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Newspaper Page Text
A VISIT TO THE ALCOHOLIC HOSPITAL AT THE BRIDEWELL "BRAINS ARE MADE NEW" BY JANE WHITAKER Dr. Sceleth had shown me through the Sceleth Hospital for alcoholics in the House of Correction. He had pointed out to me in each ward the different conditions of the patients, and now we stood in the corridor be fore a table where, under a glass, were typewritten directions for treat ment of tne various stages of alcohol ism. ' "You can see by these directions that we have no 'secret' treatment," Dr. Sceleth said, in answer to my query why the Tribune, which had lauded the Sceleth Hospital and its work a few months ago, was now in sinuating that its treatment was. re sponsible for the death of three pa tients. "We are the only hospital treating alcoholic patients' the doctor con tinued, "and very few of these pa tients come here who have not some complication in connection with al coholism. ,One of the men who died had pneumonia. "Our mortality rate has been lower than the mortality rate of other phy sicians treating these cases. We have felt very proud of our, work!. We do not pretend to cure alcoholism. There is no drug or combination of drugs that will cure alcoholism, nor that will prevent a man from drinking again when he goes out. "Our cure consists of treatment for the alcohol habit. We cure him of active alcoholism. We illustrate to the man that he can get along with out alcohol while he is here and he does not need it when he is out of here. . "In the, case of delirium tremens a man does not get delirium tremens until he has been drinking for ten years. That means that his nervous system is absolutely changed. -The cells in his brain are changed. The very convolusions of the brain di minish in size through the poisoning effect of alcohol. "It would be the heighth of ignor ance or folly for anyone to pretend to absolutely cure by certain remedies the effect of a poison taken from up to ten and longer years. What) we do is to send him out with a new brain and a new spinal cord. "What we have been doing meets with the ethical support of all phy sicians. Our treatment is almost par allel with that in Bellevue in New York city. "And as I said before, many of the men brought here have complica tions. Some who are brought as al coholic are not alcoholics. A man may have a fractured skull. His coma may be kidney coma and he niay not be drinking. He might be in a col lapse, from heart disease or from a ruptured blood vessel in his brain and all these simulate alcoholism. "These men are picked up on the street by policemen. Since this hos pital has been licensed, and it was established because the County Hos pital refused to take these people, the officers bring them here. We diag nose their cases and treat them for whatever disease or complication of diseases they may suffer. That is all." I left Dr. Sceleth and interviewed John M. Whitman, superintendent of the House of Correction. I asked Mr. Whitman to tell me if he thought it was an improvement to have the hospital in connection with the House of Correction so long as men suffering from alcoholism were arrested and sent to the Bridewell anyway. Mr. Whitman's response came very quickly. "About ten years ago the County Hospital refused to take in alcohol ics. The men were arrested, often suffering with a complication, of dis eases, and they were thrown in cells while they were awaiting trial, and often died there.