HERMANN M. BIGGS, M.D., Sc.D., LL.D. 325 



Under the inspiration of Dr. Biggs this committee worked hand 

 in hand with the Health Department in the educational propa- 

 ganda. 



Again it was through the initiative of Dr. Biggs that the first 

 municipal dispensary (clinic) for the treatment of the con- 

 sumptive poor was established in the city of New York. In the 

 course of years these dispensaries have been multiplied so that 

 to-day there are no less than twenty dispensaries distributed 

 throughout the city under the Health Department's direction. 

 Following the example of the Health Department, 10 tuberculosis 

 clinics connected with the larger hospitals have been established 

 in a comparatively short time. To coordinate their activities, 

 the Association of Tuberculosis Clinics of the city of New York 

 was founded, and under Dr. Biggs' direction and with the coopera- 

 tion of Dr. James Alexander Miller, the Health Department 

 issued a pamphlet outlining the purposes of the association, which 

 are in brief as follows: 



First. To organize dispensary control of pulmonary tuberculosis in New 

 York city. 



Second. To develop a uniform system of operation of such dispensaries as 

 are organized for this purpose. 



Third. To retain patients under observation until they are satisfactorily 

 disposed of, and to prevent them from drifting from one dispensary to another. 



Fourth. To establish and maintain a district system of dispensary treat- 

 ment. 



Fifth. To facilitate the attendance of patients at the dispensary most con- 

 venient to their homes. 



Sixth. To facilitate the work of visiting nurses in the homes of patients. 



Seventh. To provide for each patient requiring it assistance by special 

 funds or benevolent organizations, and proper hospital or sanatorium care. 



Eighth. To cooperate with, and assist as far as possible, the Department of 

 Health in the supervision of pulmonary tuberculosis. 



In 1904 Dr. Biggs established the Riverside Hospital-Sana- 

 torium for advanced cases on North Brother Island as one of the 

 Health Department's activities, particularly designed to remove 

 cases of tuberculosis constituting centers of infection in their 

 homes. 



When the first New York municipal sanatorium was opened at 

 Otisville, N. Y., in 1906, Dr. Biggs was made the medical director 



