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PREPARETOCOUNTY medical authorities began Thursday to prepare the isolation home, Concepcion ave. northeast of the City-County hospital, for the biggest smallpox rush since 1912, when 89 patients were handled at one time.Two old buildings, unused since 1912, were hastily fixed up Wednesday for new patients. 12 of whom came in during the day. By night Mrs. J. H. Gorman, the nurse incharge, counted 21 patients onhand, most of them city patients, afewr from the' county.She re-arranged them during theday. They all had been piled in tliemam building, old men. young women, children and crying babies in one jumble. Mrs. Gorman movedHANDLE MORE SMALLPOX PATIENTSATISOLATIONHOSPITALthe babies and their mothers to anouter building a block away to cut down the noise. Light fixtures, fallen out of repair thru disuse,were replaced. Old storage was moved out of a garage and bathhouse building to make room for more patients.May Need More SpaceThe purchasing agent conferred with Dr. T. J. McCamant. county health officer, on preparations for more room. Several wooden shacks or sleeping quarters, long since disused, were ordered repaired with new awnings. Seven or eight patients will be accommodated in this way. Dr. McCamant predicted that in a. few days tents will liave to be used. The buildine camcitv willInot provide for more than 20 additional patients. At the rate they were coming in Thursday this space will be used up by Friday night.Mrs. Gorman, the nurse in charge, rejected for the time at least Dr. McCamant’s offer to provide her with another nurse. She is directing all nursing and using the families of the sick to carry out her orders. Many husbands, wives or mothers are on hand to care for their afflicted relatives. The county is feeding them all and allowing the relat ives at the bedside.' Smallpox Hits Relative•Jesus Acosta, Virginia and St.i!Vrain, wandered info a lot of risk;told him they had sent his baby there and overlooked precautions as to him. When Dr. McCamant arrived he found Acosta sitting witha group of five persons, broken outbadly with smallpox. ^He also discovered that Acosta had never been vaccinated.Mrs. Gorman gave him a “shot'’ right then.About half of the patients are children under the school age, children who have never been vaccinated. Only one patient in the institution had ever been vaccinated. She is a woman of about 22 and 1 ias had no vaccination in 15 years. Her case is mild.«lt;W'hen he trailed a sick child to the isolation house. City authoritiesSeveral of the patients are critically ILL The most seriouslv afflictedare babies under one year — there are two of these—and men over50.But the worst case I have.” Dr.McCamant said, ‘Is a man about 40who is scared and won’t fight. He told me when I advised him that I was certain he had smallpox:Man Orders Coffin‘“Then order my coffin now—111 never weather it.’“That’s the wrong idea. Another man much sicker than he. is getting well rapidly because he refuses to be downcast and takes things easy.“Our death rate at the isolation home is remarkably small — only one Ufe lost out of 21 cases handledrecently. Of course one or twonth at.*? mav r1fp_ 'Riit. a. ha.hv fihmonths old. w^hom I feared would die, is getting w'ell.”Two of the patients are a baby and another child, about 7 yearsold. They are brothers, Raoul andAntonio Aguilar.One of the patients, Wm. Estes, who was among the sickest in the hospital, is much improved due to his cheerful fight.The doctor I first had,” Estes said, “was treating me for a week for malarial fever. I had smallpox and neither of us knew it.”The local Elks lodge postponed their annual circus party for orphans because of the smallpox prevalence here, officials announcedThursday. The A. G. Barnes circusH pro TVTrvt-»r$ tat?!
Newspaper Details
El Paso Evening Post
El Paso, Texas, US
Thu, Aug 29, 1929
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
University O.
TX, USA 26 Nov 2021
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