S. W. NEWMAYER, M. D. 233 



Total number of hospitals 64 



General 43 



Children 2 



Special 19 



Dispensary only 11 



Number having free beds for infants 18 



Admitting children at any age 12 



Not admitting under age of 2 years 7 



Having a separate ward for infants. 14 



Number of available free beds in summer months 



For children of all ages 264 



For children over 2 years 56 



When under 15 months, with mother 50 



Two hospitals alone, 130 beds; balance 134 



Number of available free beds in winter 267 



Number closing children's ward in summer 1 



Number having a dispensary service for children 22 



Number of free patients under age of 2 years 



Admitted to all hospitals during July and August, 1910. .782 



Admitted to three hospitals alone 554 



Admitted to remaining 15 institutions 228 



Number of these 782 cases which had gastro-enteritis .... 255 



Admitted to three hospitals alone 183 



Admitted to 15 remaining institutions 72 



This analysis of the hospitals of a large city tells most cer- 

 tainly that there are insufficient hospital facilities for the children 

 of the poor, especially in early infancy. The reasons for this 

 unfortunate state of affairs, I cannot state. That this condition 

 exists to an alarming extent is evident to any physician who 

 makes an effort to place a child in a hospital, sometimes a half 

 dozen hospitals are asked before he succeeds. The questions 

 which suggest themselves are, Why should only two-fifths of the 

 hospitals doing a general class of work have beds for infants? 

 Why should more than one-third of those admitting children 

 refuse infants under 2 years? In a city which is considered one 

 of the medical centers of the country, and one of the most char- 

 itable cities, why should there be so few available free beds for 

 children? In a period of two summer months, when sickness 

 among children is at its height, are 228 patients under the age 

 of 2 years, with all kinds of diseases, a fair average for 15 hos- 

 pitals admitting infants? This means an average of 15 free 

 patients for each such institution in two months. 



The enormous value of fresh air, country or seashore for the 

 sick child, especially in cases of diarrhoea and enteritis, is well 

 recognized. Every large city has a long list of seashore and 



