The Construction of Hospitals for the Insane

PART I.

* Chapters 1 - 10

Chapter I
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Chapter II
DEFINITIONS OF INSANITY
Chapter III
FREQUENCY OF INSANITY
Chapter IV
CURABILITY OF INSANITY
Chapter V
ECONOMY OF CURING INSANITY
Chapter VI
HOSPITALS THE BEST PLACES FOR TREATMENT
Chapter VII
DIFFERENT CLASSES OF HOSPITALS FOR THE INSANE
Chapter VIII
STATE PROVISION TO BE FOR ALL CLASSES
Chapter IX
THE ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENTS OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS FOR THE INSANE
Chapter X
FIRST STEPS TO SECURE A HOSPITAL

* Chapters 11 - 20

Chapter XI
FORM OF LAW FOR ESTABLISHING A HOSPITAL
Chapter XII
BUILDING COMMISSIONS
Chapter XIII
SELECTION OF A SITE
Chapter XIV
AMOUNT OF LAND
Chapter XV
SUPPLY OF WATER
Chapter XVI
DRAINAGE
Chapter XVII
ENCLOSURES
Chapter XVIII
PATIENTS' YARDS
Chapter XIX
IMPORTANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL ARRANGEMENTS
Chapter XX
CHARACTER OF PROPOSED PLANS

* Chapters 21 - 30

Chapter XXI
SIZE OF BUILDINGS AND NUMBER OF PATIENTS
Chapter XXII
POSITION, AND GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS OF THE BUILDING
Chapter XXIII
FORM OF BUILDING
Chapter XXIV
HEIGHT OF HOSPITALS
Chapter XXV
TEMPORARY OR WOODEN STRUCTURES
Chapter XXVI
NUMBER OF PATIENTS IN A WARD
Chapter XXVII
NATURAL VENTILATION
Chapter XXVIII
CELLARS
Chapter XXIX
MATERIALS OF WALLS
Chapter XXX
PLASTERING

* Chapters 31 - 40

Chapter XXXI
SECURITY FROM FIRE IN CONSTRUCTION
Chapter XXXII
ROOFS
Chapter XXXIII
SIZE OF ROOMS AND HEIGHT OF CEILINGS
Chapter XXXIV
FLOORS
Chapter XXXV
DOORS
Chapter XXXVI
LOCKS
Chapter XXXVII
WINDOWS AND WINDOW GUARDS
Chapter XXXVIII
INSIDE WINDOW SCREENS
Chapter XXXIX
STAIRS
Chapter XL
ASSOCIATED DORMITORIES

* Chapters 41 - 50

Chapter XLI
INFIRMARY WARDS
Chapter XLII
BATH ROOMS
Chapter XLIII
WATER CLOSETS
Chapter XLIV
WARD DRYING ROOMS
Chapter XLV
WATER PIPES
Chapter XLVI
DUST FLUES AND SOILED CLOTHES HOPPERS
Chapter XLVII
KITCHENS AND SCULLERIES
Chapter XLVIII
DUMB WAITERS AND DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD
Chapter XLIX
RAILROAD
Chapter L
HEATING AND VENTILATION

* Chapters 51 - 60

Chapter LI
AXIOMS ON HEATING AND VENTILATION
Chapter LII
HOT AIR AND VENTILATING FLUES
Chapter LIII
LIGHTING
Chapter LIV
PATIENTS' WORK ROOMS
Chapter LV
GENERAL COLLECTION ROOM
Chapter LVI
WASHING, DRYING, IRONING, AND BAKING
Chapter LVII
FARM BUILDINGS
Chapter LVIII
COST OF HOSPITALS FOR THE INSANE
Chapter LIX
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES
Chapter LX
DESCRIPTION OF THE FRONTISPIECE AND ITS GROUND PLAN

More to come...

CHAPTER XV
SUPPLY OF WATER.

AN abundant supply of good water is one of the necessaries of every hospital, and should be secured whatever may be the cost or trouble required to effect it. Any doubt about the amplest supply of water and facilities for drainage, should be fatal to any site proposed for a hospital. The very extensive use of baths, which is among the most important means of treatment, the large number of water-closets that are indispensable in the wards, the great amount of washing that is to be done, as well as the various other arrangements requiring a free use of water, and above all, the large quantity needed for extinguishing fire, in case such an accident should occur, make it of the utmost importance that the supply should be permanent and of the most liberal kind.

The daily consumption of water for all purposes in an institution for two hundred and fifty patients, will not be much less than fifty thousand gallons, and tanks or reservoirs to contain considerably more than this amount, should be placed in the dome or highest part of the building, or on some contiguous point of the grounds.

Nothing less than one hundred thousand gallons a day should be considered sufficient for the possible wants of such an institution. Special care is to be taken to reject streams that fail in dry seasons, or have sources of impurity connected with them.

When a sufficient elevation can be met with to carry the water to the tanks by gravity, nothing can be better; or a steady water-power is both convenient and economical; but so few sites are found having either of these advantages, combined with the other requisites for such an institution, and as steam and a steam-engine are always needed on various other accounts, it is safe to say that these are the best reliance in most locations for raising water to a proper height. The water should be distributed to every part of the building, and arrangements should be made to furnish a full supply, both hot and cold, to every ward and in every section of the house. One or two wells near the building, for furnishing drinking water, will be desirable, and a large cistern outside of the hospital building should be provided, to secure an abundant supply in case of fire. So important is the supply of water about a hospital—even its heating being dependent on it—that there should always be a duplication of the means required to secure it, to meet possible emergencies. While waste of water, as of everything else is to be avoided, its use for all purposes should be unrestricted.

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