"FOUR WOMEN AND A SANATORIUM"
BEING A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FOUNDING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ESSEX MOUNTAIN SANATORIUM
BY WILLIE MAYE HARMAN
THE FOUNDING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THIS INSTITUTION WAS DUE TO THE EFFORT OF TWO MONTCLAIR LADIES, MRS. E.A. PRIETH AND HER FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR, MISS MARY WILSON.
THE STORY BEGINS IN FEBRUARY, 1907 WHEN THE HUSBAND OF A LAUNDRESS WORKING FOR MRS. EDWIN A. PRIETH OF MONTCLAIR WAS ACUTELY ILL OF TUBERCULOSIS DISEASE AND HIS FAMILY WAS IN DISTRESS. THE SICK MAN WAS A RESIDENT OF THE CITY OF NEWARK AND MRS. PRIETH AND HER FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR, MISS MARY WILSON (NOW MRS. THOMAS TRAVIS) OF 149 WATCHUNG AVENUE, MONTCLAIR, APPLIED TO THE BOARD OF HEALTH OF THAT CITY FOR ASSISTANCE IN MAKING SOME DISPOSITION OF THE CASE.
THE BOARD OF HEALTH WAS SYMPATHETIC BUT HELPLESS. THERE WERE NO FACILITIES FOR CARING FOR TUBERCULOSIS AT THE DISPOSITION OF THE CITY. THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH, DR. HERMAN C.H. HEROLD EXPLAINED THE HELPLESSNESS OF HIS BOARD TO COPE WITH THE PROBLEM UNLESS PROPER FACILITIES WERE PROVIDED AND DETAILED THE PITIFUL CONDITION OF VARIOUS TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS FOR WHOM THE BOARD WAS DOING ALL THAT WAS IN THEIR POWER WITH EXISTING FACILITIES. LATER, AT A MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL, DR. HEROLD SUMMED UP THE SITUATION BRIEFLY, "I CAME HERE TO TELL YOU HOW INADEQUATE ARE OUR ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THE CARE OF TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS, BOTH INDIGENTS AND THOSE WHO CAN PAY FOR THEIR TREATMENTS. ST. MICHAEL'S AND THE CITY HOSPITAL ARE THE ONLY TWO INSTITUTIONS IN THE CITY THAT RECEIVE TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS. THE HOME FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN TAKES BONE TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS, BUT WILL NOT TAKE PERSONS SUFFERING FORM PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS. THE QUESTION OF CARING FOR CONSUMPTIVES IS BEING AGITATED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, BUT WE HAVE HAD TO LIE LOW AND SAY NOTHING BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT ADEQUATE MEANS FOR TREATING SUFFERERS FROM THE DISEASE... THERE WERE 842 DEATHS FROM TUBERCULOSIS IN NEWARK LAST YEAR...THERE IS NO DOUBT BUT THAT MANY OF THOSE WHO DIED IN 1906 HAD BEEN SICK A NUMBER OF YEARS. THERE ARE NOW IN THE CITY AT LEAST 3,000 CASES OF TUBERCULOSIS. JUST HOW MANY THERE ARE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO STATE, BECAUSE THE DISEASE IS UNREPORTABLE."
THIS SUMMARY OF THE CONDITION OF THE TUBERCULOSIS SICK IN NEWARK CAME AFTER MRS. PRIETH AND MISS WILSON HAD SATISFIED THEMSELVES THAT CONDITIONS WERE APPALLING AND DEVISED A PLAN, WHICH SEEMED PRACTICAL TO THEM FOR AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM. DECIDING THAT IF THINGS WERE AS BAD AS THE BOARD OF HEALTH REPRESENTED IT, SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT, THEY VISITED ONE OF THE CONSUMPTIVES FOR WHOM THE BOARD WAS DOING WHAT THEY COULD. THEY FOUND A YOUNG HATTER DYING OF THE DISEASE IN THE BASEMENT OF A DOWNTOWN RESTAURANT, UNATTENDED, WITHOUT MONEY, HIS ONLY FOOD SUCH AS THE CHARITABLE RESTAURATEUR COULD GIVE HIM, HIS ONLY BEDDING A BOARD OF HEALTH BLANKET. HAVING RESCUED HIM, (AND THE DIFFICULTIES ATTENDING THIS CASE IS A SAGA IN ITSELF) THEY PAID FOR HIS STAY IN ONE OF THE FEW HOSPITALS HAVING BEDS FOR THOSE TUBERCULOSIS ONES WHO COULD AFFORD TO PAY FOR HOSPITALIZATION. THEY THEN SET ABOUT THE TASK OF FINDING OUT WHY NEWARK COULD NOT PROVIDE FOR ITS INDIGENT CONSUMPTIVES. THE CHIEF NEED, THEY DISCOVERED, WAS FOR A PLAN AS TO WHERE AND HOW.
MISS WILSON FOUND THE SOLUTION TO BOTH QUESTIONS. "I HAD GONE FOR A WALK," SAYS MRS. TRAVIS, "ALONG THE RIDGE NEAR THE MONTCLAIR HOTEL. LOOKING ACROSS THE VALLEY, MY ATTENTION WAS SUDDENLY HELD BY THE GLORIOUS COLORS OF THE EVENING SUNSET AS REFLECTED IN THE WINDOWS OF THE ABANDONED GIRLS' HOME. LIKE AN INSPIRATION THE CONVICTION CAME. THAT IS THE ANSWER. THE BUILDING IS UNOCCUPIED. IT IS OWNED BY THE CITY. THE LOCATION IS IDEAL. WHY NOT?" THERE PROVED TO BE A MULTIPLICITY OF WHY NOT. TO WIN THE BOARD OF HEALTH WAS NOT DIFFICULT. PRESIDENT HEROLD AND HEALTH OFFICER CHANDLER WERE AUTHORIZED TO GO BEFORE THE COMMON COUNCIL WITH THE PROPOSAL. MRS. PRIETH AND MISS WILSON WERE ALSO PRESENT TO URGE IMMEDIATE ACTION. THE NEWARK EVENING NEWS OF FEBRUARY 20, 1907, GIVES AN INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF THAT MEETING.
MISS WILSON WAS CHIEF ADVOCATE, AND AN AMAZINGLY SPLENDID AND PRACTICAL APPEAL SHE MADE. IT WILL BE REMEMBERED THAT IN 1907 THE APPEARANCE OF WOMEN BEFORE A POLITICAL BODY WAS A RARE THING AND NOT TO BE ENCOURAGED. BUT THIS AMAZING YOUNG PORTIA GAVE FACTS AND FIGURES WHICH WERE CONVINCINGLY PRACTICAL, "...THERE SEEMS TO BE ABUNDANT ROOMS, FULLY EQUIPPED AS TO BEDS AND BLANKETS, AND A HEATING PLANT, SURROUNDED BY SIX ACRES OF LAND. THE TRUSTEES OF THE HOME WOULD GLADLY TURN THE GIRL'S COTTAGE OVER TO THE CITY FOR A SANATORIUM." IT IS ALSO INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT THE NEWS REPORTS MRS. PRIETH AS SAYING THAT, "MR. GOETZ (TRUSTEE OF THE CITY HOME FOR GIRLS) ASSURED US THAT THERE IS NO LEGAL OBSTRUCTION TO THE TURNING OVER OF THE BUILDING TO YOU FOR A TUBERCULOSIS SANATORIUM. THERE IS ALSO REPORTED A DISCUSSION OF THE DESIRABILITY OF THE LOCATION. HEALTH OFFICER CHANDLER DECLARING THAT "CALDWELL IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE NEXT TO DENVER FOR BENEFICIAL RESULTS."
A LATER CLIPPING DESCRIBED THE MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL AT WHICH THE CITY COUNSEL WAS DIRECTED TO "PREPARE SUCH RESOLUTIONS, MOTIONS, ORDINANCES OR EVEN LEGISLATIVE BILLS, AS MIGHT BE NECESSARY TO HAVE APPROVED, TO TRANSFER THE BUILDING AND FIFTEEN ACRES OF GROUND TO THE CARE AND CUSTODY OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH AND TO PERMIT THE APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS FOR ITS MAINTENANCE AS A SANATORIUM."
THINGS WERE MOVING FORWARD SMOOTHLY. BUT NOT FOR LONG. LEGISLATION WAS NEEDED AND INTRODUCED. MRS. PRIETH AND MISS WILSON APPEARED IN TRENTON TO MAKE SURE OF THEIR BILL. THIS WAS NOT ONLY AN UNHEARD OF THING BUT MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO GO ON. YOUNG LADIES, EVEN SUCH ATTRACTIVE AND CHARMING YOUNG LADIES AS THESE, MUST BE LEFT AT HOME. CERTAINLY THEY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO MAKE A HABIT OF LOBBYING. SO THEY WERE GRACIOUSLY REASSURED AND TOLD TO GO HOME, EVERYTHING WOULD BE ALL RIGHT. ANTICIPATING NO DIFFICULTIES FOR A CAUSE SO WORTHWHILE, THEY RETURNED HOME.
THEIR CONCERN FOR THE FATE OF SO VITAL A BILL KEPT THEM ALERT FOR NEWS AND WHEN THE LEGISLATURE WAS WITHIN ONE WEEK OF THE ADJOURNMENT, THEY ANXIOUSLY INQUIRED AS TO THE FATE OF ASSEMBLY BILL NO 384. THEIR AMAZEMENT AND WRATH CAN WELL BE IMAGINED WHEN TOLD, "OH THAT - IT'S DEAD."
THE MORNING STAR OF APRIL 15, 1907, TELLS THE STORY OF THAT LEGISLATIVE BATTLE UNDER THE HEADING, "TWO FRAIL WOMEN ROUT FIVE HUNDRED WISE MEN BY HARD WORK - THEY GET VERONA SANATORIUM BILL THROUGH - WHIP SOLONS TO A STANDSTILL." MRS. TRAVIS' EYES SPARKLE AS SHE TELLS OF THE HURRIED TRIP TO TRENTON WHICH SHE AND MRS. PRIETH MADE. OF THEIR DETERMINATION TO INTERVIEW EVERY ASSEMBLYMAN IN TRENTON AND THE BUSINESS LIKE WAY THEY SET ABOUT IT. OF HOW THE BILL WAS "LOST" AFTER THE AWFUL LABOR GETTING IT OUT OF COMMITTEE. THERE WAS EVEN THE VEILED OFFER OF A BRIBE TO DROP THEIR INTEREST. VERONA PROPERTY OWNERS WERE STIRRED IN PROTEST. IN FACT, THE WORD WAS OUT FOR THE "BOYS" TO KILL ASSEMBLY 384. BUT THE "BOYS" WERE UP AGAINST A NEW FORCE IN POLITICS. TO QUOTE "THE MORNING STAR," "WHENEVER A MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE ON MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS SHOWED HIMSELF, HE WAS CORNERED BY A PRETTY LITTLE FIGURE IN A GRAY TAILORED SUIT AND A GRAY TOQUE, FROM WHICH STREAMED A LONG BLUE OSTRICH PLUME OR A LARGE-EYED PLEADER DRESSED ALL IN BLACK. THE YOUNG WOMEN LEARNED SOMETHING OF POLITICS AND THY LEARNED THAT THEY MUST NOT VARY THEIR APPEARANCE TOO MUCH OR THEY MIGHT BE FORGOTTEN. THEY ADOPTED A CAMPAIGN UNIFORM AND STUCK TO IT."
THIS INTENSIVE CAMPAIGN FINALLY SUCCEEDED IN GETTING THE BILL BEFORE THE HOUSE, WHERE, UNDER DRAMATIC CIRCUMSTANCES, IT PASSED BY ONE VOTE. ONCE MORE IT WAS "LOST". BUT BY THIS TIME, THEIR ENERGY AND PERSISTENCE, TOGETHER WITH THE HUMANE APPEAL OF THEIR CAUSE, HAD WON FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES. MRS. TRAVIS REMEMBERS WITH ESPECIAL PLEASURE THE HELP GIVEN THEM BY SENATOR FRELINGHUYSEN. THE ENTIRE SENATE WAS PLEDGED TO THEM AND WHEN FINALLY BILL NO. 384 WAS AGAIN "FOUND", IT PASSED THE SENATE UNANIMOUSLY. AT MIDNIGHT, MRS. PRIETH (MISS WILSON HAD BEEN CALLED HOME BY ILLNESS IN HER FAMILY) CARRIED THE BILL TO GOV. SOTKES WHO SIGNED IT AND SENT THE PEN USED TO MISS WILSON. SO WAS PROVISION MADE FOR THE "NEWARK CITY HOME FOR CONSUMPTIVES." SOMETHING OF THE COST TO THE YOUNG WOMEN RESPONSIBLE FOR IT MAY BE GUESSED BY MRS. PRIETH'S FINAL WORDS TO REPORTERS OF THE MORNING STAR. "I'M VERY, VERY TIRED, BUT I'M VERY GLAD THAT WE HAVE WON, I HAVEN'T FOUND LOBBYING VERY PLEASANT, BUT ALL THE OFFICIALS HAVE TREATED US COURTEOUSLY. I DON'T THINK IT ADDS TO ONE'S POPULARITY TO DO THIS KIND OF WORK. YOU SEE IT ISN'T POSSIBLE TO PLEASE EVERYBODY AND SOME OF MY FRIENDS DON'T RECOGNIZE ME WHEN THEY PASS SINCE I BEGAN TO WORK FOR THIS BILL. IT'S ALL OVER AND THE POOR CONSUMPTIVES ARE TO HAVE PROPER CARE AND TREATMENT - THAT IS, SOME OF THEM ARE. THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A GREAT CRUSADE IN WHICH ALL CITIES MUST ONE DAY JOIN." HER WORDS HAVE PROVEN PROPHETIC.
THE WORK THEY HAD SET OUT TO DO, BEING FINISHED, MRS. PRIETH AND MISS WILSON FELT THAT IT WOULD BE WISE TO WITHDRAW FROM ANY ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE INSTITUTION WHOSE EXISTENCE THEY HAD ASSURED. IT WAS THE MOST CERTAIN EVIDENCE, THEY FELT, WHICH COULD BE GIVEN OF THE UNSELFISH MOTIVE WHICH DIRECTED THEIR WORK. STRANGE THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO STEP ASIDE AFTER HAVING DONE SO MUCH. THEIR INTEREST AND ABILITY WOULD HAVE BEEN OF VALUE TO THE INFANT INSTITUTION. MRS. PRIETH HAS LEFT MONTCLAIR AND IS PROBABLY CONTINUING HER PRACTICAL CIVIC WORK IN SOME OTHER COMMUNITY. MRS. TRAVIS FINDS AN OUTLET FOR HER INTEREST IN COMMUNITY WORK IN HER HUSBAND'S PARISH. SHE HAS WATCHED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SANATORIUM CLOSELY AND WITH GREAT INTEREST, BUT HAS NEVER IDENTIFIED HERSELF WITH IT SINCE THOSE FIRST EARLY DAYS WHEN SHE BATTLED SO VALIANTLY FOR A CHANCE TO BE GIVEN THE TUBERCULOSIS SICK OF NEWARK.
BUT THEIR WORK HAD THOROUGHLY AROUSED PHYSICIANS AND HEALTH AUTHORITIES. PRESIDENT DR. HAROLD AND HEALTH OFFICER CHANDLER HAD THEIR LONG AWAITED OPPORTUNITY TO CARE FOR THE CONSUMPTIVES OF THE CITY AND THEY LOST NO TIME IN SETTING ABOUT IT. BUT THE OPPOSITION HAD NOT YET SUBSIDED. DESPITE THE EARLY ASSURANCE OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE OLD CITY HOME THAT THEY WOULD "GLADLY TURN THE GIRLS COTTAGE OVER TO THE CITY FOR A SANATORIUM," AND MR. GOETZS ASSURANCE "THAT THERE IS NO LEGAL OBSTRUCTION TO THE TURNING OVER OF THE BUILDINGS," THE TRUSTEES ABRUPTLY INFORMED THE BOARD OF HEALTH THAT THEY WISH TO RETAIN THEIR RIGHT TO RESUME CONTROL AT ANY TIME. BUT DR. HAROLD AND HEALTH OFFICER CHANDLER HAD NO INTENTION OF SURRENDERING THIS UNEQUALED OPPORTUNITY. WITH THE USUAL AMOUNT OF DIFFICULTY, THIS MATTER WAS ULTIMATELY ADJUSTED. YOUNG DR. EDWARD I. GLUCKMAN WAS CHOSEN AS A SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SANATORIUM. DR. GLUCKMAN HAD BUT RECENTLY COMPLETED A PERIOD OF STUDY AND PRACTICE TREATING TUBERCULOSIS UNDER DR. LARAWSON BROWN OF SARANAC LAKE, NY. YOUNG, ENTHUSIASTIC, WELL EQUIPPED FOR THE PLACE, THE CITY BOARD OF HEALTH MUST HAVE FELT THAT THEY WERE FORTUNATE IN HAVING SUCH A MAN AVAILABLE.
PREPARATIONS FOR OCCUPYING THE BUILDING WENT FORWARD, AND THE OPPOSITION LAID PLANS FOR A LAST EFFORT. THE NEWS LEAKED OUT. THE CITIZENS OF VERONA WOULD ASK FOR AN INJUNCTION TO PREVENT THE OPENING.
TO ANTICIPATE SUCH A MOVE, HEALTH OFFICER CHANDLER AND THE YOUNG SUPERINTENDENT MOVED SEVERAL PATIENTS INTO THE BUILDING DURING THE EVENING OF A GRAY NOVEMBER DAY IN 1907, WHILE AT MIDNIGHT THE TRANSFER WAS MADE AND THE NEWARK CITY SANATORIUM CAME INTO EXISTENCE.
THE NEWARK EVENING NEWS OF APRIL 30, 1908 GIVES DR. GLUCKMAN'S REPORT FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE SANATORIUMS EXISTENCE. OF THE ORIGINAL $15,000.00 APPROPRIATED THERE REMAINED $1.89. THE DEMANDS ON THE SANATORIUM WERE ALREADY SO GREAT THAT HE ASKED FOR AN APPROPRIATION SUFFICIENT TO BUILD TWO PAVILIONS. HIS WORK WAS COMMENDED, AS WELL IT MIGHT BE. DR. GLUCKMAN HAS CONTINUED TO BE AN ABLE FACTOR IN ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS WORK BOTH IN THE CITY OF NEWARK, IN ESSEX COUNTY, AND THE STATE. AND THE RECOGNITION, WHICH HE EARNED IN THOSE EARLY DAYS HAS BEEN ACCORDED HIM IN HIS CONTINUED ASSOCIATION WITH THE SANATORIUM AFTER THE COUNTY ASSUMED CONTROL. AT PRESENT HE IS PRESIDENT OF THE ADVISORY BOARD OF THE COUNTY SANATORIUM.
TWO YEARS WERE SUFFICIENT TO DEMONSTRATE THE NEED FOR, AND THE VALUE OF A SANATORIUM IN ESSEX COUNTY AND GRADUALLY TUBERCULOSIS CAME TO BE CONSIDERED A COUNTY PROBLEM. THROUGH THE ADVISE OF VARIOUS HEALTH AGENCIES AND THE STATE TUBERCULOSIS ASSOCIATION, LEGISLATION WAS SECURED OBLIGATING THE COUNTY TO PROVIDE FOR THOSE SUFFERING FROM TUBERCULOSIS DISEASE. BUT IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1917 THAT THE NEWARK BOARD OF HEALTH IN ITS REPORT FOR THE YEAR SUGGESTED THAT THE COUNTY FULFILL ITS OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE FOR THE 4,012 PERSON SUFFERING FROM TUBERCULOSIS IN THE COUNTY BY TAKING OVER THE CITY INSTITUTION AND ENLARGING IT TO MEET THE INCREASED NEED.
FREEHOLDER MATTIA INTRODUCED A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE TRANSFER. HIS RESOLUTION PASSED AND A BOARD OF MANAGERS, CONSISTING OF THREE FREEHOLDERS AND TWO PHYSICIANS, WERE APPOINTED.
THE INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC OF THAT YEAR HURRIED THE ERECTION OF TEMPORARY SHACKS, AT THE SANATORIUM AND THE COUNTY ISOLATION HOSPITAL, AND AS THE EPIDEMIC SUBSIDED THE TEMPORARY BUILDINGS AT BOTH INSTITUTIONS WERE USED FOR THE EVER ACCUMULATING NUMBER OF TUBERCULOSIS SICK DISCOVERED, FOR BY THIS TIME TUBERCULOSIS WAS A REPORTABLE DISEASE, DIAGNOSTIC AIDS WERE AVAILABLE, THE CLINIC WAS COMING INTO USE AND THE POPULATION WAS INCREASING.
THE OLD SANATORIUM IDEA THAT THE INCIPIENT CASE, OR THE CASE HAVING A SMALL AREA OF INVOLVEMENT, WAS THE ONLY CURABLE CASE WAS THE ACCEPTED PRACTICE. THE MAJORITY OF SANATORIA EXCEPTED ONLY THE "INCIPIENT CASE" FOR TREATMENT. THIS PRACTICE DETERMINED THE POLICY AND PLANS WHICH WERE ADOPTED BY THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT WHEN IT TOOK OVER THE CARE OF THE TUBERCULOSIS SICK. CHRONIC AND TERMINAL CASES WERE TO BE HOUSED AT THE COUNTY ISOLATION HOSPITAL AND THE VERONA SANATORIUM WAS TO BE ENLARGED TO PROVIDE FOR THE CURABLE OR INCIPIENT CASE. IN 1917, ELEVEN NEW BUILDINGS WERE BEGUN IN CONFORMITY WITH THIS PROGRAM. THESE BUILDINGS WERE COMPLETED AND OPENED TO PATIENTS IN 1922.
IN THE MEANTIME, A NATIONAL EVENT, WHICH WAS NOT ONLY TO COLOR THE POLITICAL FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES, BUT WAS TO HAVE A DIRECT BEARING UPON THE FUTURE OF THE VERONA SANATORIUM, HAD TAKEN PLACE. THIS WAS THE ADOPTION OF THE 19TH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION. THE WOMEN OF ESSEX COUNTY CHOSE AS THEIR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE NEW FIELD OF SERVICE OPEN TO THEM, MRS. ELIZABETH A. HARRIS OF GLEN RIDGE, WHO WAS PECULIARLY WELL FITTED FOR PUBLIC OFFICE BECAUSE OF A WIDE AND DIVERSIFIED EXPERIENCE IN SOCIAL, INSTITUTIONAL AND PHILANTHROPICAL WORK. HER SUPPORTERS SOUGHT A PLACE IN THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT FOR HER AND IN THE GENERAL ELECTION OF 1921 SHE WAS SELECTED BY THE VOTERS TO SERVE ON THE BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS, THE LOCAL GOVERNING BODY. WHEN SHE TOOK HER PLACE ON THAT BOARD IN JANUARY 1922, SHE WAS MADE CHAIRMAN OF THE VERONA COMMITTEE OF THAT BODY.
FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SANATORIUM THROUGH THE INTEREST AND SELF SACRIFICE OF TWO WOMEN, ANOTHER WOMAN WAS AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE TUBERCULOSIS SICK OF THE COUNTY.
IN ORDER TO SECURE THE NECESSARY INFORMATION THAT WOULD ENABLE HER TO DEAL INTELLIGENTLY WITH THE PROBLEMS IN WHICH SHE WAS CONFRONTED, MRS. HARRIS ASKED FOR A SURVEY OF THE COUNTY TUBERCULOSIS PROBLEM BY THE NATIONAL TUBERCULOSIS ASSOCIATION. THIS WAS MADE. THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM THAT SURVEY WERE IN CONFLICT WITH THE ORIGINAL PLANS AS TO SANATORIUM FACILITIES AND THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS PROGRAM OF THIS COUNTY.
THE DUEL MANAGEMENT OF A BOARD OF MANAGERS AND A FREEHOLDERS COMMITTEE FOR COUNTY INSTITUTIONS SEEMED CUMBERSOME AND UNNECESSARY, AND MRS. HARRIS AND HER COLLEAGUES DECIDED THAT THEIR DIRECT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WARDS OF THE COUNTY JUSTIFY THE ABOLITION OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS.
LEGISLATION TO THIS END WAS SOUGHT. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SUCH AN INNOVATION IN HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT BROUGHT BITTER OPPOSITION AND IT REQUIRED ALL THE INGENUITY OF THE COUNTY BOARD TO SECURE THE PASSAGE OF THEIR BILL. UNTIRING IN HER EFFORTS DURING THE LEGISLATIVE BATTLE, AS SOON AS IT WAS CONCLUDED AND DIRECT CONTROL OF COUNTY INSTITUTIONS ASSURED, MRS. HARRIS TURNED TO THE WORK OF SECURING THEIR EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION. IN THIS WORK SHE HAD THE ABLE COOPERATION OF HER COLLEAGUES ON THE BOARD, WHO, IN MOST PART, WERE LIKE HERSELF NEWCOMERS IN THE FIELD OF COUNTY AFFAIRS.
DEVOTING HER ENTIRE TIME TO THE MULTIPLICITY OF DUTIES INVOLVED IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE AFFAIRS OF ONE OF THE MOST POPULOUS COUNTIES IN THE STATE, LYING LARGELY IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA, HER CHIEF INTEREST, DUE TO HER POSITION AS CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE IN CHARGE OF ITS ADMINISTRATION, WAS THE VERONA SANATORIUM.
ALREADY DEMANDS FOR ADDITIONAL BEDS FOR TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS WERE BECOMING INSISTENT. RECOMMENDATIONS RESULTING FROM THE SURVEY WERE FOR A LARGER INSTITUTION AND THE CENTRALIZATION OF THE COUNTY WORK UNDER ONE HEAD. THE OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SANATORIUM HAD BECOME VACANT AND A NEW HEAD FOR THAT INSTITUTION WAS URGENTLY NEEDED.
DR. B. M. HARMAN, A GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA MEDICAL COLLEGE, WHO HAD A DIVERSIFIED EXPERIENCE IN HOSPITALS AND RELIEF WORK AND WAS HIMSELF A VICTIM OF TUBERCULOSIS, WAS CHOSEN FOR THIS POSITION.
ALTHOUGH PATIENTS HAD BEEN ADMITTED TO THE NEW BUILDINGS, THE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY BED UNIT ORIGINALLY PLANNED WAS NOT YET COMPLETE. WHILE IF ALL STAGES OF PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS WERE TO BE CARED FOR IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS, CHANGES AND ADJUSTMENTS OF BOTH THE PHYSICAL PLANT AND THE ORGANIZATION MUST BE MADE. MORE SPACE FOR THE LARGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NEEDED TO CARE FOR BED CASES WAS THE MOST URGENT NEED AND PLANS WERE IMMEDIATELY GOT UNDER WAY TO PROVIDE THIS. CLINICS WERE OPENED IN VARIOUS COMMUNITIES OF THE COUNTY TO PROVIDE DIAGNOSTIC AND FOLLOW-UP FACILITIES. IN 1925 THE LAST OF THE TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS WERE BROUGHT FROM THE ISOLATION HOSPITAL TO THE SANATORIUM AND THE CENTRALIZATION OF THE COUNTY TUBERCULOSIS WORK WAS COMPLETE.
IN 1926 THE TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY BED UNIT WAS COMPLETED, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FACILITIES FOR THE MEDICAL STAFF, AND THE QUESTION OF ADDITIONAL BEDS COULD BE CONSIDERED.
THE REQUESTS COMING FROM VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS WERE FOR 100 ADDITIONAL BEDS. MRS. HARRIS POINTED OUT THAT THESE ADDITIONAL BEDS WOULD, OF NECESSITY, NEED TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN EXPANSION OF SERVICE FACILITIES, SUCH AS KITCHEN, LAUNDRY AND HOUSING FOR EMPLOYEES. CONSIDERATION MUST ALSO BE GIVEN TO THE CHRONIC CASES AND TO TUBERCULOSIS CHILDREN.
SHE HAD LEARNED EARLY IN HER COUNTY WORK OF THE TUBERCULOSIS CHILDREN FOR WHOM THE COUNTY HAD MADE NO PROVISION, AND HAD SECURED FROM HER BOARD AN APPROPRIATION FOR THEIR MAINTENANCE IN A PRIVATE INSTITUTION. THROUGH HER EFFORTS, AN AUTHORITY ON SANATORIUM CONSTRUCTION WAS CALLED IN TO PREPARE PLANS FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE SANATORIUM TO MEET THESE NEEDS. MR. T.B. KIDNER, RECOMMENDED BY DR. S.S. GOLDWATER, AN INTERNATIONAL AUTHORITY ON HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION, DREW PLANS FOR THE NEW ADDITION.
BEFORE THESE PLANS COULD BE FULLY CARRIED INTO EFFECT, IN JANUARY 1930, MRS. HARRIS WAS RELIEVED OF THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE AND WHEN THE NEW UNIT WAS OPENED LATE IN 1930, MANY OF THE FEATURES WHOSE ADOPTION SHE HAD URGED WERE MISSING.
HOWEVER, TO HER UNFLAGGING ZEAL IN THEIR SERVICE AND UNERRING VISION OF THEIR NEEDS, THE COUNTY'S TUBERCULOSIS SICK OWE MANY OF THE ADVANTAGES WHICH ARE THEIRS TODAY. THE BEAUTIFUL CHAPEL AND THE COMMUNITY BUILDING IN WHICH IT IS HOUSED WAS ONE OF HER MOST CHERISHED PROJECTS. SHE FOSTERED OUR SANATORIUM MAGAZINE FROM ITS EARLIEST DAYS AND CONTINUES HER INTEREST IN ITS WELFARE. WHILE SHE WAS CHAIRMAN OF THE SANATORIUM COMMITTEE, SHE KNEW THE PATIENTS AND GAVE THEM INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION, AS WELL AS CONCERNING HERSELF WITH THEIR GENERAL WELFARE. IN THE MANY VICISSITUDES OF THE INSTITUTION, SHE HAS NEVER LOST SIGHT OF THE CHIEF OBJECTIVE OF A WELL COORDINATED PROGRAM - EFFECTIVE SERVICE TO THE TUBERCULOSIS SICK.
FOUR YEARS AFTER MRS. HARRIS WAS RELIEVED OF THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE SANATORIUM, ANOTHER WOMAN WAS ELECTED TO THE BOARD OF FREEHOLDERS AND CHARGED WITH THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE VERONA SANATORIUM COMMITTEE.
MRS. EDITH HYDE COLBY OF LLEWLLYN PARK, WEST ORANGE HAD BEEN INTERESTED FOR MANY YEARS IN PUBLIC WELFARE. HER HUSBAND'S DISTINGUISHED CAREER, BOTH IN STATE AND NATIONAL POLITICS, OWED MUCH TO HER SYMPATHY, UNDERSTANDING AND AID. SHE HAD WILLINGLY RESPONDED TO THE INNUMERABLE CALLS UPON HER FOR VOLUNTEER PUBLIC SERVICE AND HAD BEEN ONE OF THE MOST ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE MOVEMENT THAT RESULTED IN THE 19TH AMENDMENT.
THIS WAS HER FIRST OFFICIAL POSITION, HOWEVER, AND HER INTEREST IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE SANATORIUM AND IN THE ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS PROGRAM WAS ESPECIALLY KEEN BECAUSE OF HER PAST SERVICE TO THE COUNTY.
UNDER HER CHAIRMANSHIP THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SANATORIUM CONTINUED. FURTHER PROVISIONS FOR BED PATIENTS WERE NEEDED AND IN 1936, 24 BEDS WERE ADDED TO THE SANATORIUM CAPACITY BY CONVERTING THE SUN ROOMS OF THE HOSPITAL BUILDING INTO WARDS.
MRS. COLBY FORESEEING THE GROWTH OF THE COUNTY POPULATION AND THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FACILITIES WHICH MIGHT BE EXPECTED FROM THE INTENSIVE CAMPAIGN FOR DISCOVERY OF EARLY TUBERCULOSIS BY THE VARIOUS HEALTH SERVICES, HAD, BY 1937, PROVIDED A PRACTICAL AND COMPLETE PROGRAM FOR THE NECESSARY EXPANSION TO COVER A PERIOD OF TEN AND TWENTY YEARS.
SURGICAL PROCEDURES HAD BECOME AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE SANATORIUM TREATMENT FOR TUBERCULOSIS, AND AS THE CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY THE VISITING SURGICAL CONSULTANT WERE MAKING HEAVY INROADS UPON HIS TIME, A RESIDENT SURGEON WAS ADDED TO THE STAFF. WITH THE RECOMMENDATION OF DR. DIEFFENBACH, THE SURGICAL CONSULTANT AND A MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY AND CONSULTANT STAFF, DR. ANTHONY CRECCA WAS CHOSEN AND RECEIVED THE APPOINTMENT IN 1937.
THE SOCIAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT HAD BECOME SOMEWHAT DISORGANIZED WHILE AWAITING THE APPEARANCE OF A SUITABLE DIRECTOR. MRS. COLBY WAS ABLE TO SECURE THE SERVICES OF MISS MARY SMITH, WHO CAME TO THE SANATORIUM IN 1937 AND WHO HAS ORGANIZED THIS WORK SO THAT IT IS SERVING THE SANATORIUM AND THE COMMUNITY WITH GREAT EFFECTIVENESS. AGITATION BY THE NATIONAL TUBERCULOSIS ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATIONAL UNIT IN THE SANATORIUM RESULTED IN THE FOUNDING OF THE SANATORIUM SCHOOL IN 1937.
IN ADDITION TO THESE SERVICES TO THE INSTITUTION AS PART OF HER OFFICIAL DUTY, MRS. COLBY HAS INTERESTED HERSELF IN MANY OF THE INDIVIDUAL PROBLEMS OF THE PATIENTS.
THROUGH HER EFFORTS AN ORGAN WAS ACQUIRED FOR THE CHAPEL AND A RADIO FOR THE PATIENT'S DINING ROOM. WITH TRULY FEMININE THOROUGHNESS SHE HAS ALSO CONCERNED HERSELF WITH THE REDECORATION OF SUN ROOMS, SITTING ROOMS, DINING ROOMS AND THE LIKE, AND HAS CONTRIBUTED PICTURES FROM HER OWN COLLECTION FOR VARIOUS WALL SPACES WHERE THEY WOULD BE MOST EFFECTIVE.
ONE WALL OF THE DINING ROOM FOR AMBULANT PATIENTS SEEMED ESPECIALLY BARE AND UNINTERESTING, BECAUSE OF ITS SIZE AND THE FACT THAT IT WAS UNBROKEN BY WINDOWS. THE PROBLEM OF DECORATING THIS WALL SEEMED INSOLVABLE UNTIL MRS. COLBY THOUGHT OF THE W.P.A. ARTIST PROJECT AND THE FACT THAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR WORK. FROM THE COMPETITIVE DESIGNS SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF FREEHOLDERS, MR. MICHAEL LENSON WAS THE ARTIST CHOSEN, AND THE RESULTING MURAL HAS NOT MERELY ADDED TO THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE DINING ROOM, BUT HAS GIVEN INTO THE CARE OF THE INSTITUTION ONE OF THE BEST WORKS OF OUR MODERN PAINTERS. IT IS VERY PROBABLE THAT THE VALUE OF THIS PAINTING WILL INCREASE WITH THE YEARS.
THE WOMEN OF ESSEX COUNTY MAY WELL POINT TO THE ESSEX MOUNTAIN SANATORIUM AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE CONTRIBUTION TO THE PUBLIC WELFARE WITHIN THE GIFT OF WOMEN. THAT THERE WOULD OF BEEN AN ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS PROGRAM EVOLVED WITHIN THE COUNTY IS NOT TO BE QUESTIONED. THAT A SANATORIUM WOULD OF BEEN PART OF THIS PROGRAM MAY ALSO BE ACCEPTED AS A CERTAINTY. BUT THE FACT REMAINS THAT IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE ANTI-TUBERCULOSIS PROGRAM IN ESSEX COUNTY, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SANATORIUM, FOUR WOMEN HAVE PLAYED A MAJOR PART.
FROM "THE BUZZER" NOVEMBER 1943