany formed in 1868. The government finally outlawed this company around 1900, but until then, it provided — at least on paper — major support for Charity. The old Ship Passenger Tax that had helped greatly in the late 1840s and 50s, was di- verted to the Bureau of Agriculture and Immigration. Thus the Hospital ' s debts rose markedly. At this time, large numbers of blacks were admitted to the hospital. Prior to the War, most blacks had been treated by private physicians on the plantations where they had worked as slaves. When they became emancipated, more and more of them re- quired the services of Charity. The Charity Board enacted a policy forbidding discrimi- nation founded on race, color, or previous ;;T Wave History of Charity Hospitai W0( lm L

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Charity Hospital circa 1835. ularly Germany and Ireland, were treated at Charity, and by 1858 foreigners outnum- bered US natives by a ratio of six to one. To provide additional financial aid to Char- ity, taxes were placed on all concerts and Carnival Balls. In addition, all theatres in New Orleans were required to give four benefit performances annually. Although an official gambling act would not go into effect until 1923, a tax on gaming halls was instituted for the benefit of the hospital as early as 1815. Further amended in 1832, this law increased the number of gaming halls and raised the tax to S7,500, three- quarters of which was designated for Char- ity Hospital. However, it was the 1842 Passenger Tax paid by all persons arriving in New Orleans from foreign ports that ensured the hospital ' s financial stability during this period. Five years after the great fire, the square roughly corresponding to the location of the current Fairmont Hotel on Canal Street, was sold by the city to the Administrators of Charity to build a new hospital. Work was begun in 1815, and when completed in the same year, the new facilities were described as vast and commodious, capable of caring for 120 patients. honor of King Charles III of Spain. Almonester died in 1798, probably feeling that most of Charity ' s administrative prob- lems had been solved. Yet the problems only worsened later! In the early 1800s, the mayor of New Orleans pleaded before the Louisiana legis- lature to Look at the Charity Hospital and examine the state of abandonment and dep- rivation to which this institution is reduced. The poor man preyed upon by maladies seeks asylum and finds only a grave. Another catastrophic event occurrred Fri- day, September 23, 1809, when a kitchen fire quickly spread to the wooden shingled roof and burned the entire hospital to the ground. The indigent sick suffered intense hardship after this fire, and many were housed on the upper gallery of the Cabildo, which served as City Hall. Louisiana became a state on April 30, 1812, and assumed full responsibility for Charity Hospital on March 17, 1813. Immigrants from dozens of European countries, partic- An open word of the early 1800 ' s. M Mh i sz r ' ' S jL«W» History of Charity Hospital T-WavS=JSC

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condition. However, this was interpreted to mean only that care would be provided on an equal basis, and did not prevent the de- velopment of separate wards for whites and blacks later in Charity ' s history. Another important advance occurred at Charity in 1885 when the first ambulance service was inaugurated. Until that time, the sick travelled to Charity in horse-drawn wagons or similar bumpy transportation that hardly benefited the patient. The tradi- tion of Charity interns riding in ambulances lasted for almost 100 years, and was only discontinued in the 1960s. Many new additions were made to the Charity complex around the turn of the century, and the hospital probably con- tained almost 2,000 patient beds. Other hospitals in the city had perhaps only 150 beds combined, including even the larger ones such as Touro Infirmary and Hotel Dieu with 50 to 60 beds each. The population of New Orleans increased almost 30-fold between 1832 and 1926, while Charity ' s bed capacity had less than doubled. It was during this period that the Hospital was forced to place two patients to a bed, and sometimes even a third patient on a lower mattress near the floor. The conclusion of World War I in 1918 signaled the arrival of another war — that between School of Medicine and Charity Administrators, as increasing hostilities came to the fore. But the worst was to come as Huey P. Long ' s and subsequent admini- strations came to power. After Long was elected in 1928, he immediately introduced a bill in the legislature allowing the gov- ernor to reorganize and apppoint a new Charity Hospital Board of Administrators. He removed Charity ' s Superintendent, and replaced him with Dr. Arthur Vidrine, a 29 year-old Rhodes Scholar who was engaged in rural general practice. Medical education had became more complex, leading to the establishment of Dueling Doctors The mid- 1800s was the age of dueling, and many encounters between physi- cians and even professors at the Medical College took place, each of which repre- sents a story in itself. As an example, one acrimonious duel involving Charity Hospital physicians was fought in 1856 between bitter professional rivals, Drs. John Foster and Samuel Choppin, es- sentially stemming from the proper treatment of a medical student who had been shot by a law student in a Carnival ball fracas. Luckily, both Choppin and Foster missed each other when firing their shotguns, and the entire matter was settled without further ado. Three years later, however, Ch oppin and Foster were at it again. For this duel Foster armed himself with a self-cocking five-valve revolver and Choppin with a single-valve Derringer in each of his pants pockets, as well as a Bowie knife in a coattail pocket. Before Choppin could cock his pistol, Foster shot him through the neck, injuring the jugular vein. Dri- ven back several feet, Choppin ' s right pistol discharged, wounding his own left hand. Foster shot again, penetrating Choppin ' s upper thigh. Choppin then drew his other Derringer and fired at Foster who had turned to fire at him. Fortunately both missed. With his guns empty, Choppin drew his Bowie knife, and with blood streaming from his neck, charged at Foster. Foster was reluctant to kill his wounded opponent, and simply waved his revolver, imploring Choppin to stop. Luckily for Choppin, medical students at the scene rushed to his defense and separated the two men. C hoppin ' s lacerated jugular vein was promptly repaired and his other injuries treated. Foster was arrested, jailed over- night, and released the next day as Choppin, who made a fuU and speedy recovery, refused to press any charges against his opponent. First ambulance service in New Orleans. — pm W miW spttal T -W V 2 1