The Organization, Construction and Management of Hospitals (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1907 edition. Excerpt: ...with signal lamps or targets indicating the room or ward from which the call is sent. An auxiliary annunciator could be placed in the Superintendent's office showing all the rooms and wards in the hospital as described above. If the hospital is built on other than the straightaway plan--namely, -those of U-shaped plan, ill which there are cross corridors--there can be more than one station for nurses, and in such a case there would be an annunciator in each nurse's room. Roth of these annunciators would be so arranged that by the turning of a switch the entire signal system could be switched to one board or the other, so that all of the patients could be taken care of from one station when the calls are but few, as at night. The objection to this is the same as in the ordinary annunciator system--namely, that the more or less delicate and intricate apparatus is liable to get out of order. Bells.--The number of bells and their location depend'wholly upon the wishes of the authorities, and no rules can be set down for this part of the electric work. Under any circumstance there should be a push at the main entrance, connecting with a bell in the nearest room, which is used day and night. This would probably be the diet kitchen nearest to same. Another bell connected to the front door push, and ringing at the same time as the main bell, should be placed in the matron's or the Superintendent's room, or in both, with a small cut-out switch on each. The bells should be of good make with platinum points, and should have a sharp, full ring, but they should be of such a size that the ringing does not disturb patients in the hospital, eas all such bells are used more f recently at night when the doors of the hospital are locked than during the day....