With the dawn of a new decade, Americans listened to radio broadcasts
reporting on the war that raged throughout Europe and Asia. While Germany attacked
England, Western Europe and Russia, Japan suddenly challenged the United States by bombing
Pearl Habor. The American public was stunned by the event and the following words of
President Roosevelt:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941--a date which will live in infamy--the
United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of
the Empire of Japan... Very many American lives have been lost. Always will our whole
nation remember the character of the onslaught against us...No matter how long it may take
to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will
win through an absolute victory. We will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but
will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. We
will gain the inevitable triumph-so help us God. I ask that the Congress declare...a state
of war.
Across the country citizens responded to the national call. Men and
women enlisted in the armed services; others went to work in factories to support the war
effort. For Windham Hospital these times meant severe shortages of physicians, nurses and
other employees.
The 17-man medical staff suffered the temporary loss of Drs.
Ottenheimer, Roch, Shea and Vernon, as well as Dr. Fox from the dental staff, all of whom
were involved in the war. Dr. Vernon was reported missing in action in 1942. Later,
hospital staff heard that he had become a prisoner of war. Dr. Ottenheimer spent two years
as Chief of Surgery at a hospital in the South Pacific. Dr. Shea spent time in Okinawa and
India. He contracted malaria and later died at Windham Hospital.
The remaining medical staff members were left to care for a growing
community. The American Thread Company had expanded and a Pratt-Whitney plant (now the
Brand Rex Corporation) opened on Route 32.
In reviewing the years 1940-1945 it is apparent that the war curbed
hospital growth, service and community outreach. Lack of materials and food rationing
added to the burden of maintaining service. The order of the day became one of survival in
the midst of financial, labor and material shortages.
Members of the Auxiliary deserve special recognition for their efforts
during these trying times. Gas rationing and other war related concerns prevented them
from continuing the Easter Monday Ball and other annual fund raising events. Instead, the
women gave their time and labor to the hospital. The Auxiliary Cutting and Sewing
Committee turned out thousands of garments, dressings and other supplies each year. In
1945, under the leadership of Mrs. Frank Bugbee, Mrs. Raymond Parker and Mrs. G. Donald
Bartlett, a brigade of Auxiliary volunteers was mobilized to assist in the kitchen. By now
over 300 meals were served daily. Statistics from 1945 indicate that 5,585 special diets
were prepared. In addition to kitchen work and their sewing efforts, Auxiliary members
volunteered for office work and assisted on the patient floors, as well.
The critical nursing shortage was eased, in part, by private duty
nurses. Additional relief was provided by trained attendant programs sponsored by the
state and federal governments, the Red Cross nurse aide program and the prudent use of
volunteers. A bright spot for the nurses who remained came on May 1, 1942--the 8-hour work
day arrived!
Construction of a nurses' home was a primary concern of the times. The
importance of a nurses' residence on campus was twofold: nurses needed to be closer to the
hospital for convenience and security; and adequate housing would allow the Hospital to
attract more nurses from outside the immediate area. Fortunately, the Mason endowment of
$220,000 would make this project possible.
A committee, formed to act upon the bequest of Mrs. Mason, held its
first meeting on January 22, 1940. Plans were approved by June of that year.
Groundbreaking occurred on May 12, 1941, during National Hospital Week On May 12th the
following year, the Mason Home was dedicated and opened for residence on May 20, 1942. A
tunnel connecting the Mason Home and the hospital was built about the same time with money
raised during a budget campaign and another special fund raising event. The Mason Home was
used as a nurses' residence for almost 40 years. Before its demolition, it housed various
community social service programs and a child care center.
Despite the hardships of the times, some new developments occurred. In
December, 1941 the hospital, the Police Department and the Fire Department formulated a
disaster plan which included the establishment of emergency facilities in Willimantic and
surrounding towns. Also during this year, a state-sponsored traveling mental health clinic
provided service, in association with Windham Hospital.
Wartime shortages of x-ray film necessitated careful radiology
utilization. The medical staff reviewed orders, determining the need for examinations.
Even with this degree of scrutiny, the 1942 statistics cite: exams - 1,659; treatments -
434; and basal metabolisms -21.
Treatments were on the increase; Dr. Kinney attributed this to "an
aging population." Barbara Taylor was assigned as the first full-time technician, and
a mobile x-ray machine was obtained for use at the bedside to assure "safety and
efficiency."
The previous year, Dr. Kinney had alerted the Board to a need for new
equipment. In the fall of 1942,
a committee chaired by Leroy Schroeyer appealed for funds to a limited
group of hospital friends. One hundred forty-one community members donated over $21,000.
Obsolete equipment was replaced with new radiographic equipment, a therapy machine, a
cystoscopy unit and a modern darkroom. Examinations increased 40% in 1943 to a new high of
2,313.
Laboratory Services experienced a 60% increase in workload, requiring
the employment of a full time lab technician. Windham now had the capacity to perform
bacteriological work; newly acquired equipment consisted of a Spencer microtone and
apparatus, modern filing units for slides, and a Leitz-Mass photoelectric colorimeter.
In February, 1942 a hospital blood bank opened in cooperation with the
Willimantic chapter of the American Red Cross, and the Laboratory established a pathology
service with equipment for examining frozen specimens. Supervision was provided by Robert
Tennant, M.D. who spent two days each week at the hospital performing autopsies and
providing consultation to the medical staff.
In 1943, an elective surgical waiting list was referred to for the first
time. During the war years, Edward Basden, M.D. and George Carter, M.D., both general
practitioners, provided anesthesia coverage. The agents employed at the time were nitrous
oxide and ether, administered by the cone drip method with a gauze mask, requiring no
special training.
In 1942, the hospital archives note a gift of a "gas machine"
(nicknamed because of the gases used in anesthesia) to the emergency room by Dr.
Ottenheimer.
In many ways, 1945 was a memorable year. It was marked first by sorrow
over the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt and later by the joy of victory and the end of the
war. Return to normalcy became the theme as troops returned home.
Locally, so many things had been held in check during the war that by
1946 the need for improved hospital service was very apparent. The public now expected
that medical innovations developed during the war would find application at home. The
medical staff and administration were eager to move forward and the Trustees were ready to
provide the leadership that would make progress evident.
Windham became one of five hospitals in Connecticut to provide full-time
anesthesiology service. This was made possible with the arrival of a highly regarded
Hartford physician, Conrad Baker, M.D. on May 15, 1946. The American Board of
Anesthesiologists, Inc., created for the purpose of establishing standards of practice in
anesthesia, received its charter in June, 1937. Dr. Baker's first mission was to implement
these standards and to upgrade the anesthesia service at Windham.
Dr. Baker's enthusiasm is reflected in his first report of May, 1947
which reads: "With the termination of the war and return to civilian life of the
physicians whose absence has placed such a heavy burden on those who remained at home,
Windham Community Memorial Hospital looks forward to a future of growth and
progress."
Under the newly organized service, equipment was purchased to meet the
demands of the hospital for oxygen therapy. Hours of individualized instruction on the use
of new equipment were given and movies of oxygen therapy procedures were shown to staff
physicians and nurses.
In 1948, Dr. Baker reports: "Oxygen therapy is now well provided
for by the arrival of an electrically cooled oxygen tent. Delivery of a second similar
tent has been promised for the near future. Other types of oxygen administration finds us
with a good supply of several types of masks, incubators for infants and improvised
open-top tents fbr small children." Regarding other activity in anesthesia, he
continues: "The following methods have been used singly or in various
combinations: inhalation, intravenous, spinal, single dose or continuous, regional and
block. While no particularly new agents have been added to the anesthesia armamentarium
during the year, an effort has been made to develop and perfect techniques to suit
individual physicians, obstetricians and dentists. The aim has been to produce the best
possible conditions for satisfying the requirements of the operator while retaining
maximum safety of the patient."
In response to increasing pressure to provide 24 hour coverage, new
staff physicians with experience in this specialty assisted Dr. Baker. Operating Room
schedules for elective surgery were developed to optimize the use of everyone's time.
Unfortunately, Dr. Baker died on November 13, 1948 of interstitial
pneumonitis. The hospital community was saddened by the loss of friend, physician, and
leader. Sawyer E. Medbury, M.D. was appointed to replace Dr. Baker. Shortly after the
beginning of his tenure, the medical staff approved, by vote, the departmental status of
Anesthesiology.
Radiology continued to grow. A training program, consisting entirely of
on-the-job instruction, graduated its first student, Mary Laneri. X-ray treatments reached
768, a new peak in 1945. Windham received a set of intracavity treatment cones which were
used for the treatment of malignant diseases. A well-known, long term employee, George
Farley, was hired as a radiology technician and the services of a second part-time
radiologist, Richard V. Newcombe, M.D., were secured. A sharp increase in the number of
examinations created the need for a second machine, table and air conditioning.
In 1945, the demand for admission exceeded bed capacity and there was a
long list of elective surgical cases that had to be postponed. Superintendent Sweeney
reported that "80% of patients admitted were acutely ill and required intensive
care."
The years following the war were filled with reports of nursing
shortages. Unfortunately, the trained attendant program was discontinued in the fall of
1948 due to the lack of proper educational facilities. In 1948-1949, the shortage was so
acute that the hospital began to recruit and employ married nurses, allow flexible
schedules and even permit part-time employment. As patient rooms were closed for lack of
nursing staff, only the return of the older retired registered nurses and the help of
volunteer aides kept entire wards from being shut down.
During the post war inflation period, hospital costs rose significantly.
In 1947, raw food costs reached a new high of $0.69 per day. Windham hired its first
baker, providing patients and employees with a large variety of pastry items and desserts.
The pace in the dietary department picked up as the hospital became a growing community
institution. Miss Moxon continued to oversee the department which, by 1949, was serving
6,771 special diets annually.
During the war years, physical therapy activity stabilized at around
2,500 treatments per year. When Dr. Roch left for military duty, the position of medical
director was first assumed by Dr. Riordan and later delegated to Mervyn Little, M.D. Dr.
Little remained in this position until the return of Dr. Roch in 1951.
Lillian Brown, R.N. had succeeded Dorothy Flynn, R.N. as Physical
Therapy technician in 1939. Physical Therapy was emerging as an independent discipline
that required specialized education. In 1944 and 1945, the hospital sent Miss Brown to the
Mayo Clinic School of Physical Therapy for nine months training and then to Boston City
Hospital. Also, during this time several new pieces of equipment were acquired. The
enthusiasm of those in this department may be summed up in this statement found in their
annual report: "We are now equipped and ready for all types of work."
In addition to overseeing the physical therapy department, Dr. Riordan
was Chief of Obstetrics, replacing Dr. Jenkins upon his death in 1943. With the sudden and
unfortunate death of Dr. Riordan in October, 1948, Dr. Spector became Chief of Obstetrics,
remaining until 1964. As noted previously, upon the urging of Dr. Ottenheimer, Dr. Spector
sought special training in obstetrics and gynecology in Vienna, Austria. Upon his return
to Willimantic, he restricted his practice to this medical specialty. Obstetrics was a
busy area. In 1945, 415 infants were born at Windham Hospital; by 1949, that number had
increased to 536 births.
By the mid-40's, the medical staff was undergoing many changes. Some
physicians had returned from the war, but the ranks were diminished by untimely deaths.
Dr. Shea served in the military and, while he was on leave from the army, died
unexpectedly from malaria on November 6, 1945.
A number of new physicians joined the Windham staff shortly after World
War II. Among them were Mervyn Little, M.D., William Maurer, M.D. and Bruce Valentine,
M.D., as well as Drs. Leary, Ramur and Welt. James Anderson, M.D. and Winston Hainsworth,
M.D. established the first pediatric practices in the Willimantic area. Olga Little, M.D.
arrived as Windham's first full-time psychiatrist. Additional dentists were accepted to
the courtesy staff. Orthopaedic surgery, was provided locally by several Hartford-based
surgeons. Prominent among these was Walter Butterfield, M.D.
In 1948, the Yale University School of Medicine selected Windham
Hospital as an affiliate for a preceptorship in surgery. This was the beginning of a
surgical residency program that was to last over 35 years. Implemented by James Major,
M.D., the surgical residency program was a symbiotic relationship between Windham Hospital
and Yale. Yale residents universally selected this rotation through Windham Hospital as
one of the most valuable in their training.
In the late 40's, electronic dictating equipment was installed in the
hospital to provide physicians with a convenient, effective method to assure completion of
medical records. At the same time, the medical staff had added tumor clinic discussions,
Monday morning diagnostic conferences, clinical pathological conferences, autopsy reviews
and the Journal Club to their medical education and peer review efforts.
Activity in the laboratory increased steadily. In 1948, the number of
pathological specimens rose to 520 and additional pathologist's time was required. Tests
reached 11,071 that year. The blood bank now stored plasma, as well as whole blood. New
procedures for Rh factor determination and prothrombin time were introduced. This
increased workload in the laboratory demanded additional space.
Dr. Ottenheimer, President of the Medical Staff, called attention to
increased activity throughout the entire hospital and the critical shortage of beds.
Superintendent Sweeney was acutely aware of the need to expand and so advised the Board.
In 1948, a public fund campaign was conducted to raise the money necessary to build the
west wing addition.
It is worth noting that in the 1940's many hospitals continued to rely
upon benefactors and the annual appeal to cover operating deficits, as well as to fund
expansion programs. A sense of responsibility between hospital and community was shared.
When earlier hospital reports are reviewed, names of those making
significant contributions include Mason, Bugbee, Turner, Alpaugh, Hobson, King, Vanderman,
Buchanan, Carey, Edwards, Hartson, Abbe and, of course, more recently, Greer, Hatch and
Shea. The generosity of these and hundreds of other individuals have made expansion of the
hospital possible.
A long time supporter of Windham Hospital and former employee, Arlene
Sayers, joined the staff in 1943, succeeding Ruth Carey as bookkeeper. In 1948, Miss
Sayers became Chief Accountant and Office Manager. Two other positions of cashier and
accountant were filled by Virginia Weiss and Ruth Locke.
In 1943, the cost per patient day was $5.73. Sources of revenue changed
as health insurance, soon to be known as Blue Cross, developed and as the State agreed to
pay $4.00 per day for care of the indigent, instead of $8.00 per week.
Throughout the 1940's progress was made on internal and external repairs
of the building and grounds. 1940 saw an enlarged and paved entrance area for the
emergency room and completion of the hospital lawns. In 1942, a program of repainting and
drapery replacement was implemented, both boilers were relined, the pumping system was
completely overhauled, floodlights were installed in the parking area and the roadway was
rebuilt at the main entrance to Mansfield Avenue. In 1944, a new walkway, five feet wide
with brick curb and gutter, extending from the street to the main hospital entrance, was
built. In the reports of 1945 it is noted: "a rigid conduit electric system was
installed for ground liggting", From 1945 forward, a great deal of attention was
placed on roadways, parking, lighting and landscaping, as well as repair and modernization
of mechanical lines and equipment. The Grounds Committee, a committee of the Board, was
responsible for all of these initiatives.
However, the pressure for beds and space for growing departments
remained a key issue that could no longer be deferred. President Albert Waugh alerted the
Board to the need for expansion, referring to crowded conditions, use of solariums as
patient rooms and a continuous long waiting list for elective surgery In 1949, the Board
of Trustees voted to build two additions and named a Building Committee. Members included
James and Gilbert Williams, Mrs. Phoebie Parker, Stanley Sumner and Mr. Sweeney, who
served as Clerk of the Works and Secretary.
STATISTICS
|
1949
|
| ADMISSIONS |
3,287 |
| PATIENT DAYS OF CARE |
21,269 |
| LENGTH OF HOSPITAL STAY (days) |
6.3 |
| BIRTHS |
536 |
| OPERATIONS |
3,572 |
| EMERGENCY ROOM VISITS |
1,659 |
|
