| Alicia Hospital |
| In 1884 Dr. Sloggett purchased a concrete house from D. L. Dunham with the view of making it a hospital. On April 7, 1888 before the idea of an "Alicia Hospital" was thought of the children of the St. Augustine Loyal Temperance held a fair at Union chapel on Grenada Street for a hospital in St. Augustine. The Alicia Hospital, formerly Dr. Sloggett's home, was located on Marine Street. In 1889, Dr. Andrew Anderson was elected president of the board of trustees. The hospital began operations in the winter of 1890 after Henry Flagler deeded the concrete structure and grounds to the board of trustees. When it opened , Alicia was the only public hospital in the area from Jacksonville to Daytona. The hospital had a trained nurse - Miss Aurora Smith from Bellevue Hospital in New York. Dr. Anderson, Dr. DeWitt Webb, Dr. Smith and Dr. Shine were the original medical staff. They served 3 months of donated service each. A later addition to the staff was Major Charles A. Dunham. The main building consisted of a central hall with reception room, physician's office and private room on one side. On the other side of the central hall were the superintendent's room and room for private patients. The 2nd story was the white women's ward with 8 beds and 4 private rooms. In the pavilion were the white men's ward, music room kitchen and pantry. In the second pavilion the African- American men's and women's ward, 2 nurses rooms and laundry. There were bathrooms for each ward. Indigents were accepted for free, others paid on a sliding scale. By 1892 the hotel employees were contributing part of their salary as an insurance plan. For the Ponce de Leon Hotel alone this amounted to over $700. The Hospital Association placed its money in Standard Oil stock to be held in trust for the hospital. From 1888 to 1896 they raised about $30,000. With the interest and dividends from the stock, they had contributed around $50,000 by 1896. Much of the money raised paid for the treatment of patients who were unable to afford hospital care May 2, 1889 Meeting at Dr. Anderson's office by the trustees at which Dr. Anderson was elected president. Alicia Hospital is the Dr. Sloggett house on the bay, which was bought by Mr. Flagler and deeded in trust to the above named. It's to be put in order this summer. The first death at Alicia Hospital was a Mr. Riley of Providence, R. I. He had consumption and was the first patient to enter the hospital last March. July 6, 1890 Times Union Consumption Treatment Franklin Fremont Smith experiments at Alicia Hospital starter on January 27th, 1893 with a plan: 1. to maintain the doses of tuberculin uniformly below the fever reaction line, 2. proposing to employ such increasing dosage as may be borne by each individual without fever, its pain, mental depression, loss of appetite, and wasting of flesh. He had 12 cases. His treatment plan was not a cure but did stabilize patients and all patients experienced weight gain. He concluded that eager hope of rapid cure, not held out by the discoverer, rendered the usually conservative medical mind ready to accept a t first what approached the miraculous€¦restoration to perfect physical strength, if achieved at all, must be sought along this same humble, often uneven, path of improvement. Castration for Prostrate Franklin Fremont Smith treated a 69 year old patient symptoms of prostatic hypertrophy. Further obstruction had set in. From October 25 until January 17, 1894 Dr L. Alexander, Dr. Andrew Anderson and himself treated the patient internally and with bladder douches. The treatment did not work and his weight declined from 165 to 135 pounds. A visiting Dr. J. William White, of Philadelphia offered a suggestion that he had made previously in June, 1893 at the American Surgical Association to the advantages of castration in hypertrophied prostate. Six weeks after his operation the patient was discharged. He had no fever, appetite returned and his weight increased from 135 to 163 pounds. Pneumonia By May 1, 1896 Alice Hospital had treated 720 cases with only 5 cases of pneumonia. Dr. Anderson said that in 25 years of his practice he had only seen 6 cases of croupous pneumonia. Between May 1, 1878 to February 1, 1892 there were 1435 deaths from all causes in St. Augustine of which 40 deaths were from pneumonia. 1902 Miss Aurora Smith was listed as the superintendent of the hospital. 1905 Annie L Rutherford was listed as in charge of Flagler hospital. Alica Hospital was renamed "Flagler Hospital" in 1905 to honor its original founder. At that point Henry was divorced from Ida Alice Flagler and married to his 3rd wife Mary Lily Kennan. Fire destroyed most of the buildings in 1916. Temporary quarters for Flagler Hospital patients were found in local residences while plans proceeded for the design of a "new" structure that would adequately meet the health care needs of the growing community. With a generous donation from Mary Lily Kenan Flagler, third wife of the late Henry Flagler, an elegant three-story brick and concrete building with a stucco finish was built. The dedication exercise and open house on January 5, 1921, attracted over 2000 people. |
| Ladies Association Memorial Table for Sarah Mathers, et all. |
| The Tatler 1895 |
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