DR. H. J. GERSTENBERGER'S PAPER 75 



laboratory. At a later date the Milk Fund Associa- 

 tion voluntarily sought amalgamation with the Babies' 

 Dispensary and Hospital, transferred all its posses- 

 sions to the latter institution, and in its last report 

 urged its supporters to now aid the Babies' Dispensary 

 and Hospital as they had the Milk Fund Association 

 in the past. 



This amalgamation brought to the former the 

 control of the dairy farm, which had, however, for 

 some time been regularly supervised by the medical 

 director of the Babies' Dispensary and Hospital as 

 a trustee of the Milk Fund Association. 



The work of the Babies' Dispensary grew with 

 rapidity so that the large frame building became too 

 small. For this reason and also for the more im- 

 portant one, to encourage more mothers to come with 

 their well babies, branch dispensaries w r ere opened in 

 the most crowded districts of the city. These were 

 most simple in their arrangement, which was possible 

 because they were used for well babies only. (One 

 waiting-room, one examining and weighing-room, 

 chairs, tables, stove and cupboard.) These were the 

 Prophylactic Babies' Dispensaries, as they are called 

 in Cleveland. Whenever an infant attending one of 

 these dispensaries became ill it was sent to a private 

 physician, or if its parents were too poor, to the 

 Central Dispensary in the frame house. At this 

 Central Dispensary the most of the work consisted 

 in caring for ill infants, but well babies from the 

 immediate district about it were also admitted. 



During 1908 six branch dispensaries were opened 

 and the city accordingly divided into seven districts 

 one district for each of the branch dispensaries, and 

 one for the prophylactic work of the Central 

 Dispensary. 



The Central Dispensary acted as the clearing- 

 house of the entire work, and was the hub of the 

 wheel. The methods used by doctors and nurses in 



