Annual Report of the Trustees of the Danvers State Hospital
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/annualreportoftr1224danv Public Document No. 20 THIRTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT THE TRUSTEES Danvers State Hospital, DANVERS, MASS. i (POST-OFFICE, HATHORNE), Year ending November 30, 1912. BOSTON: WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTEES, 18 Post Office Square. 1913. Approved by The State Board of Publication. CONTENTS. PAGE Report of Trustees, 9 Report of Superintendent, 12 Report of Treasurer, 29 Statistics, 35 OFFICERS OF THE DANVERS STATE HOSPITAL. Nov. 30, 1912. TRUSTEES. Mr. Samuel Cole, Corresponding Secretary, . Beverly. Mr. Horace H. Atherton, ..... Saugus. Miss Mary Ward Nichols, Recording Secretary, . Danvers. Mr. S. Herbert Wilkins, Chairman, . Salem. Mr. Seward W. Jones, ...... Newton Highlands. Mr. Ernest B. Dane, ...... Boston. Miss Annie M. Kilham, Beverly. RESIDENT OFFICERS. George M. Kline, M.D., Physician and Superintendent. John B. Macdonald, M.D., Senior Assistant Physician. Wm. B. Cornell, M.D., Assistant Physician. Harlan L. Paine, M.D., . Assistant Physician. Anna H. Peabody, M.D., . Assistant Physician. Nelson G. Trtjeman, M.D., . Assistant Physician. Burton D. Thorpe, M.D., Assistant Physician. F. D. Streeter, M.D., . Assistant Physician. Mr. Edward S. Groves, Steward. NON-RESIDENT OFFICERS. Earl D. Bond, M.D., Assistant Physician and Pathologist. Mr. Scott Whitcher, Treasurer and Clerk. HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS. Mr. Adam D. Smith, Supervisor Male Department. Miss Eunice A. Fisk, Superintendent of Nurses and Prin- cipal of Training School. Mrs. Harriet A. Read, . Supervisor Female Department. Mr. Charles Lindgren, . Engineer. Mr. Junius C. Wing, Farmer. Mr. George W. Gardner, Carpenter. CONSULTING BOARD OF PHYSICIANS. Dr. Francis W. Anthony, 112 Main Street, Haverhill. Dr. William Howe Merrill, "The Bay State," Lawrence. Dr. Edward M. Greene, 20 Mt. Vernon Street, Boston. Dr. Thomas Kittredge, . 13 Chestnut Street, Salem. Dr. Edward B. Lane, Adams Nervine Asylum, Jamaica Plain. Dr. Arthur C. Nason, 166 High Street, Newburyport. Dr. Arthur H. Nichols, . 55 Mt. Vernon Street, Boston. Dr. Walter G. Phippen, . 88 Washington Square, Salem. Dr. Warren W. Pillsbury, 51 Washington Street, Newburyport. Dr. Joseph G. Pinkham, . 64 Nahant Street, Lynn. Dr. George B. Shattuck, 183 Beacon Street, Boston. Dr. Frederic W. Taylor, 1735 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge. Dr. George B. Shattuck, Chairman. Dr. Edward B. Lane, Secretary. DENTIST. Dr. J. Herman Haines, . 291 Essex Street, East Lynn. EUGENICS FIELD WORKER. Miss Ruth S. Moxcey. ®I)e Commoncoealtl) of ittassacl)iisctte. TRUSTEES' REPORT. To His Excellency the Governor and the Honorable Council. The trustees of the Danvers State Hospital herewith respect- fully present their thirty-fifth annual report, with the reports of the superintendent and treasurer and the legally required sta- tistics. In the reports of the superintendent and the treasurer a more detailed account of all the work accomplished during the year is considered. The Board of Trustees remains the same. Miss Annie M. Kil- ham of Beverly, whose term of office expired, was reappointed. Throughout the year there have been numerous changes in the medical staff. Dr. H. W. Mitchell, whose resignation was re- corded in our last annual report, severed his connection with the hospital March 1, 1912, having held the position of superintendent since July 1, 1910. George M. Kline, M.D., of the State Psycho- pathic Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich., was invited by the trustees to accept the position of superintendent made vacant by Dr. Mitch- ell's resignation, and assumed his duties March 9, 1912. In the short time he has been with us he has plainly demonstrated his worth as a physician and as a man of executive ability. We feel that the State is fortunate to secure the services of so able a superintendent. Henry M. Swift, M.D., who has been senior assistant physician for six years, resigned to accept an instructorship in Bowdoin College at Portland, Me. Herman M. Adler, M.D., pathologist, resigned on June 14, 1912, to accept the position of chief of staff of the psychopathic department of the Boston State Hospital. Alan D. Finlayson, M.D., resigned on Aug. 25, 1912, to accept a position as assistant physician at the State Hospital, Warren, Pa. Ray L. Whitney, M.D., who had been appointed senior assistant physician following the resignation of Dr. Swift, left after two 10 DANVERS STATE HOSPITAL. [Dec. months' service to return to the Worcester State Hospital as senior assistant physician. Earl D. Bond, M.D., of the McLean Hospital, Waverley, Mass., was appointed to fill the position as pathologist, reporting for duty July 1, 1912. F. D. Streeter, M.D., was appointed assistant physician Oct. 3, 1912. On Oct. 22, 1912, J. B. MacDonald, M.D., of the Grafton colony, and form- erly with the Concord State Hospital and the Maine State Hos- pital, was appointed senior assistant physician. The repairs to the main building have progressed satisfactorily during the summer, the walls of the entire female wing, the front of the main center building and a portion of the male wing hav- ing been completed. As stated in our last report the work, at first thought to be limited to repointing, has, in reality, become reconstruction. Because of the extensiveness of the necessary repairs to the walls it has been impossible to complete the work this year, as had been expected. Judging from the progress made it is thought that it can be completed in a satisfactory manner during the coming year. The special appropriation of $2,600 which was granted for repairs to the reservoir proved insufficient, due to the unexpected finding of springs which required the rebuilding of the walls on either side of the gate house. Inasmuch as the water supply of the hospital, as well as the town of Danvers, would be jeopardized should the reservoir continue out of commission, it was thought best to present the matter to Your Excellency and the Honorable Council and ask for an additional amount from the contingent fund to complete the work. This was granted, and the work on the reservoir satisfactorily completed. The changes in the interior of the laundry building have been made, and the rooms are now used for sewing and mending and for tailor shops; the wash room, which was on the first floor, has been placed in the basement. With the installation of new machin- ery we have now a modern laundry, which was badly needed. The State Boiler Inspector directed the resetting of a battery of three boilers, making imperative the unexpected expenditure from the general maintenance fund. Other improvements planned for the year have been completed. The hospital has been visited by two serious fires. The first occurred on the morning of Jan. 24, 1912, and necessitated the 1912.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 20. 11 rebuilding of a ventilating tower and a considerable portion of the roof at an expense of about $5,000. Much more damage and probable loss of life would have resulted but for the efficient service of the hospital fire department led by Dr. Mitchell. On Oct. 25, 1912, a barn at Middleton colony, which was used for storage purposes, was completely destroyed, the loss being estimated at about $5,500. Other fires in the vicinity lead us to believe that this was of incendiary origin. It is again necessary to ask for a large maintenance appropria- tion this year in order to place the walls of the main buildings in good repair. Special appropriations for a building for male attendants and married couples, a warehouse and a barn to replace the one lost by fire are requested, the details being given in the superintendent's report. The additional unit to our re- frigerating system, for which special appropriation of $4,250 was granted, will be completely installed before next summer. The trustees wish to express their appreciation of the faithful services rendered by officials .and employees. SAMUEL COLE. H. H. ATHERTON. MARY W. NICHOLS. S. HERBERT WILKINS. SEWARD W. JONES. ERNEST B. DANE. ANNIE M. KILHAM. 12 DANVERS STATE HOSPITAL. [Dec. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT. To the Trustees of the Danvers State Hospital. I have the honor to submit the thirty-fifth annual report of the superintendent for the year ending Nov. 30, 1912. The appended statistical tables relating to patients are for a twelve-month period, ending Sept. 30, 1912. In acknowledgment to my predecessor, Dr. Harry W. Mitchell, your attention is directed to the fact that the report deals largely with a continuation of affairs begun in his administration. Dr. Mitchell, who severed his connection with the hospital March 1, 1912, to accept the superintendency of the State Hospital at Warren, Pa., had been actively associated with the care of the insane in this State. He entered institutional work as assistant physician at the State Asylum for Insane Criminals at Bridge- water, Mass., in 1896, remaining until 1899, when he was ap- pointed senior assistant physician at this hospital. In 1907 he accepted the superintendency of the Eastern Maine Insane Hos- pital at Bangor, Me. He was considered the one best fitted to fill the vacancy made by the resignation of Dr. Charles W. Page, and in 1910 was invited to return to this hospital as superintend- ent. Many changes and improvements will remain as examples of his administrative ability. You honored me with the position thus rendered vacant, and I officially assumed charge of the hospital as superintendent March 9, 1912. There were present, at the commencement of the hospital year, 1,446 patients, — 618 men and 828 women. There have been admitted 716 patients, — 367 men and 349 women. The dis- missals within the year, equally distributed between each sex, number 750, leaving in the institution at the end of the year, 1,412 patients, — 610 men and 802 women.