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Indiana University Studies 



for relapses quickly occur if the technicalities of after-care are 

 neglected. Since a hospital proper is not prepared to keep 

 these orthopedic cases for the long convalescent period, there 

 is an urgent need for regular convalescent hospitals or homes. 

 The demand for this intermediary care is particularly urgent 

 for rural cases such as constitute the majority of the Robert 

 W. Long Hospital cases. As an example, recently a little girl 

 (Case L. F. 6,528) with double hip joint disease was ready 

 for discharge from the hospital, as she had received her braces 

 and crutches and no longer needed hourly attention. This 

 child lived in a remote corner of the state, and the chances of 

 returning for regular examinations every few weeks if sent 

 home were slight. In this instance, the Social Service Depart- 

 ment bridged the difficulty, by securing permission thru the 

 child's native county to place her in a Children's Aid Associa- 

 tion boarding-home in Indianapolis till the convalescent pe- 

 riod had passed. Just exactly at this point is obvious the 

 need for a convalescent institution where such cases can be 

 transferred directly from the hospital. Tho Indiana is lack- 

 ing in such a necessary and valuable institution, there are 14 

 in other parts of the country, named as follows : 



State 



Year 

 Opened 



Average 

 Number of 

 Children 



Convalescent Hospitals 



Illinois (Chicago) 



1911 



40 



Convalescent Home for 









Destitute Crippled 









Children. 



Maryland (Baltimore) 



1912 



30 



1. Children's Hospital 









School. 





1895 



53 



2. Kernan Hospital and 









Industrial School 









for Crippled Chil- 









dren. 



Massachusetts (Canton) . . . 



1907 



229 



Massachusetts Hospital 









School. 



Michigan (Detroit) 



1907 



25 



Van Leuven Brown Hos- 









pital School. 



Minnesota (Phalen Park). . 



1910 



38 



Minnesota State Hospital 









and School for Indigent 









Crippled and Deformed 









Children. 



