Ten Years of Effort for the Betterment of Hospitals

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 28, 29 July 1925, Page 13

Ten Years of Effort for the Betterment of Hospitals

(By Rev. Charles B. Moulinieb, President of the Catholic Hospital Association of the . United States and Canada.)

Wo must all accept as a fact that more has been accomplished in the last ten years for the improvement of the medical and nursing care of the sick in the hospitals of . the United States and Canada than has ever been brought about in any previous period of ten years in the history of the world. ' This is true not only in the quality of the achievement but also in the great extent of territory covered and in the large number of institutions affected. This vast and rapid achievement is due in tho main to organisations, that is. to the organised medical profession, the organised nursing profession and the organised hospital profession functioning through the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the Catholic Hospital Association, the American Hospital Association, the Protestant Hospital Association, the American " League of Nursing Education and just recently, tho American College of Physicians. Without these organised bodies, more, or less ready for action, more or less imbued with the spirit of progress, more or less con- '' seipus of deficiencies, more or less imbued with the ideals of better service, more or less conscientious in their professional practice, all tho individual geniuses in the. three professions would have accomplished very little;? during the last ten years. There have been I such geniuses and they brought about little or no general reforms for the public, because they neither used nor made well organised bodies. . Briefly, organisation, with its inevitable tendency to focus and follow out aims and purposes, is an absolute prerequisite and contributing condition and circumstance, if not a main cause in the accomplish men! of anything where many minds and main- hands must work together for results.' Organisations that, are good and fair and sane and sound in motives and methods are. sure to accomplish results. All the leadership in hospital betterment during the past ten years was fortunate and mightily helped in having this firm foundation of organisation along with an army of workers for the up-building of the solid structure of better hospital administration—well on in the making. The main, honor, credit and reward, as' happens in so many of the world's great achievements in and out of warfare, must go to the many hundreds and thousands of men and (especially) women, who are giving their best thought, energy, and conscientious

endeavor, in the bidden and silent works of ~ mercy and science going on throughout the hospitals, laboratories, and nursing schools of our many hundreds of hospitals. . To them be the honor, praise, glory, and reward. V / Our special theme, however, for this, memorial number of Hospital Progress must be in all propriety, the achievements of the Catholic Hospital Association and its official organ Hospital Progress with their contribution to the great international work of hospital betterment. A similar line of thought ' based on fact and causal sequences is forced upon us when we think fairly, broadly, and deeply enough on the hospital happenings of the last ten years in the several hundred institutions for the care of the sick conducted by the Catholic Sisterhoods. We must, however, in the first place mention with honor, esteem, and gratitude the hard, pioneer and able work of Dr. B. F. McGrath, former,-treasurer of the Catholic Hospital Association and co-founder of Hospital Progress; Father Michael . P. Burke, our first active vice-president and author of the surgical code which is now the. main guide of ethical procedure in the operating rooms of Sisters hospitals; Father George Metzger, capable and faithful worker for .hospital betterment from our very first fleeting and now director of state conferfeeS; Father Patrick A. Finney, CM., with his keen, clear, and practical handbook on Moral Problems in Hospital Practice; Father John Bolancl, with his deep appreciation of hospital spiritual life, and achievement, : indefatigable in his efforts for the betterment of every kind and now General Director of Diocesan Directors of hospitals; Father • Maurice Griffin, genial, capable, and discriminating advocate of tho better standard* in hospital care of the sick, joining his efforts in a broad-minded spirit with the America* as well as with the Catholic Hospital A*sociation; Father Joseph Higgins, zealous, eager, and unflagging in his advocacy of all that is best in hospital life and now,, as . chairman of tho Committee on Vocations, doing a splendid work in aid of the hierarchy, tho clergy, and the Sisterhoods, in gathering statistics and promoting the development of more vocations for the great work that goes on in the hospitals and the schools of the Church; Rev. T. A. Nummey, Richmond Hill, NY., a new. worker in the hospital field, with vision and daring for great achievement; Father Edward F. Garesche, talented and unrelenting in his efforts to promote every 1 best activity in hospital life by his delightful

and inspiring writings, by his instructive | lectures and now, as Spiritual Director of V the | International Catholic Guild of Nurses, by his energetic efforts, by his organising Mnto one large association, a branch of the JCatholio Hospital Association, the Catholic H nurses of the world; Father P. J. Mahan, active and masterful vice-president of the Catholic Hospital Association, General Chairman of committees, with rare energy promoting our best aims and purposes in our conferences, in the diocese of Chicago as director of hospitals and throughout many of the midwestern states in conjunction with . Dr. L. D. Moorhead, furthering the standards of the American College of Surgeons by frequent visits to hospitals and talks to staffs and Sisters. . Besides these generous and enlightened workers for hospital betterment mostly from the ranks of tho clergy there must be mentioned some few at least of a long list of leading doctors who have taken a large and very active part in the affairs of the C?tholio Hospital Association by faithful attendance at their annual conferences, regularly or frequently contributing to Hospital Pro- ' gress and perhaps most of all by their earnest endeavors to raise the standard of the hospital to whose staff they belong, higher and higher from year to year. . Some of these names are the following: Dr. Edward Evans of La Crosse, Wis.; Dr. E. L. Tuohy of Duluth, Minn.; Drs. F. D. Jennings and Charles Gordon of Brooklyn, New York Dr. Edward Weis of Brooklyn Drs. E. L. and L. D. Moorhead of Chicago; Drs. William and Charles Mayo; Dr. Frank Wiley of Fond du Lac; Drs. Louis F. J.-r------main and Edward Miloslavich of Milwaukee; ■f Drs. Glennon and McLaughlin of St. Louis; Dr. McGlannan of Baltimore; Dr. J. J. Walsh of New York; Dr. Austin O'Maliey of Philadelphia; Dr. Giese of Colorado Springs. All these and many others by th?. ; r , faithful and self-sacrificing attendance at meetings, by their articles and discriminating counsel, by their books, have done much to bring about the success achieved in the last ten years by the Catholic Hospital Association.

We must not fail to mention in this role of honor some few of the many Sisters who by their individual efforts have given strength and coherence to the labors and accomplishments of the Catholic Hospital Association ; Sister M. Joseph of Rochester, Minn.; Sister M. Bernadine, now deceased, of St. Paul; Sister M. Madeleine of Minneapolis, Minn.; Sister Boniface, Bismarck, N.D.; Sister M. Olivia of Duluth;* Mother Marie of New York Mother Eugenia of Jamaica; Mother Constance of Baltimore; Sister Innocent, now deceased, Sister E thel - dreda, Sister M. Rose, Sisters Thomasino and Laurentine, all of Pittsburgh; Sister Rose Alexius and her co-workers of Cincinnati ; Mother Amadeus and Sister M. Ursula of Cleveland, Ohio; Mother Genevieve of Youngstown, Ohio; Sisters M. DePazzi and Helen Jarrell of Chicago; Sister Seraphea of Fopd du Lac; Sisters Rita, Blanche and Alberta of Milwaukee; Mother Concordia of St. 1 Louis; Sister M. Giles of Kansas City Mother William of San Antonio; Sister John

Gabriel, Seattle; Sister M. Zoe, San Francisco, and Sister M. Ann, Los Angeles;' Mother Michael of Houston; Mother Cephas of lowa;'Mother Catharine of * Kenosha; Sister Mary of Colorado Springs; Sister M. Eustella, La Fayette, Ind. ; Sister Louisa Eugene, Ottawa; Sister Angela, Louisville; the Sisters -of St. Vincent's Infirmary, Little Rock, Ark.; Sister M. Thrasilla, Elizabeth, N.J.; Mother M. Richard, La Crosse, Wis.; Sister M. Robert, San Antonio, Texas; Sis-.er M. Georgina, Philadelphia, Pa.; Sister M. Ricarda, Wilkes-Barre; Sister M. Gonzaga, Hamilton, Ohio'; Sister M. F. De Sales, Great Bend, Kansas, along with many others who, I am sure, will accept; my apologies M not taking time to mention their names; the many branches of Franciscan Sisters, of Sisters of St. Joseph, of Me\;y Sisters, Sisters of the Holy Cross, the Gray Nuns of Montreal, Ottawa, inn St. Hyacinth, P. 1., Sisters of Providence, Sisters of Misericordia, Sisters of Hotel Dieu, Dominican and Benedictine Sisters, Sisters of St. Martha of the maritime provinces, Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul. Working with these, several hundred, faithful chaplains, twenty or thirty diocesan directors, but back of all these giving encouragement, help and enlightened advice, a hierarchy i of cardinals, archbishops, and bishops, who have seen and appreciated the need and necessity of organised effort on the part of the Sisters to make the most of every opportunity for advancing in knowledge and skill in the holy work of serving the sick. Back of all these mighty forces, working through them, inspiring them, giving- them courage and perseverance in the midst of their trials and difficulties, consoling them in their wearing and wasting labors, strengthening them when faint of heart, vivifying them .with supernatural faith, hope, and love of neighbor, was, and, is, Christ, the Son of God through the magnificent and unfailing, human and divine organisation, tho Catholic Church. It is the Church of Christ out of whose mind and. heart have come the Sisterhoods, twenty thousand strong in the hospital field, the chaplains, about eight hundred in number, the hierarchy of the United States and Canada, one hundred and forty-two in number, great, fearless and enlightened in works of spiritual and corporal mercy, a large army of parochial and religious clergy, s zealous helpers of the Sisters. What shall we say of Hospital Progress, our official organ ? Who and what have made this what it —a vehicle of facts, of opinions, views, of ethics, of religion, of a philosophy of hospital science and practise, an unfailing medium for information and the means of co-ordination in the field of thought and effort of the Catholic hospital world, at once an inspiration, guide and friend to all the Sisters, doctors, nurses, clergy, and hierarchy. -.''.. Do the excellence and appeal, of Hospital Progress come from the ability and skill of the editorial directress, Miss Harriet A. Wratten or the painstaking and skilful supervision ' of Mr. William C. Bruce, the stimulating editorials of Doctors Evans and

Tuohy," Father E. P.. Gareßehe, Doctors Jennings, Fitzpatrick, and J. J. Walsh, or from the many other t keen and practical contributions on the < science and technique of hospital procedure provided by doctor*. Sisters, nurses, and other experts? *■.'■=: Yes, much of its worth is due to these enlightened and devoted journalists, writers, and hospital specialists. Without them, without such self-sacrificing workers, we would have no magazine. There would not be that monthly supply of.sound,- helpful, and inspiring thoughts and ideals. Our hospitals and. those working within them would go on from month to month and year to year in much more of a humdrum routine' were it not for the monthly visitation of Hospital Progress.. But here again, comes the basic question : Is the existence, excellence, and continued growth of Hospital Progress due as much to individuals as to organisations: 1 < I think not. Individuals initiate, plan, and adapt means to ends; organisations, however, give worth, stability and inspire and carry out' ideals which would remain* in the region of thought and theory were ,it not for the achieving power of organisation. Without a Catholic Hospital Association there could be no Hospital Progress and without a long established, experienced, and high-minded publishing firm like that of the Bruce Publishing Company, Hospital Progress in all likelihood, if it had come into existence at all, would have been a poorly made up, unattractive, struggling, and perhaps failing venture. But with these two combined organisations made up of earnest, skilful, experienced and determined individuals having definite policies' and ideals, together with deep conscientious purpose to accomplish some good in the world, the first number of Hospital Progress, which appeared five years ago in the month of May, was a credit, a joy, a thing of beauty arid this present fifth annual memorial number we can be assured will reach a climax of achievement in journalistic science and art. All hail to Hospital Progress, to its editorial staff, to its publishers, to the great body of organised Sisterhoods who give it its greatest support and its-commanding inspiration ! These are the people, this is the great organisation, to which we -owe credit for what has been done. The glory belong:; : to God, who has made and keeps His Church* what it is throughout, these United States and Canada, inspired by the love of man and a divine solicitude for his needs. Not to me nor to you but to God and His Church bo all the honor an 1 the glory of these great achievements for our. brother-man.