Public Document No. 84 MASS. DOCS. COLL. ANNUAL REPORT TRUSTEES Boston State Hospital FOR THE Year Ending November 30, 1935 The Ninety-fifth Annual Report of the Hospital Founded in 1839 by the City of Boston Publication of this Document approved by the Commission on Administration and Finance 600. 5- '36. Order 7570. OCCUPATIONAL PRINTING PLANT department of mental diseases gardner state hospital GARDNER. MASS. BOSTON STATE HOSPITAL (Post Office Address: Dorchester Center, Mass.) Board of Trustees Henry Lefavour, Ph.D., LL.D., Chairman, Boston. Mrs. Katherine G. Devine, Secretary, Milton. Charles B. Frothingham, M.D., Lynn. Mrs. Edna W. Dreyfus, Brookline. Albert Evans, M.D., Boston. Leopold M. Goulston, Boston. Thomas F. Fallon, Boston. Consulting Physicians William E. Preble, M.D., Internist. Albert Evans, M.D., Internist. Fred B. Lund, M.D., Surgeon. Irving J. Walker, M.D. Surgeon. Alexander J. A. Campbell, M.D., Surgeon. W. R. Macausland, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon. A. R. Macausland, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon. H. G. Lee, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon. Grace E. Rochford, M.D., Gynecologist. Trygve Gundersen, M.D., Ophthalmologist. Donald H. Macdonald, M.D. , Laryngologist, Rhinologist, and Otologist. A. Myerson, M.D., Neurologist. Edwin H. Place, M.D., Epidemiologist. Loretta Joy Cummins, M.D., Dermatologist. Chaplains Rev. Harold H. Cramer Rev. Moses L. Sedar Rev. Frederick G. M. Driscoll Rev. Frank H. Stedman Officers of the Hospital James V. May, M.D., Superintendent. Gerald F. Houser, M.D., Assistant Superintendent. Mary G. Noble, M.D., Senior Physician. Edmund M. Pease, M.D., Senior Physician. Geneva Tryon, M.D., Senior Physician. Frederick LeDrew, M.D., Senior Physician. Winthrop B. Osgood, M.D., Senior Physician. Purcell G. Schube, M.D., Senior Physician. Margaret C. McManamy, M.D., Senior Physician. Carl E. Trapp, M.D., Senior Physician. Naomi Raskin, M.D., Senior Physician, Pathologist. Sirkka E. Vuornos, M.D., Assistant Physician. Benjamin Margulois, M.D., Assistant Physician. Harold F. Norton, M.D., Assistant Physician. Florence A. Beaulieu, M.D., Assistant Physician. Margaret R. Simpson, M.D., Assistant Physician. Alberta S. B. Guibord, M.D., Assistant Physician, School Clinic. George S. Rileigh, D.M.D., Dentist. Mary Alice McMahon, R.N., Principal of School of Nursing. S. Henry Franks, Steward. Rose J. Siciliano, Treasurer. TRUSTEES' REPORT To His Excellency the Governor and the Honorable Council: The Trustees of the Boston State Hospital have the honor to submit herewith their twenty-seventh annual report covering the year ended November 30, 1935. The detailed operations of the year are shown in the reports of the Superintendent and Treasurer, which are appended. P.D. 84 • : Change in Membership The death of Mr. John A. Kiggen in January brought to an end the service of an esteemed colleague who had been a member of the Board for sixteen years. At their February meeting the Trustees adopted the following minute: Resolved. That the Trustees of the Boston State Hospital desire to place on record their high appreciation of their late colleague, Mr. John A. Kiggen, who died on January 6, 1935. Mr. Kiggen was first appointed in 1914 and with a brief intermission had been a member until his death, just previous to which he had been reappointed for another term. His deep interest in the institution, his faithful attendance when his business did not require his absence from the city, and his valued advice based on broad business experience and knowledge of public affairs were an asset to the Trustees, and his kindly humor and pleasant personality made him a most agreeable associate. The Trustees join in expressing to his family most heartfelt sympathy in their great loss. : In March, Mr. Thomas F. Fallon was appointed for the balance of Mr. Kiggen 's term. Patients in the Care of the Hospital At the end of the year there were 2,313 patients in the hospital and 12 in family care. The average daily number for the year was 2,309.28 as compared with 2,260.41 for the preceding year. Although very much over the quota assigned to this hospital and in spite of transfers, the daily population tends to increase. As the various classifications do not increase equally, there is necessarily a considerable congestion in some of the wards. Financial Statement The appropriation for maintenance for the past year was $935,730.00. The ex- penditures amounted to $929,030.00, giving a weekly cost per patient of $7,737. The estimate for maintenance for the coming year, based on a population of 2,295, is as follows: Personal services . .... $538,280.00 Travel, transportation and office expenses 8,875.00 Food . , . ., .. 220,700 . 00 Clothing and materials . .. 36,550.00 Religious instruction 2,080.00 Furnishings and household supplies 43,200.00 Medical and general care. 25,675.00 Heat and other plant operation. 97,699.00 Farm . 7,850.00 Garage and grounds 18,342.00 Repairs, ordinary . 19,995.00 Repairs and renewals 32,585.00 Total . $1,051,831.00 Construction The buildings erected by federal aid through the Emergency Public Works Com- mission, consisting of a remodelled power plant, a laboratory and mortuary building, a building for tuberculous patients, a building for 200 male employees, a building for the West office and 87 female employees, three officers' cottages, and a carpenter shop, have been completed with slight exceptions, but for the most part are awaiting equipment. The equipment has been partially delivered and is all under contract but the delay has been most vexatious. The power plant is in operation and with its alternative use of either coal or oil and its alternating current machinery the hospital secures an adequate and admirable service. The laboratory and mortuary and the carpenter shop are occupied, and the other buildings should be very soon available for use. Although $1,106,253 has been thus expended for improvements, the hospital is still far from complete on a modern standard. It lacks an assembly hall, suitable kitchens and dining rooms, officers' residences, and a number of minor buildings. 4 P.D. 84 In spite of valuable assistance by federal relief projects, much needs to be done in road building, grading and underground wiring, steam and drainage services. Finally, there is the great fire hazard in the stucco buildings which should be re- placed by fireproof construction. When this is done the hospital will have been almost entirely rebuilt. When the state acquired the property, it consisted of two separate units mostly of stucco and wood construction and accommodating only 764 patients. As it has grown, service buildings were added, but for the most part these were not constructed large enough for the ultimate population. The total construction expenditures with those needed to complete the plant may be as great as the cost of an entirely new hospital, but it is to be remembered that the amount paid to the City of Boston was not in excess of the value of the land. The legislature at its last session appropriated $13,000 for the continuation of the iron fence, and $26,800 for equipping some of the buildings with sprinklers. These projects have not yet been undertaken, but the Emergency Public Works Com- mission has allotted a sufficient appropriation supplementing the state appropria- tion to provide for the complete sprinkling of the hospital. The new buildings for employees are no more than adequate to house the em- ployees in service two years ago. The new 48-hour law calls for 160 additional employees and for these there is no housing provision, and there will have to be a cash allowance in lieu of maintenance. General Operations The progress of the year has been uneventful except for a brief epidemic of measles and a fire that destroyed the roof of one of the buildings in the East Group. The patients were removed rapidly and safely and within an hour were established in other quarters. The roof was repaired and the building reoccupied in about six weeks. Attention is called to the various educational services now rendered by the hospital. Students in the medical schools are attending clinics and special lectures and some are acting as internes. Members of the staffs of other hospitals are ac- quainting themselves with laboratory methods, and nurses are being prepared for psychiatric service. Most valuable work is being carried on in the research labor- atory. The Trustees desire to express again their appreciation of the unremitting service and care given by the officers and staff. Henry Lefavour Edna W. Dreyfus Katherine G. Devine Albert Evans Charles B. Frothingham Leopold M. Goulston Thomas F. Fallon Tnistees. REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT To the Board of Trustees of the Boston State Hospital: The following is a report of the activities of the hospital for the statistical year ending September 30, 1935, and the fiscal year ending November 30, 1935. Founded by the City of Boston in 1839, this marks the completion of its ninety-sixth year as a hospital for mental diseases, and the twenty-seventh year of its history as a State institution. Movement of Population The census of the hospital on September 30, 1934, was as follows: in the wards, men, 933, women, 1,365, total, 2,298; at home on visit, men, 102, women, 116, total, 218; boarding out, men, none, women, 10; and out on escape, women, none, men, 3; making a total of 2,529, 1,038 men and 1,491 women, in the custody of the hospital. During the year 421 men and 417 women, a total of 838, were received. This included the following: first admissions as insane, men, 250, women, 256, total, 506; readmissions as insane, men, 54, women, 52, total, 106; first admissions, temporary care, men, 69, women 49, total, 118; readmissions, temporary care, men, 33, women, 37, total, 70; and transferred from other institutions, men, 15, women, 23, total, 38.