150 Years of Caring
[Editor’s Note: Originally the
Lowell Corporation Hospital was established in 1839. In
1930 the deed was transferred to the Archdiocese of
In 1839
The high incidence of illness and injury
to mill operatives became a major public issue. It
became obvious that a facility for the health care of the mill operatives was necessary
for the continued well-being of the community, so the manufacturing corporations banded
together “to establish and maintain a hospital for the convenience and comfort of
persons employed by them when sick for medical care, surgical treatment and to contribute
the funds necessary for that purpose.”
Thus, on
It officially opened its doors on
Charges for care, three dollars a week for
women, four dollars for men, were paid by the operatives.
If they were unable to pay the superintendent, then the mills for which they
worked would reimburse the Corporations. No
patient was turned away for lack of funds.
The hospital was managed by an appointed
medical superintendent who was in turn answerable to a board of trustees, which consisted
of representatives from each of the manufacturing companies.
In addition to his managerial duties, the superintendent was also the
hospital’s head surgeon. In order to
facilitate his work, he lived on the premises in quarters segregated from those of the
patients.
The first medical superintendent of the
Also in 1840, a 15-bed children’s
ward was opened, the first such facility in
In his report to Hospital Trustees
covering the first nine years of operation, Dr. Kimball recorded that more than half of
all admissions were diagnosed as typhoid fever; that there were only four months in the
nine-year period when no typhoid cases were admitted.
Dr. Kimball writes, “Typhoid fever is the most constant, the most
prevalent and the most important disease…. From this cause more deaths occur than
from all other maladies coming under Hospital treatment.”
The patient’s average stay in the
Hospital was 14 days. The beginnings of
private rooms are hinted at: “The
wards are small, never more than five beds, seldom more than four. In extreme cases an entire ward is appropriated to
a single patient and in no instance is a patient allowed to witness a death. Indeed, everything which may be supposed to operate
injuriously on the mind or the senses is most studiously avoided.”
An out-patient department was opened in
June 1877, not only for Corporation employees, but also for the poor of the city. On
A training school for nurses was
established in September 1887 with a course of instruction similar to that in the best
hospitals of the larger cities.
As the 19th century drew near
to a close, another noteworthy “first” occurred.
In 1891, Sara A. Williams, M.D., became the first woman physician appointed
to the Staff of the
An ear, nose and throat clinic opened in
1910. By 1911, medical and surgical clinics
went into operation and the laboratory was completed.
Two years later the hospital bought its first X-ray machine, and in 1919 a
pathology department was founded. A first-aid
room for outpatient use and a prenatal clinic were instituted in 1921, and in 1925 saw the
opening of an orthopedic clinic and brought the first five radium needle implants to the
hospital for treatment.
By then, however, the mills had fallen on
bad times. They had been hard-pressed by the
Civil War, and in the following decades many had sought cheaper labor ad more efficient
geographical areas for manufacturing outside of
Saint Joseph
Beginning in 1927 and continuing through
1930, the Corporation made several unsuccessful attempts to sell the hospital to the
Franco-American Oblates, who had been petitioning the Archdiocese of Boston for a hospital
for their community. The Cardinal continually
refused to sanction the acquisition of the hospital because its purchase price of $85,000
(the hospital’s deficit) was too high.
Undaunted, Father Louis Bachand, Pastor of
ST. Joseph’s Parish, was determined to acquire the hospital. With Joseph Legare
acting as a liaison between the Oblates and the Corporation and Arthur Eno handling the
legal aspects, ten days of negotiations ensued. As
a result, on
As the
The first Superior of Saint Joseph’s
Hospital was Sr. St. Alphonse Rodriguez, who had been Superior of Notre Dame Hospital in
At
Another cool reception was given by the
medical superintendent of the hospital, until Sr. Alphonse assured him they had no
intention of removing him from his position, but would like him to remain and assist them
in the transition. She thus obtained his
cooperation and loyalty.
On November 15th, St. Alphonse
met with all the graduate nurses and students to assure them that they were to be retained
in their positions. The superintendent of
nurses had recommended that they leave because the Sisters did not want them; and they
were please to know this was not the case. They
were also assured by Sr. Alphonse that
Having secured the cooperation of the
hospital superintendent and nursing staff, Sr. Alphonse and her staff set about the
arduous work of cleaning, painting, and revitalizing the deteriorated hospital.
Under Sister Alphonse’s prudent
direction, economies were practiced diligently. Note
was taken of food left unconsumed as well as consumed by the patients, the better to plan
menus. Electric lights of unneeded strength
were replaced with smaller bulbs to conserve energy expense.
Free bricks from a torn-down mill building were used to build a boiler
plant. Cleaning, painting, and a general
face-lifting of the facility were done during the first weeks. Thanks to the untiring devotion of the Sisters,
marvels were accomplished in a short time.
The Hospital was blessed by William
Cardinal O’Connell and renamed
In a report titled: “Sincerity-Simplicity-Service” covering
the Hospitals first full year of operation, the following statistics were recorded:
2,024 patients admitted
182 maternity cases
1,168 operations
17,413 out-patient visits
Also significant in first-year statistics,
and consistent with Christian charity, were:
6,743
meals given to the poor
10,339 out-patient treatments at hospital
expense
526 operations
performed at no expense to the patients
The report placed a dollar value of over
$57,000 as the cost of providing these charities!
Other first year accomplishments included a myriad of activities involving renovating and repairing the building exterior, as well as constructing an addition to the main building and beautifying the grounds.
In 1992,