Home » Features » Surgeons’ report at Indy Military Hospital

Feature

Surgeons’ report at Indy Military Hospital

The SIsters of Providence cared for soldiers at the Indianapolis Military Hospital.

A report by Dr. John M. Kitchen and Dr. Patrick H. Jameson, hospital surgeons at the Military Hospital in Indianapolis, provided the following information in a report to Inspector-General Miles Murphy. The report was published by the Indianapolis Daily Journal. The report was dated Friday, August 16, 1861. The hospital began accepting soldiers April 29, 1861, with the Sisters of Providence arriving May 17, 1861, to take over “domestic arrangements” including nursing.

The following is a partial list of diseases and wounds of the soldiers from April to August 1861:

  • 640 patients registered
  • Measles: 430
  • Typhoid fever: 7
  • Pneumonia: 26
  • Dysentery: 26
  • Obstinate diarrhea: 28
  • Gunshot wounds and other injuries: 8
  • 593 soldier-patients recovered and were discharged, 13 died and 34 were still receiving care at the time of the report.

The doctors ended their report with this tribute to the Sisters of Providence:

“In conclusion, we feel that we have performed only a plain, straight-forward duty, and that whatever success may have attended the management of the Hospital is due in a great degree to the noble and self-sacrificing efforts of those meek and worthy women — the Sisters of Providence.”

Other Sisters of Providence who served

Other Sisters of Providence who served at this hospital included Sister Felix Buchanan, Sister Helena Burns, Sister Frances Ann Carney, Sister Sophie Glenn, Sister Eugenia Gorman, Sister Mary Francis Guthneck, Sister Henrietta McKenzie, Sister Louise Malone, Sister Mary Rose O’Donaghue and Sister Matilda Swinley.

Share this:

Avatar

Connie McCammon

Connie McCammon worked in the communications office for the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Stay connected

Our enewsletters and publications will keep you up to date with the best content from the Sisters of Providence.

Plan for your future!

Leave the things you value to the people and purposes you value most.

Updated Estate Planning Info. here

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.