Unfortunately, many of the patients did not make it out alive from Waverly Hills. There was a visiting day where the patient’s family members could come into the facility and visit their sick loved ones, not knowing at the time this was an airborne disease. The staff tried to keep patient morale up by allowing their loved ones to visit. Unfortunately, these procedures were ineffective and led to no real cure. The doctors would also insert a balloon into the patients’ lungs and fill them with air to help their breathing. There was also the” Sun-treatment” which theorized that if a patient bathed out in the sun it would help kill the bacteria that caused TB. During this time, it was common for the average patient to require 7-8 ribs to be removed. A few treatments included Lobectomy and Pneumectomy which involved doctors surgically removing infected parts of the lung and sometimes the entire lung.Īnother procedure, Thoracoplasty, was the removal of several rib bones from the chest wall to collapse a lung. A lot of the patients did not survive these experimental medical practices. The procedures tested out on patients by the doctors were as grim as the disease itself. This was also what was thought to keep the patients alive longer and not succumb to the disease. The staff did all they could to keep the morale high and keep the patients in good spirits. It was thought that fresh air, good food, and sunshine would help cure the disease along with competent medical supervision. Sanatoriums at the time were built on high hills surrounded by woods to create peace and a serene atmosphere. They grew their own food, and had their own radio station. KENTUCKY SANITARIUM ZIPThis was a self-sustained community with its own zip code. Once the patients, doctors and nurses walked into the facility they became residents and lived inside the Sanatorium. KENTUCKY SANITARIUM FULLThe Hospital opened July 26, 1910, at full capacity. The children’s ward was built not only to house the children with tuberculosis, but also children whose parents were stricken with the disease. This increased the hospital’s ability to hold 130 patients. In 1914, a children’s pavilion was added with another 50 beds. The expansion of the hospital had begun for advanced cases to house another 40 patients. On August 31, 1912, all Tuberculosis patients from the city hospital were relocated to temporary tents located on the grounds of Waverly Hills as the city hospital was overflowing with TB cases and were not equipped to handle the influx of patients. The Board of Tuberculosis purchased the land to build the hospital which was originally a 2-story frame designed to accommodate 40-50 Tuberculosis patients safely. This prompted the construction of Waverly Hills Sanatorium, which began in 1908. Tuberculosis–sometimes called the “White Plague”–was becoming an epidemic in Kentucky. ‘Teen Wolf’ Spin-Off to Star Sarah Michelle Gellar on Paramount+
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