To Serve the Community: A Celebration of Rochester Genesee Hospital, 1847-1997, by Teresa K. Lehr (over-size HC, 1997, $3)
Rochester City Hospital opened in 1864 with a problem. People didn't trust hospitals, and wouldn't use it. Without patients, the hospital would not survive. The town paid the hospital only a small amount. Albany's support was uncertain. Still individuals and organizations stepped up to the plate. By 1867, 427 patients had been admitted, and only 18 had died. This changed some people's minds, but not all. By 1890 washing could be done by machine, not by hand. By 1889 surgeries would take place in operating rooms, instead of in the wards, in the halls, or even in the library! From this start came the hospital we now know as Rochester General. ( Note on page 185 the picture of my old employer, the Genesee Hospital, which at the time of this book was still a building and not a hole in the ground.) Look for this book in the local section, avail. 10/19.
