470 A HISTORY OF NATIONAL TUBERCULOSIS ASSOCIATION 



Surgeon General of the Army, upon the declaration of war, 

 began to plan for the care and treatment of a large number of 

 tuberculous patients who he thought might escape detection 

 upon examination or develop tuberculosis while in the service. 

 At the time war was declared, only the U. S. General Hospital 

 at Fort Bayard, New Mexico, with 500 beds, was available. It 

 was early apparent that it would be necessary to have a series 

 of hospitals located in the east and as near the port of debarkation 

 as possible, thus reducing discomfort and fatigue incident to 

 railroad travel to a minimum. Following this policy, hospi- 

 talization for tuberculous patients was planned and executed as 

 follows : 



Capacity 



United States General Hospital, Fort Bayard, New Mexico 1,850 



United States General Hospital, No. 8, Otisville, N. Y 1,000 



United States General Hospital, No. 16, New Haven, Conn 500 



United States General Hospital, No. 17, Markleton, Pa 200 



United States General Hospital, No. 18, Waynesville, N. C 600 



United States General Hospital, No. 19, Oteen, N. C 1,300 



United States General Hospital, No. 20, Whipple Barracks, Ariz 500 



United States General Hospital, No. 21, Denver, Colo. (Fitzsimmons) . 1,500 

 United States General Hospital, No. 42, Spartanburg, S. C 1,000 



8,450 



No other nation has ever in such a short time constructed, 

 equipped with all necessities and refinements, and placed in opera- 

 tion such an efficient chain of tuberculosis hospitals for military 

 personnel. The number of beds which General Gorgas esti- 

 mated would be necessary to care for the tuberculous sick was 

 fully justified by subsequent admissions. Even though there 

 was some slight delay incident to the Public Health Service 

 taking over these patients, at no time was there any permanent 

 congestion in any of these tuberculosis institutions. When the 

 Public Health hospitals were ready to receive them, the majority 

 was gradually absorbed, but many of these patients remained in 

 Army hospitals as beneficiaries of the Bureau of War Risk In- 

 surance (now U. S. Veterans' Bureau). As time elapsed it be- 

 came possible to close or turn over to the Public Health Service 

 all of the hospitals above named except the Fitzsimmons General 

 Hospital at Denver, Colo. The bed capacity of this hospital 





