 Part 1 of the Work of the Sisters during the Epidemic of Influenza October 1918. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org recording by David Wales. Work of the Sisters during the Epidemic of Influenza October 1918 by Francis Edward Tersher. Part 1. Gathered and arranged from reports of personal experiences of the sisters and contributed by request of the compiler. It will be observed that not all the parishes in Philadelphia are represented in this paper. This is due to the fact that no report was made of activities in the parishes omitted. The aim of the compiler has been not to advertise parishes or the work of the clergy, to gather facts to record the experiences and impressions of the sisters and incidentally to record their personal observations of the symptoms of the disease and conditions existing during the epidemic in private homes and hospitals. Facts unrecorded are quickly lost in the new interests of changing time. Incidents of personal experience, even the most touching empathetic, are away generally with the memory of those immediately concerned. We have little left now beyond mere material statistics and vague impressions drawn from paper accounts of the epidemic of Colorado which visited Philadelphia in 1832. We know probably as much of the Black Death of 1348 in Europe or of the sweating sickness of 1529 in England as we do of the Yellow Fever which raged in our cities of the South and threatened the North in 1849 and again in 1854. It was this thought of gathering information for the future that first suggested the appeal of the compiler to the sisterhoods of the dioceses asking them to cooperate in this work. The second motive was to assemble facts while they are still a living memory. Facts that will show what our sisterhoods are, what their place is in the divine plan of Christian society. Facts which show what the qualities are of their practical love for brother-men as it is exercised daily in the parish school, in the academy, in the hospital, in the asylum, training our children to a Christian standard of life bearing the burden of the weak and helpless caring for the wrecks of the human family in moral and physical life. It has been no part of the plan of the compiler who has gathered these details of information to bring the sisters into the limelight of public notice. Self-advertising is alien to the spirit and the lifelong training of these women of Christian refinement who have consecrated their lives to the work of counteracting that insanity of sin which is too painfully manifest in modern forms of feminism. At a meeting of the superiors and representatives of the uncoistered sisterhoods of the diocese held October 8, 1918, his grace, the most reverent Archbishop, gave his hearty approval and encouragement to volunteer services of the sisters in local communities and mission houses in order thus to relieve suffering and to control conditions which were baffling the best efforts of the medical profession and city authorities in private homes, in general and emergency hospitals and public institutions. What some of these conditions were, what the suffering not of the poor only but of people of means who ordinarily command the comforts of life will appear from accounts given below. These accounts were furnished by request and the compiler's aim has been to leave them substantially unchanged as valued records of personal experience and impressions which will hardly recur in a lifetime. For purposes of convenience and in order to present a clear review of a great mass of facts, it has been thought well where the membership of the sisterhood is very large as the sisters of the Immaculate Heart and St. Joseph to class the materials gathered under two general heads. First, the work of the sisters in hospitals and public institutions. Second, their work in private homes. The former has received some notice in the public prints reporting the efforts of organized charity and relief during the epidemic. The latter is a field of experience a little known to most readers unknown, but to the heart of the Christian most precious. In arranging the work of the several sisterhoods the compiler has followed the alphabetical order excluding all thought of preference or partiality. Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The sisters chosen for nursing and relief work went from the Mother House, Cornwell's Heights to the two city missions 836 North Broad Street and Queen Lane, Germantown. The sisters who joined the community in Germantown were sent out for private nursing. Those who went to Broad Street were given the privilege of caring for the poor afflicted in the municipal hospital. The sister teachers at St. Peter Claver's school went to turn the first floor of the school into an emergency hospital and gave their services there. Four classrooms were turned into wards containing 10 beds each. The cloak rooms were used as linen and supply rooms and the sisters room as a diet kitchen and drug room. The experience of the sisters at the municipal hospital as told in their report to the compiler is interesting and pathetic. It reveals the heart and spirit of their work only the main points can be given of a full and really fascinating account. It was an impressive sight, writes the sister, to see at night a white-robed figure in the dimness of the light moving among the sick, the suffering and the dying. Many an eager, sister I want some water, sister milk, sister ice was heard. In spite of the fact that a nurse was present the love of their own was manifest. Many a soul nearing God's judgment would awaken and say, sister where am I? Then to the answer in the municipal hospital but how can I be? The sisters are here. Heartbroken relatives found consolation in seeing a Catholic sister at the bedside of their beloved ones sick or dying. The first case described is that of a young girl 16 years old. Opposite her bed lay her dying mother and sister. Beside her lay her three little nieces ranging from one to five years. They had just lost their father through the dread disease and were about to lose their mother, their grandmother and aunt. This young girl soon showed that she also was to be called away. On the night of her agony she clutched the sister's hand with the grip of death. Her delirium is described, pathetic yet consoling. In her brighter intervals she would imagine that she saw angels over her bed and in moments of peace she would beg the sister to teach her the Hail Mary in Latin for in heaven we must pray in Latin as all do. She died in great peace. In Germantown the sisters worked among the colored people, the Italians, the others of God's poor. In one poor home they found a mother and five children, colored, a little together in two rooms. The father weakened by the disease met them at the door with a greeting of welcome and the wise remark as the sisters now recall with amusement, sisters I have not seen such a scourge since Moses drove the Israelites out of Egypt. In this house there was no bed clothing, no fire, no food, no linens. As for dishes there was a glass tumbler containing medicine prescribed by a doctor. All the patients were to take the medicine from this glass. When the sisters looked for the glass they found it on a chair with red and drowning flies. There was nothing to do but go out and phone to the convent for home remedies, linens, food and fuel. But when the fuel came it was found to be impossible to start a fire in the stove out of repair. The sisters then begged hot water from neighbors to watch the patients and clean the house. They nursed these four people back to health and left them comfortable and clean. The sisters in the emergency in St. Peter Claver School had some very interesting experiences. Three sisters were on duty here from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and two nurses for the day shift and two for the night. Forty-eight patients were cared for in this hospital. They were white, yellow, brown and black folk and together with the plain American from anywhere on the map of the 48 stars were representatives of most of the nations of Europe and others from Asia and the West Indies. One poor English woman deserves notice. She was earning her living by scrubbing at one of the large hotels. She had been sick a week and having no home and no relatives walked to Blockley to beg admittance only to find there was no room. She then tried at several other places before coming to St. Peter Claver's. Her remark when she was finally put to bed and made comfortable is characteristic of perseverance. I knew God and his blessed mother would not forsake me. One afternoon a Chinaman came begging admission. He was very sick and coughing up much blood. He could speak only a few words of English but he knew the worth of a dollar. He had $3 with him and in his extreme weakness coughing up blood and gasping for breath he kept a tight hold on the $3. Early next morning before the sisters came on duty he had a severe hemorrhage and died. The sisters were keenly disappointed at the loss of the quiet, gentle sufferer whom they could not prepare for baptism. The sisters were more fortunate in another case where they succeeded in teaching a little colored girl of 14 who was deaf enough of the truth of faith to have her baptized. The next morning they found that she had died. We found one of the patients, the sisters right, a little Jewish, desperately ill in the streetcar one morning on our way down. She was such an object of pity, alone, sick, in a strange land we took her with us to the emergency. She was so grateful when told she could remain until she recovered but added shyly I am not a Christian, I am a Jew. Will it make a difference? Again and again she expressed to the patient in the next bed her grateful appreciation of the sisters' kindness to her for she was not a Christian. There was a little Ukrainian woman who never tired telling the sisters of her chillens. There was Peter who saved all his candy money to buy WSS and Rosie who would soon go to school and Johnny only two years old and Mary, the dear little baby, such nice chillens. One little girl had been picked up on the street by the police and brought to the emergency though she probably owes her life to this fact even after she was reconciled to remain and get well she persisted in her indignation against that fresh policeman and if she meets him on the street she'll punch his nose. One poor colored man imagined he was in jail and though guilty insisted on his innocence damn police just grab a fella and slap him in here to make a dollar. Another colored man in his delirium imagined sister to be his mother and clamored unceasingly for a monstrous bill affair and a woman with a temperature of 104 wanted cabbage in her soup. Hot does like cabbage, I sure does. Another man of color always wanted everything that any other patient had so when he saw the third man in his ward anointed he too wanted his minister the sisters phone for a Baptist preacher after a time the preacher appeared armed with a big Bible seated himself at a safe distance and read long and loud from one of the epistles of St. Paul then he rose and said be good and pray while you are sick and went away. The sister remarks he met well and did his duty bravely as he saw it but to all who were not too ill to take notice there must have been a striking contrast between this spiritual comfort and the last sacraments and tender ministrations of mother church. Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis these sisters have the regular charge of St. Agnes and St. Mary's Hospitals in Philadelphia and St. Joseph's Hospital in Reading and 22 schools in the diocese. During the epidemic there were 532 influenza patients admitted to St. Agnes Hospital 460 cases to St. Mary's and 303 to St. Joseph's Hospital Reading these hospitals besides taking care of large numbers of influenza cases sent several sisters registered nurses to take charge in emergency hospitals in Philadelphia Chester, Pennsylvania Eddington, Pennsylvania and Newcastle, Delaware registered nurse sisters two sister nurses were sent to take charge in the Medical Chirurgical Emergency Hospital Philadelphia October 10 to October 26 two sister nurses were sent to the Municipal Philadelphia October 11 to October 28 one sister nurse was sent to take charge of an emergency hospital Newcastle, Delaware October 14 to October 26 two sister nurses were sent to Eddington, Pennsylvania October 20 to November 10 two sister nurses were sent to take charge in Glen Riddle Emergency Hospital October 9 to October 28 one sister nurse was sent to Chester Hospital October 10 to October 25 besides these trained nurses sisters teaching sisters and others were sent for relief work as follows nine sisters at St. Agnes Hospital Philadelphia, Pennsylvania seven sisters at St. Mary's Hospital Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 13 sisters at Municipal Hospital Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 25 sisters at Old Medical Chirurgical Emergency Philadelphia, Pennsylvania two sisters at Potsdown, Pennsylvania 12 sisters at Chester Emergency 11 sisters at Newcastle, Pennsylvania Emergency 14 sisters at Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania Emergency three sisters at Ashland, Pennsylvania nine sisters at Eddington, Pennsylvania four sisters at Mahogany City, Pennsylvania two sisters at Minersville, Pennsylvania during the epidemic 131 sisters of this community assisted in relief work 81 teaching sisters helped in hospitals 57 teaching sisters nurse the sick in private homes there are recorded 837 visits of the sisters to private homes and 393 patients nursed by the sisters in private families many remarkable conversions came under the notice of the sisters also the return of Catholics who had neglected the practice of their religion the hand of affliction together with a few words of encouragement from a sister nurse the examples of Christian charity and self-sacrifice before their eyes day and night helped to renew the spirit of religion and brought back to Mother Church many of her herring children among the cases reported by the sisters was one woman who had been away from the sacraments 16 years she died a happy death another man had not received the sacraments for 20 years still another have been disloyal to the faith in the church for 12 years the case of a woman is reported who had led a very immoral life she made a good confession and died consoled with the sacraments of holy church one man made his first holy communion on his deathbed the sisters have reported 22 of these wonderful conversions and returns to the sacraments they report also one adult man baptized 10 babies who were dying baptized for conversions to our holy faith the services of the sisters helped to counteract much unreasonable prejudice which came under their personal observation one man a Protestant whose wife and daughter were nursed back to health by the sisters said to them that he would never again read or believe what he had been accustomed to read and devour in the menace and other publications which live and thrive on raking letters of appreciation and gratitude were received from town authorities, boards of health officials, physicians in charge of emergency hospitals and many private individuals sisters of the holy child st. edwards eight sisters of this convent were engaged in nursing and caring for the sick in private homes the calls for help usually come from the priests of the parish several from physicians and some from the neighbors who spoke on behalf of others in need sometimes a priest or doctor stopped the sisters in the streets which were almost deserted during the first two weeks of October and requested them to hasten to a particular place where help was sorely needed two or three calls came from the health authorities over the telephone the sisters tried to be helpful in any way and every way suggested by conditions and the needs of the afflicted sick and their families they cared for the sick prepared them for the last sacraments washed and fed the children cleaned the rooms and did the general work of the house wherever it was necessary the sites rikes one sister were often very dreadful when we look back now in one very poor little home there were six victims father mother and four children in beds in two small rooms in one of these a dead child for eight days it was impossible to get the services of an undertaker in another home the mother was stricken with the influenza and the father crippled with a scalded foot while eight little ones ranging from eleven years down to a very young baby were utterly neglected there was nothing in the house in the way of food hardly a dish to eat from no sheets on the beds and no doctor had called for a week the sisters returned to the convent and soups, medicines and other things absolutely necessary the conditions of the place cannot be described but the sisters persevered every day facing and overcoming new difficulties the children were at length able to get up the mother was taken to an emergency hospital where she died after a few days and the three youngest babies were sent to a home it was pathetic to see how hard the other children tried to manage for the next five six days while waiting for a relative to come to care for them the eldest girl watched for the coming of the sisters every morning to ask their advice to tell them her griefs and troubles and proudly show what she and the others had done to keep house the sisters saw many families deprived of their nearest and dearest relatives within a few days and many of the dead lying unburied for more than a week there were however some bright spots in the picture an old Jewish lady whose a daughter-in-law died leaving three little ones was so pleased with the sisters visit and care that she promised to have her grandchildren brought up as Catholics and she said that she would keep her word she graciously accepted the medals of our blessed mother which they offered her an old lady asked the sisters to comb her tangled hair and as the locks were heavy and long many hours were spent in this hideous work the dear old lady invited the sister to come again in the afternoon to finish the task in nearly every case the people expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the services of the nuns they seemed to look upon the garb of the sisters the emblem of religion and charity as an earnest of God's blessing in hours and days of trial end of part one part two of work of the sisters during the epidemic of influenza October 1918 by Francis Edward Tersher this liberalx recording is in the public domain part two St. Leonard's Academy the first call for help was from the Philadelphia General Hospital Blockley there is a point of importance to be noted here in the report of the sisters to the compiler it is stated incidentally that two thirds of the nursing force were prostrates by the disease with none to replace them in the wards six sisters responded to this first call the time of the sister's services in Blockley was October 7 to October 23 telling of the first day's experience the sister writes some of the poor sick had had no attention for 18 hours and some had not been bathed for over a week the poor brave overworked the nurses could not possibly reach the numbers which were constantly growing by the admission of new cases there were two nurses only for 35 to 40 helpless patients in each ward many of the sick moreover were violently delirious it is not a wonder says the sister that so many nurses fell under the burden the sisters were appointed for the work in the wards for women and children and the tribute which the sisters pay to the patient endurance of these usually the poorest of God's poor is again deserving of note they were all touchingly grateful for the smallest service given it was here in Blockley that one of the sisters mother Marie Alwysius contracted the disease and died after working with the sick all day Sunday October 13 she retired Sunday evening not feeling well the next day she received the last sacraments and the following day Tuesday October 15 she was called to her reward a notice of her life and death will be found at the end of this account the chief physician and head nurse at Blockley have written personally to express appreciation and thanks for the efficient work and help of the sisters in the time of their greatest need interns nurses and patients also were very sincere in their expressions of gratitude for the sister services and for the favored experience of seeing and proving practically the devotedness of their life and work October 8 a call came to the convent through the intermedium of our most reverent archbishop for help at the Biddle home for imbecile children in response three sisters were sent from St. Leonard's one of these was the very efficient sister coke of the community who took the place of the absent chef at the institution until another could be found the two other sisters gave their attention and care to the poor afflicted children there were many calls for the sister services in private homes telling their experience in this line of district nursing the sisters describe one home in which a young mother lay dead her two little ones crying bitterly in the next room while the aged parents heartbroken and quite in despair were trying to nurse three other daughters all very ill the sisters took charge of the house and nursing and remained until all were on the way to recovery assumption the sisters here were called October 7 to care for one of the assistant priests in the rectory and Jeremiah Mahon his case was serious from the beginning the other two assistants the cook and all the help in the house were also ill so that the sisters had to take full charge in the rectory Father Mahon died October 19 his relatives in token of the sisters kind services gave the dead priests chalice for use in the convent chapel two of the sisters were called to care for one of the priests who were still at the church of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament two other sisters were sent in the early days of the epidemic to relieve the overworked sisters and care for the poor little charges in the home for crippled children the sisters who were left free there are 13 in the community visited the sick and afflicted in the parish one of these cases was a lone Greek girl to whom they went at the Archbishop's request to not come to her this girl was very ill but recovered and has since shown herself very grateful one day an unknown woman accosted two sisters on the street and begged them to go to a house where she said all were ill but the father the sisters went to the place and found all mother and children in an improvised bed in the kitchen this was explained by the fact that she did not come to take care of them she had sickened and died while the father was at his work her body was lying upstairs it was then two days since her death and several more days passed before the united efforts of the sisters and the father of the family succeeded in having the body removed this poor family the sisters say had no knowledge of any religion poor indeed Sharon Hill one vend and academy many were ill some had the influenza in a light form only others were very sick the last sacraments were given to three and one young sister was at the very door of death she recovered the parish school was closed October 7 at 10 am thus leaving four more sisters free for relief work that same day came by telephone an urgent call for help from Bilo Chester the case was one of a young mother of two beautiful children and one yet unborn she had double pneumonia following an attack of influenza two sisters went to this home in Limecun that same afternoon one took care for the patient the other to take charge of household duties the sisters remained until the nurse was procured for the sufferer and relatives came to take care of the house when they were away to more urgent cases this poor mother died after two weeks of unconsciousness and delirium in the meantime another call came from Clifton Heights where a mother of three children had had a relapse after two weeks of illness the mother and sister of this woman were worn out with watching and they begged for assistance two sisters went at once to this home but the patient died after two days the sisters were with her at the end as she requested her death was peaceful the sisters were called also to help in an emergency hospital established in a garage at Drexel Hill every day for two weeks two of the sisters served the sick in this garage where all conditions colors creeds and nationalities were brought to the same level what seems to have impressed the sisters most painfully was the presence of all thought of God and religion in many cases and in some what appeared to be a godless end the sisters were also called by representatives of the Red Cross non-Catholic to serve in the emergency hospital at Ridley Park established in a gymnasium they were there a short time only when frequent and urgent calls for aid in the immediate neighborhood claimed their attention at their home they were called to visit private families Catholics and non-Catholics in Tollcroft, Glen Olden Clifton Heights and Sharon Hill in these homes that they not only cared for the sick and afflicted they did the work of the house they attended to the cooking, cleaning rooms, washing, feeding clothing and providing for children and babies taking the place of nurses, mother or servant as the needs required. Not Catholics only but non-Catholics and some unreasonably prejudiced against the faith came begging for the sisters aid what was seen and observed by the people in this unselfish devotion to relieve human suffering and need seems to have opened the minds of some the sisters say and changed the attitude of many either to hostile to their faith and religion Sisters of the Immaculate Heart a summary report of volunteer services of the sisters servants of the Immaculate Heart in emergency and general hospitals, etc. October 9th 30 sisters were selected from 10 times that number of volunteers for immediate duty at emergency hospital number one at Homesburg, Pennsylvania these sisters served in shifts of 12 hours 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. those serving here were from the missions at St. Veronica's Holy Name, St. Paul, St. Dominic's the Incarnation Immaculate Conception Germantown, St. Monica's and St. Gabriel's 6 volunteers were selected for the Philadelphia hospital Blockley serving during the day only 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. this number was afterwards increased to 9 p.m. these sisters were from the mission at St. Agatha's Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 10 sisters were chosen from those volunteering in different missions to go to Pottsville where the sisters of St. Joseph required assistance in 3 different hospitals which they were serving the Pottsville General Hospital the Pottsville Armory Emergency and Millican Home the number of sisters serving here was later increased to 14 besides the sisters of St. Joseph from St. Patrick's Pottsville and St. Mary's St. Clair, Pennsylvania all these sisters were lodged at St. Patrick's Convent, Pottsville the hours of service were 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. the sisters sent to Pottsville were from the missions at Most Blessed Sacrament, Philadelphia St. Anthony's Philadelphia and St. Clement's Paschalville, Philadelphia about 550 patients were treated here during 3 weeks most of them were minors from the surrounding villages October 10th 8 sisters from the Jaisu Convent offered their services at St. Joseph's Hospital to replace the nurses who have died there 6 have been accepted for duty from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day 6 of 10 sisters including one trained nurse from the Catholic Home Bureau 1702 Summer Street and 9 from the Convent at St. Gabriel's have been accepted at Monterey Misericordiae Hospital West Philadelphia later when many sick children and the children of sick parents were brought to the home bureau these sisters from the home bureau were recalled outside sisters at the bureau see the item at the end of this summary 6 sisters from the Convent at Collingdale and at Lansdowne, Pennsylvania have been attending those stricken with the influenza at a Gypsy Camp Romanian Village Delaware County, Pennsylvania more sincere evidence of appreciation has been shown by these neglected sufferers than by many in far better circumstances the emergency hospital here was established under a tent October 11 an urgent call was received through Father Nash of the Epiphany for sisters to act as nurses in the emergency hospital opened at Broad and Snyder Avenue by the South Philadelphia businessmen 20 sisters were sent to this emergency from the missions at St. Monica's, St. Thomas's and the community house high school sisters these sisters remained on duty in three shifts midnight to 8am 8am to 4pm and 4pm to midnight approximately 100 cases were treated here the afflicted being mainly Russian Jews Dr. Flemens was chief of staff and he together with Samuel Buck Esquire organizer of this special relief warmly commended the work of the sisters and engraved certificate of appreciation and gratitude was sent by the South Philadelphia emergency relief committee to each sister October 12 in answer to an appeal from the women's hospital, Portieth and Parish streets two sisters were sent there from St. Agathus for night duty four different sisters from St. Agathus convent have served here on night duty only October 13 the urgent appeal was received from the Phoenixville hospital for sisters to assist the nurses there ten sisters served there on both day and night duty 7am to 7pm and 7pm to 7am they came from the convent at St. Paul's and Sacred Heart Philadelphia Pennsylvania and from St. Mary's Phoenixville, Pennsylvania an application was received from the independent republican club South Philadelphia for sisters to prepare an emergency hospital number 8 in their rooms at 1726 South Broad Street Broad and Morris the sisters prepared everything here for the reception of the sick poor of the district and the hospital was formally opened on October 15 these sisters were from the missions at St. Thomas's St. Gabriel's and St. Anthony's Philadelphia 18 sisters in all served in shifts from 8am to 8pm and from 8pm to 8am approximately 60 patients were treated letters of commendation and gratitude were received from the authorities in charge of the hospital October 14 4 professed sisters at the mother house Westchester assisted by the novices prepared an emergency hospital in the building formerly occupied Aloysius Academy on the grounds for the reception of those members of the community and novitiate at Villamaria who had been afflicted with the disease 6 professed sisters and 40 members of the novitiate were treated here one postulant Miss Nora Cogger died October 17 of pneumonia following upon influenza which she had contracted while attending the funeral of her brother who also died of the disease there was no case of influenza in the boys school St. Aloysius Academy Westchester all the buildings here including the convent, the novitiate and the little boys academy were under strict quarantine from Thursday October 3 until Sunday November 10 October 17 in response to a very urgent appeal 2 sisters from St. Veronica's Philadelphia 2 from St. Philomena's Landstown, Pennsylvania and 2 from Immaculate Harchester, Pennsylvania went to Villamaria Academy Immaculata, Pennsylvania to assist the sisters of the academy who were caring for pupils in the academy and 6 sisters there these sisters 12 and all cared for 10 6 sisters, 6 postulants who had been sent over from Westchester Immaculata and had been taken ill there and 85 academy pupils during 4 weeks all at Immaculata had the disease in a light form with 2 exceptions and in only one case were there even the slightest symptoms of pneumonia the school was under strict quarantine from October 3 until Sunday November 17 the sisters stationed at our convent of the Blessed Virgin Mary Darby, Pennsylvania prepared and served dinner every day during 5 weeks for the students of St. Charles Seminary overbrook who were engaged in digging graves at Holy Cross Cemetery 12 sisters from Immaculate Conception Convent Germantown cared for the students at the Lazarus Seminary who were afflicted with influenza there Catholic Home Bureau 1702 Summer Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania During the epidemic about 122 children were received at the Bureau nearly all suffering from influenza in greater or less degree these children were placed at the Bureau temporarily during the illness of one or both parents at home 27 of these were infants from 1 week to 6 months old these remained for about 1 month at the Bureau 6 children died during the epidemic all of whom had contracted the disease before their admission to the home 4 sisters in charge of the children were assisted by 2 sisters from the Annunciation 2 from Sacred Heart and 2 from Holy Name alternately during several weeks 1 of the sisters a trained nurse superintended the work Summary children admitted 122 1 week to 15 years 27 under 6 months deaths 6 nurses 4 stationed regularly at the home Bureau and 6 relief helpers serving alternately in pairs children dismissed on or before November 9, 76 in Philadelphia the sisters of the Immaculate Heart have 26 convents or mission houses 127 sisters were serving in general and emergency hospitals 162 caring for the sick in private homes there were 111 sisters sick with influenza and 7 died in the Philadelphia convents outside Philadelphia are 29 convents including the mother house at Westchester and Villa Maria at Immaculata in these were 104 sisters had 85 6 pupils to be cared for at Villa Maria Academy Immaculata 44 sisters were nursing in private homes in the country missions and 62 served in emergency hospitals and the part 2 part 3 of work of the sisters during the epidemic of influenza October 1918 by Francis Arthur Tersher Part 3 relief work of the sisters of the Immaculate Heart emergency and general hospitals Blockley one sister tells of district nursing in St. Agatha's parish before she was sent to Blockley her words reveal a state of mind which was probably the thought and consciousness of most of these volunteers I joined those who volunteered to nurse she says I'm sorry my incompetency so that the act seemed to be presumptuous but God has supplied what was lacking from total inexperience and truthfully I can say the memories of October 1918 hold some of the most consoling thoughts of my life on October 10 two companions with myself were sent to a house in the rear of Averford Avenue bravely we started but no one admitted until later the extreme timidity experienced not from the fear of the disease but from coming in contact with strangers in strange homes we found a six mother with two sick children in the same bed and in another bed three more but all in the same room the windows were closed tightly and we felt that we could taste the fever the father who was just recovering and a boy of nine were the only nurses we relieved them and after bathing the patients giving the medicines prescribed and some nourishment we cleaned the room and prepared some food for the father we returned to this same house on Friday and Saturday October 11 and 12 about noon on Saturday October 12 we received a note from other telling me to return at once as some sisters were needed elsewhere I was sent with five others to Philadelphia General Hospital Blockley we were met at the entrance and conducted to that part of the establishment in which we were to work that walk from the entrance to the wards seemed unending one of the sisters whispered to me how shall we ever get in meaning the next day I replied I think we're getting in beautifully what worries me is how shall we get out when we reached our destination five wards full of men we were informed that another community had been given charge of the women and children but the men had to lie there neglected not withstanding our inexperience we were given full charge of these wards as the two head nurses of this department were entirely alone these ladies are Catholics and had implicit confidence in the sisters they left the mixing of medicines to us and this with the taking of temperatures and respirations and the feeding of those too weak to help themselves comprised our daily tasks we had orderlies for all the other ward work there were about 25 or 30 men in each ward and a joining shack most of these were men who had come to Philadelphia to work in ammunition plants and generally they had been living in one rented room they were lying there with the dirt of their work still on their hands and faces many of them had not received attention since their entrance the reason of this is of course evident over crowded conditions their gratitude for any attention from us was really touching we had been told that we might expect any kind or class at Blockley and this was verified we had in our wards Greeks, Italians, Jews, Armenians Negroes, Poles and even East Indians they were all God's sick children and I loved them we were going constantly from 9 in the morning until 6 in the evening then we returned to the convent tired, very tired but it was sweet to come home we ate our supper immediately and then went to chapel for benediction of the most blessed sacrament after this we retired but not until we had told in a very few brief moments of recreation our little experiences of the day one night just before we left the wards a man non-Catholic died we prayed with him up to the end and though he seemed unconscious to all else he still even with a death rattle in his throat repeated the aspirations we whispered in his ear the head nurse moved by this gave him conditional baptism after the night had benediction I resolved not to let another man die without making some effort to find out if there was any catholicity in him there was in my ward a man named Robert, 30 years old Protestant according to the chart he had told me that his mother had died when he was 5 years old and that his sisters and brothers had all been separated on the morning following my resolution to which I have referred to my rounds as usual and just as I was leaving Robert's bed I noticed the chaplain down the corridor I recalled my resolution of the night before and turning back I asked Robert were you ever a Catholic imagine my surprise when he answered yes I was born one of Catholic parents will you see a priest yes I did not walk I ran down that corridor the chaplain came back with me Robert received his first holy communion on his deathbed I never expect anything this side of heaven to give me the joy which I experienced that morning after the priest had gone Robert called me and thanked me for getting the priest he said you have made me very happy you certainly have taken my mother's place today his attitude toward recovering was changed he died with perfect resignation we had another young man who lost his faith he seemed devoted to the sisters but refused absolutely to see the priest he consented however to wear a medal of our blessed mother and at parting he recited the Hail Mary to please us the sister recommends this young man to the prayers of those who read this account on October 26 we bad goodbye to Blockley the regret expressed by our co-laborers and the remaining patients at parting rather impressive however we were glad to return to our convent home with a deeper knowledge of human nature and the sorrows and miseries of the life of the world emergency number 8 1726 South Broad a sister writes our hours were from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. the first night on arriving at the hospital we found six patients in our ward before morning we had 14 most of them in a dying condition the sites were almost too pitiful to describe the patients began to come in about one o'clock three of them in delirium and almost unmanageable I had on an average 12 women six babies and about four men to take care of there was not one minute to be called my own some patient needing attention all the time the call sister could heard every minute during the night one woman a catholic could be counted a martyr from her endurance in suffering I undertook to undress her and the flesh from her body fell off in my hands it seems the people at home have put coal oil on her to ease the pain she lived four days in that agony never a murmur escape from her lips only a loving look of gratitude when I would prepare to make the offering of her sufferings to God to bear her purgatory here several nights later in the service I spent carrying a baby three months old on one arm and one six months old on the other when a patient called I had to lay the babies down at the foot of the bed to attend to the call the look of gratitude on the faces of the stick would repay us for any inconvenience we had to endure the patients told us that the sisters were the ones who helped them to get well and they assured us that they would always have a kind feeling for us we had also the great pleasure of seeing many persons receive the sacraments after having been away for long years through this experience I have learned to appreciate my vocation to the religious life more than ever before a sister tells of her first days experience both in a long white gown falling from the shoulders to the shoe tops over the habit of blue surge and a gauze mask the nurse gave her a first lesson in bathing a patient I felt an awful sensation creep over me she says but I recalled that I had volunteered to help suffering humanity and that God will take care of his own in a few moments the terrible ordeal was over and I felt greatly relieved of the ward the next day the sight that met my eyes as I entered the hospital I shall never forget glancing to the left I saw the men's ward crowded on the right where the office was there seemed to be great excitement a big colored man who was delirious was screaming and grasping at everything within his reach two policemen were holding him down on the other side were two figures stretched on cots covered with white sheets while on another cot lay a man gasping his eyes and mouth wide open the nurse told us that the two on the cots were dead and the other was dying I was struck at first with a fearful dread for I never came in close contact with death but once in my life but realizing what must be done I quickly put on my gown and mask and being assigned to the women's ward I began my second day's duties several women were brought in who were to be bathed made comfortable and given nourishment then from all sides seemed to come the call sister one wanted a drink another was cold and needed a blanket and perhaps a hot water bag still another needed a nice cap this continued all through the day for several days there was no change it was pitiful to see the suffering of those afflicted and to hear the moans and cries of those who were dying we had about six babies to care for it was part of my work to bathe and nourish them and when the rush was over I took a few men as now and again to carry them and show them to their mothers if they were there for it seemed to comfort them one little girl a non-catholic who had been living a good life was able to tell our dear Lord that she was sorry for everything she had done wrong the priest baptized her conditionally and immediately she became unconscious she died a few hours later I helped to prepare her body for burial the gratitude of all was marked and that alone the evidence of gratefulness would repay for any little inconvenience of our work the Jews especially marveled at the sisters giving them and usually gave them the credit of pulling them through one good sister writes I put sacred heart badges on all whether Catholic or Jew or Protestant Italian or colored if the Jew lost his badge he would give me no peace till he found it one young colored man was raving in delirium and was guarded by two officers I was sent to take charge of him while the two officers were off duty he was strapped to his iron bed and the blood was oozing from every part of his body his screams were heart rending he imagined that he was to be murdered I asked him to say after me the little aspiration my Jesus mercy Mary help he became quiet at once and after I placed a sacred heart badge on him and a medal of our blessed mother and asked me if any colored people belong to the Catholic church I gave him a catechism and a prayer book his wife came to take him home and he told her everything and soon the wife was as much pleased with our holy religion as the man one old man called me after a few days in the hospital and asked me to write a letter for him which he dictated it was addressed to a woman with whom he had boarded and settled some financial affairs his life he said had been spent in the depths of sin I told him that God would pardon him if only he would be sorry and make a good confession he told me that he was willing and I sent to St. Rita's for a priest who could understand thus after long years he came back to God these poor people died in great numbers but comforted by the sacraments I found them always taken in off the street models of patience, respect modesty and a delicacy towards the sisters that can be accounted for only as the result or the reward of charity I feel that the good done by the sisters both corporal and spiritual will bring blessings on the community emergency hospital opened by the south Philadelphia businessmen Broad and Snyder Avenue October 11, 20 sisters of the Immaculate Heart were detailed to serve in this hospital from the mission houses at St. Monica's, St. Thomas and the community house high school sisters 2018 Green Street the sisters served in three shifts midnight to 8am 8am to 4pm to midnight approximately 100 cases of influenza were treated here including mainly Jews Dr. Clemens was chief of staff he together with Samuel Park Esquire organizer of this special relief warmly recommended the work of the sisters an engraved certificate of acknowledgement and gratitude was given to each one of the sisters a sister tells of her experience here the first night enlivened by the incident of having to watch and control a delirious colored man on catching the Kaiser this catching meant to climb out of the window by way of the steam pipes and radiator it was found necessary at last to put William into a straight jacket two of the sisters holding him down while the nurse wound sheets around him binding him securely to the cot the following night two policemen were secured to keep guard over William the experience with the women during the previous night probably left brain impressions which changed the purpose of William who now no longer planned to catch the Kaiser but pleaded to see his wife Lill to whom he seemed very loyally devoted during the night one of the sisters had occasion to pass through the room where William lay guarded by the two representatives of public safety William looking up suddenly as he caught sight of the sister is that my little yes that's her holding out his big black arms that's my little the sister whether frightened or dismayed quickly disappeared with no apologies to William or the guardians of his liberty another sister tells how an automobile called at the convent St. Thomas every night to take herself and her companion sister to the emergency at Broad and Snyder Avenue where they were on duty in the men's ward from 12 midnight to 8 o'clock AM she speaks of her impressions on entering that dimly lighted ward for the first time at midnight where the breath of pestilence could almost be felt and every helpless form on his caught seemed to suggest the thought where you are I may be she describes the suffering of one young man who had served our country in France constructed and baptized in the hospital in his extreme pain he would cry out father in heaven take me he died peacefully another case is described in which the patient would grab wildly at everything within reach of his bed I whispered the act of contrition and ejaculations to him but as a continual vapor came from his mouth I could not stand there long the next night the lord had taken him to rest I hope some became unconscious and passed away not knowing apparently that death was near others who seemed to be on the way to recovery we would find the next night when we came on duty had passed to eternity one night I was called to the women's ward where a young mother was breathing her last she was trying to say something but could not speak milk she pointed to the baby in all her pain her one thought seemed to be that baby would be in want there were also some very amusing incidents one patient requested one night that he might be given a mask which the nurses and sisters wore saying that he did not want the disease the other fellows had another sister writes each day brought new patients as soon as one recovered died his bed was occupied by another sometimes new cases were waiting in the office until a dead body could be removed to make room for a new occupant the doctor instructed us to see that every man received the attention of either priest minister or rabbi one day I noticed a Catholic name on one of the charts and I said to the man did you see the priest he replied I am not a Catholic but he indicates that you should be I was then called away to get a glass of water for the priest who was giving the sacraments to another man I mentioned the case to the priest who then went over to the man and remained about an hour he found that he had been baptized and received his first holy communion in France he had come to this country it appears later enlisted and had served three years and the now late war the priest informed me that he had heard his confession and given him holy communion he requested me to say some prayers of thanksgiving with him as he knew no prayers a few days later this patient grew much weaker and during intense suffering he showed great patience he was anointed and died a very happy death another sister tells of her first night on duty 13 hours later the shifts were shortened and her time of service was from 4 p.m. to midnight when the sisters rode to the convent from the hospital in a taxi cab incidentally she mentions that her first night's charge was to take care of eight patients women including two babies all very sick and requiring constant attention of these eight all were Hebrews but one Catholic woman of the Jewish rabbi she says that he visited the hospitals daily and distributed newspapers to the convalescents he always bowed very profoundly to us and showed great respect end of part 3 part 4 of work of the sisters during the epidemic of influenza October 1918 by Francis Edward Tersher this LibriVox recording is in the public domain part 4 Holmesburg Emergency 1 after mass and holy communion six sisters start for Holmesburg from St. Veronica's now to find where the hospital is we inquired from the car conductors who were most kind to us when they learned that we were to take care for the sick one gentleman in the car paid our affairs then said in a loud voice for the benefit of all in the car now what would Philadelphia do if it were not for these good women emergency number one there we met a nurse wearing a mask in a long white robe she conducted us to the office of the head nurse and in two minutes we had our masks and gowns on worn over the habit of blue surge and we're ready for work there were over 300 patients and only 12 nurses this was October 11 to look after them so one can imagine the distress the neglect and the misery some did not have their faces washed for days before we came their bed clothing had not been changed for a light period of time the nurses were almost distracted they could not attend to the sick and indeed they gave the sisters a warm welcome my first day in ward number three the women's ward I shall never forget one cannot imagine it 90 women so sick and so helpless moaning, coughing or partly delirious others would get out of bed and follow us around the ward begging us to be allowed to go home then to try to quiet them others were calling for ice water an ice cap, a hot water bag a priest, a doctor it is beyond description several times during the first four days we would stand aside in the corridors and on the stairways to give place to the men and out dead bodies the first day we saw 13 bodies carried out to the dead house within four hours the odor from this dead house was something dreadful we could notice it two squares away on the second day they dug a trench on the grounds and placed the dead bodies in it until the relatives could have the remains removed about the fourth day everything became more quiet and we had things in fine working order Miss Reader remarked one day I am not a Catholic but it is surprising to see the change there is in this place since the sisters came the first week we were on duty from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. then the night force relieved us the second week we arose at 3 30 a.m. and were out at the hospital before 5 o'clock we were then on duty till 2 p.m. during these hours we had never a minute to waste we began as soon as we came on duty washing faces, combing hair making the sick generally comfortable then they were ready for breakfast this meant to prepare 90 trays to carry them to the beds after breakfast to collect them all again this kept us busy until 10 o'clock a.m. the time for their liquid diet which meant 90 cups of either milk, orange juice or ice water and it changed their night dresses this kept us until 12 o'clock time for diet again many improved and went home well who if they had not been brought to the hospital would have died of neglect another sister writes I left Germantown early the next morning October 10 for Holmesburg during the day two sisters came from St. Monica's and the three of us went to the hospital the experience of the first night can hardly be described as the place was anything but ready only a few nurses and three poor sisters without any experience they did not stop bringing in patients during the whole night we had as many as three and four always waiting to be put to bed thank God the next night things had wonderfully improved everything now seemed to be in working order and plenty of good help from various sources first of all the good sisters some firemen from different firehouses and some prisoners from the prison house of correction who were serving time all worked faithfully and seemed willing and eager to do anything to be helpful I remained on night duty from October 10 to October 28 working 12 hours from 7 to 7 during this time I had the some conversions and of seeing many returned to the sacraments not one Catholic under my observation died without receiving the last sacraments the sisters from Germantown were taken to Homesburg daily in a private car their hours on duty were 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. the poor suffering men writes one of the sisters in her report to the superior were cheered by our presence and in addition to the physical services we could render them many of them were spiritually benefited our garb of course represented religion to many of these four sufferers many asked for our prayers and I humbly believe many of them were brought to make a good acts of contrition and so had a good death because of our presence as as usual we also made a favorable impression at least taught to say their prayers and many asked us about our faith one poor Jew who knew nothing about religion notice the sacred heart badge pinned on my apron and asked why do you wear the picture of Christ I explained to him how we ask the sacred heart which symbolizes God's love and the sacred humanity of Jesus to protect us if the Christ will protect you he said why not pin one on me so that I too may ask him to cure me I pinned it on while doing so I asked him what he would do if he got better then I'll wear it he answered that he may protect me during the remainder of my life another sister reports to her superior at first we had great trouble about transportation leaving home St. Monica's about four in the morning and getting back about 9 p.m in an intervening hours we were engaged constantly waiting on the stick and dying I was assigned to the women's acute ward this meant that death was anticipated for the patients in that ward I was present at many many deaths and tried to help them turn their last thoughts to God one case impressed me deeply a Lutheran woman lay dying on a cot her little girl a mere baby lay very ill and the next caught the mother became unconscious and for hours the child dug at the white screen which was placed around the dying bed begging a word from her mother the mother died and yet the baby called a week or so later the little one was taken away to a home but still questioning the apparent neglect of her mother many of the patients were Catholics and appreciated the badges of the sacred heart which were given them as usual the Jews thought they were missing something and some of them asked for a red ticket too another sister tells of what appeared to be an interminable ride by trolley an hour and 30 minutes from the convent to the home for the indigent at library the sisters were not familiar with car routes and had been told to inquire from the conductors how to reach the home or the indigent they were amused perhaps a little humbled to hear the instructions of one conductor to another as they changed trolleys these ladies for the home of the indignant the first experience of this same sister after reaching the hospital was a scene of singular pathos yet one of the not unusual occurrences during the epidemic shortly after the sisters entered into the ward the woman died by her side were her brother and her son a boy of 15 who could not speak English the sister was moved to pity by the uncontrolled sobbing of the boy as she knew that the body must be removed she tried to offer some consolation she then through an interpreter an Italian working on the place learned that the boy's father lay at home dead and that he had not a dollar in the world to meet the cost of burying the remains of his parents finally we advised them to consult the society of St. Vincent de Paul and we felt that they would receive assistance in contrast to the above experience is one of the following day told by the same sister a very respectable colored woman was seriously ill and I observed that the screen which is usually put around the bed was placed around her bed by the side of the bed two other colored women were kneeling and a tall man stood at the head of the bed seeing the weeping women kneeling and thinking that I might be of some service I stepped close to them and asked are you Catholics no replied one of the women but Helen thought she might like to receive communion before she dies and is this your minister said I yes the minister then said that he thought Helen's head should be raised slightly while she swallowed the contents of a wine glass which she held I gladly raised Helen's head spoke a word or two of consolation and went away never thinking of a communion service a few minutes later I met a Catholic nurse who told me the details the minister on arriving at the hospital had asked for wine there was no wine he had asked for there was none to be found in the drug department but we have whiskey he accepted the substitute whiskey now may I have a little bread he asked it was found that there was no bread in the building but we have crackers and you need a biscuits these were accepted crackers and whiskey materia after for Helen's these were the sacramental elements in the subjective and sincere faith of the participants of the most sacred and divine right in the heritage of Christian religion whatever the results physiological or psychological of the crackers and whiskey Helen improved and when the sister left the hospital she was a promising convalescent another sister report one man said to me sister God must have sent me here to change my opinion of you Catholic ladies I hated Catholics before this epidemic now I shall revere the name of the Catholic sisterhoods and defend them as my life you good ladies came here to nurse us at the risk of your own lives and I have learned my lesson God bless you one of the sisters reports this bit of revelation of the psychology of human nature colored there was a rift in the clouds of sorrow at time she says that we find amusing now in the retrospect a colored girl who was helping in the diet kitchen thought she missed two of the sisters one night and finally she asked where are your two little blue-eyed girls tonight I sure hope they're not sick I told her that they were in another ward on duty after considerable thought she asked is it true that they have not been out after dark for six years yes I replied and I have not been out after nightfall for 25 years she could find no words adequate to express her astonishment but for days she repeated this choice bit of gossip to everyone who came in any way near her vicinity women's hospital 40th and parish two sisters of the immaculate heart from St. Agatha's convent served here on night duty until 7 a.m. one of the sisters writes we were inexperienced but tried to follow out the doctor's orders we watched carefully and especially when we found a patient's chart marked serious each night we assisted at several deaths after respiration ceased we prepared the bodies for the morgue the month of October 1918 number some of the most memorable and I trust some of the most glorious days of my life another sister tells of her experience and impressions leaving the convent each evening about 7 o'clock we were on duty until 7 next morning I was appointed to award where the violent patients were cared for it was a terrible sight to behold I shudder to recall it the poor victims some delirious and screaming others trying to sleep and still others breathing their last I was instructed to keep a close watch that no one got out of bed there was one woman who weighed over 200 who had to be carefully watched she had made vain attempts to get away and was now strapped to the bed she was violently tearing the bed clothes I remember how after this woman died I trembled when the nurse asked me to assist her in preparing the body for burial I feared to show reluctance I had no experience but offered to do my best another evening on reaching the ward I found a colored lady giving considerable trouble toward midnight her screams and shrieks in delirium were terrible while I assisted the nurse in strapping her to the bed she attempted to strike me with a glass tumbler and nearly tore the uniform off the nurse she would have injured us both if we had not quickly powered her and strapped her securely to the bed each night was a repetition of the previous one bathing the sick, distributing medicines giving nourishment preparing the dead for the morgue this continued for two weeks when at last the plague was under control and we returned to our convent with memories of an experience which will remain as long as we live Phoenixville Hospital a sister sent to Phoenixville for relief work from the convent of the sisters of the Immaculate Heart Sacred Heart Parish Philadelphia gives her experience in part she says that most of the patients in fact as it appeared to us all were foreigners Italians, Poles, Slavs, Lithuanians we could hardly understand a word they uttered we learned later to know them by their first names the last family name was too difficult to spell and impossible to pronounce in many instances entire families were in the hospital one case in particular a family of seven came under our notice from the mother of this family came the pleading request every time we passed the bed says you get a ma man says just a five minute me look a ma man after vain attempts to quiet the fears of the poor sick woman the sisters believing that they had located the man wanted a convalescent in the men's ward had him brought to Rosie who with loud protests and gesticulations gave evidence that he was not the man in request and renewed her pleading says just a five minute me look a ma man this same sister gives an interesting description of the death of a young woman a Slav of powerful frame a young man who came to the every day to act as interpreter told her of her dangerous condition immediately she began to sing very plaintively we ask him what she was saying he told us that she was begging God for mercy we lighted the candle and procuring holy water we began to recite the prayers for the dying as there was no crucifix at hand I took mine from the chain and placed it in her hand she pressed it to her lips buried aboutly she died repeating after the sisters the beautiful aspiration my Jesus mercy during the recitation of prayers for the dying the sister says every other sound was hushed in the ward the nurses marveled and expressed their surprise at the power of this simple act of religion to quiet the moaning and the constant appeals of the other sufferers in the ward one of the nurses herself a lesson remarked when first she saw the sisters without the mask how young they appeared and she was impressed especially by one sister's youthful appearance whom she judged to be about 21 that sister is a jubilarian 25 years professed in religion after conditions in the hospital were gotten well under control the Philadelphia sisters assisted their associates of the phoenixville community in the work of district nursing in a section of the town known as the Italian or foreign settlement judging from the sisters vivid description of experiences here these were foreigners not only to American customs and ways of life but too often strangers to cleanliness and sanitary surroundings truly most of us know little perhaps under ordinary conditions care less about how the rest of us live or exist after two weeks of this experience the sister says we return to our convent glad to have been able to do some little service for suffering humanity they returned from the passing experience of public notice to the daily routine of school work the work of a life devoted to the training of the spirit the minds and affections of other men's children a work less prominent in the public but a vital importance to the religion and morals of the growing generation the support and security of the social and civil life for the future Pottsville sisters IHM one of the sisters who had previously been doing district nursing in the parish of St. Francis de Sales describes the call for help in Pottsville the meeting of 10 sisters the number was later increased to 14 at the station for the train which leaves Philadelphia for 30pm their arrival and their welcome by the sisters of St. Joseph at St. Patrick's convent Pottsville October 10 the sisters were so distributed as to have some of them on duty at each of the three hospitals during both shifts night and day 7am to 7pm that night October 10 writes this sister three other sisters and myself were appointed for night duty these were my hours on duty during my two weeks stay in Pottsville I shall never forget my first night's experience in the Armory Emergency Hospital where there were on one floor about 80 men and on the other about 100 women the hardest thing of all especially for one who had never witnessed death was to see these strong men dying off one after the other it was remarkable that even the non-Catholics asked the sisters to remain near them and in their dying moments they would repeat the beautiful aspiration my Jesus Mercy End of Part 4 Part 5 of work of the sisters during the epidemic of influenza in 2018 by Francis Edward Porsche this LibriVox recording is in the public domain Part 5 Sisters of St. Joseph relief work of the sisters of St. Joseph in emergency hospitals general hospitals and institutions October 8 Emergency Hospital No. 3 seems to hold the honour of having been the first to be placed under the charge of the sisters of St. Joseph the charge was given by his grace the most reverend Archbishop following many appeals for relief from city authorities on the afternoon of October 8 the day before the meeting of religious superiors at the Archbishop's residence on the morning of the 9th of October 1411 Arch Street was still furnished for its purposes as the home of the fellow Patreon club at 10 o'clock p.m. of the same day the furnishings of the clubhouse had been changed for the equipment of a modern hospital among the first patients received here were 18 U.S. Army men belonging to division 8 motor supply train from Baltimore from the time of its opening October 9 to its closing October 30, 1918 50 sisters of St. Joseph served in this emergency hospital this number includes substitutes the sisters had orders to report the first symptoms of illness seven sisters were sent from this emergency to the community hospital in the motherhouse at Jessnut Hill one of them died the sister nurse, first nurse in charge was taken to the motherhouse ill after about a week service and was for many days at the very door of death one case of overcoming prejudice among the Army men deserves notice here the Catholic seeing was satisfaction how comfortable his companions were made by the care of the sisters said to one of the religious that he had had to endure much that was humiliating and an insult to religion from his fellows in camp one of the chief points of controversy turned upon our Catholic sisterhoods a general impression among non-Catholics was that the sisters are at the very best a useless ornament in human society we were all very sick men the Catholic in uniform concluded when we came here we have been lying around city hall waiting to be taken in somewhere when I saw that we struck the sisters going round putting water bottles and ice bags to us and bathing and making everybody feel some ease from suffering I could hardly wait till I got a chance to say hey fellas what good are they when we get out of this but what is good about the sisters another army man asked by one of the priests how the sisters treated them answered fine they treat us like our mothers these soldiers were very evidently sincere in their expressions of gratitude when they left the hospital moreover every man in the detachment including non-Catholics before leaving the hospital asked for and received a badge of the sacred heart and two Catholic patients some of the men during their illness edified the sisters by perseverance and memorizing prayers and aspirations for the hour of death which they requested to be taught after observing the practice among their Catholic fellow sufferers Saint Columbus emergency hospital this emergency hospital was opened when the epidemic was at its height in Saint Columbus a beautiful parish school by the Archbishop it was intended at first for the people of the parish only but later all were admitted from other parishes and all races and denominations 12 sisters of Saint Joseph teachers in the school volunteered to care for the sick though only one of these had had the advantage of any hospital training 100 cases of influenza were treated here and there was not one death of the symptoms to recuperate five doctors were in attendance and they called it the banner hospital of the city in one family the mother died at her home leaving the father with nine children the father in gratitude for care given the children told the sisters that if he ever became a millionaire he would leave half his wealth to them a crude way perhaps of expressing real and sincere goodness of art however the sisters have decided to build no air convents on the promise the nine kitties will have a first claim the sisters at Saint Columbus went out also when required to care for the sick in private homes some of these cases of district nursing deserve notice as illustrating again the conditions of the afflicted and some symptoms of the disease one case is reported in which the Board of Health had forbidden the house the father and three children were brought to the hospital leaving the mother's dead body to be attended to at home sores and vermin called for the sisters immediate attention St. Patrick's Hospital emergency number eight the decision to turn over St. Patrick's Hall 511 South 21st Street for the use of an emergency hospital was reached about noon on October 9 volunteers from the parish cleaned the building and fitted it for its new purpose in the service of humanity at 11 o'clock a.m. on the following day October 10 the first patient was admitted before midnight of that same day 80 patients had been received in St. Patrick's emergency every section of the city was represented and all creeds and colors the nursing was in charge of three graduate nurses the burden of the nursing was assumed 18 sisters of St. Joseph from St. Patrick's School and other parishes 17 students from the seminary gave their services as orderlies the spiritual needs of patients were under the care of the clergy at St. Patrick's 154 cases were admitted during the 18 days that the hospital was in operation 60 in the women's ward 37 in the men's ward and 57 in the children's ward there were 34 deaths 15 of these occurred in less than 24 hours after admission there were no deaths during the last nine days of the hospital's operation Dr. Wilmer Krusen director of public health and charities from whose report the above points were drawn says we are justly proud of our low mortality a sister who was in the service at St. Patrick's emergency recounting her experience and impressions writes I saw conditions beyond the power of description it is one thing to read or hear of suffering quite another to behold it in reality about the hall were arranged cots containing men on the first floor women and children on the second nearly every race and condition were there represented the police brought in the cases just as they found them from the homes of the afflicted among the patients cared for tenderly by the sisters was a stone man who stated that he had been an industrious agent in distributing the menace and anti-catholic prints of the same stamp after witnessing the unselfish devotedness evidenced in the work of the sisters in this hospital he proclaimed emphatically with a bit of unconscious profanity that he had done with such traffic that for the future he had common cause with anyone who would dare to speak against the church or catholic sisterhoods whose work he had now seen whose character and practical charity were proven to him by facts in a way which no language of the vendors of sensation muckrakers enemies of religion and strangers to human charity could ever disprove or counteract Holmesburg emergency number one October 9th came a call from the acting secretary of the archbishop for help to be given at emergency hospital number one Holmesburg where the city authorities appealing to the archbishop for aid and relief said that conditions were appalling in response to this call eight sisters of St. Joseph from St. Anne's and seven from the ascension were detailed for relief work at the Holmesburg hospital the sisters made themselves generally useful in the work of caring for the sick they washed the patients combed their hair took temperatures pulse and respirations made up beds carried trays swept the wards day and night from October 9th to October 25th the nurse in charge says writing to the superiors of the sisters who gave their services it has meant a great deal to us to have the sisters here to help us they have done splendidly in the wards and we are sorry to see them go I do not know what we would have done without their help I thank you for your splendid help and cooperation a like letter was sent also to the sisters of the Immaculate Heart and the sisters of Notre Dame at Takeney one of the sisters writing to her superior expresses what probably describes quite accurately the thought and the feeling of most of the generous volunteers when called to these new duties she says for which few of the sisters had any special training there was a feeling of dread and apprehension not of the contagion but of fear less inexperience and lack of training result in failure and render our efforts ineffective as usual with good intentions the Lord has taken care of results this sister gives some valuable facts impressions and personal experience which help us to see conditions as they were the attitude of city officials and the dispositions of the poor afflicted patients entering the next ward she writes the sisters were overwhelmed with pity and compassion at the side of the sufferers many of them were so discolored as to seem black in the face the sisters were assigned to different faces of work some to take temperatures others to prepare ice caps and hot water bags and refreshing drinks others to prepare the diet and others to give medicines these definite assignments made the work more methodical and brought conditions under control patients were being brought in by the police and others in trucks, ambulances and wagons and by nightfall the ward was nearly filled, probably October 9 and a number of extreme cases had died there was then only one orderly in the place and the dead often lay for some time to be removed at 6.30 p.m. the sisters of St. Joseph gave place to the sisters of the Immaculate Heart who were on night duty the shifts were 12 hours until October 18 at the earliest when there was a meeting of the representatives of the sisterhoods at Homsburg advised by the Archbishop to talk over the problem of shortening the hours of service to aid making three shifts the compiler has been unable to uncover the results of this meeting shorter hours would mean more sisters to serve this in the face of numbers depleted by sickness in the various communities was the real problem to be solved on the second day the sisters found that many of the first day's patients had died during the night on this same day Dr. Gruzen and several other physicians visited the hospital the doctor spoke to each sister personally and expressed gratitude for their services saying that the Archbishop had done much to lessen the spread of the epidemic by giving the sisters permission to serve on the third day a number of firemen came from the Homsburg firehouse and gave the sisters much needed help about the end of the second week the number of patients began to decrease so that one of the nurses exclaimed sister can you believe it an hour has passed without the entrance of a new case with the exception of two Mexicans all the patients were most eager to be waited on by the sisters and were also very grateful to them even the Jews and Protestants would repeat like little children the prayers and aspirations suggested by the sisters who were of course careful not to obtrude on any patient prayers likely to be against his sentiments nearly all the non-Catholics wished to have a badge of the sacred heart and one Protestant said to a sister that no amount of money would induce him to part with it Mount Sinai Hospital October 13 at the request of the civil authorities sent through his grace the most reverent Archbishop eight sisters went to Mount Sinai Hospital one detail went early in the morning when the second detachment arrived the superintendent said the sisters are upstairs and working very hard it's quite a change from the society ladies who were here last week after putting the nurses garb over their habit the sisters went into the wards into the private rooms to their surprise the sisters found many of the nurses Catholics and all were cordial and friendly for two weeks the sisters attended the hospital all day during that time they baptized two children and by request a woman one of the nurses baptized a boy of 12 who desired it the effect of the sisters presence in the wards was very noticeable one nurse said the nurses were talking last evening about the sisters and saying that when they entered the wards everything became quiet I did not believe it at first but now I have seen it the sisters took up all ordinary nurses work they helped all through the hospital in the wards for both men and women during the first week about six patients died every day in the second week the death rate was lower waiting on one man a Jew the sisters heard him softly humming the air of Catholic hymns especially Jesus the all beautiful as he grew better he wanted the sisters to talk to him and he told them he had been educated by the Christian brothers in New York a sister suggested to prayer to him he answered that he felt sure God never intended him to be a Christian however when he was leaving the hospital he said sister pray for me and I in return will always ask the great Jehovah to bless you for all you have done for us here he told the sisters that as he watched them going about through the wards he thought of a story the brothers had told the boys of a religious who had gone out to walk in the streets intending thus to preach a lesson to people by his modesty and recollected demeanor the Jewish hospital see report of st. Mary's academy sisters of st. Joseph st. John's nursery emergency hospital number four this hospital was opened October 9 at 3 30 p.m. at 9 30 there were 19 patients and October 11 it had 40 patients these were all children seven of them were baptized at the hospital one child was brought by a Jewish father as the sister received it she saw it was dying she immediately baptized it and the poor father took the dead body away with him a children's hospital a branch of st. John's day nursery was opened at 1216 vine street here were received infants and children up to the age of seven there was a strange medley of races and nationalities Jews were numerous several Jewish babies were baptized their thoughts took great delight in blessing themselves and babbling aspirations the Catholic home 29th and Allegheny avenue in the Catholic home there were 259 cases of sick children six of these died of pneumonia five of the sisters in charge of the children were also very sick but sisters from other houses were sent to the rescue thus saving the lives the superior says of many of the children the physician in charge of the Catholic home was astonished he said at the way the sister teachers adapted themselves to the work of nursing and how exactly his orders were carried out sometimes he came at 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. he had always found these nurses on night duty he said I am a 32nd degree mason but I must say I have never seen such devotion as the sisters lavish on these poor orphans Villanova college October 10 eight sisters were detailed for relief work at Villanova college where eight trained nurses were overworked attending to the sick in the Seminary St. Mary's hall and the Tolentine Academy for boys under 16 conditions in the college SATC were then quite under control in St. Mary's hall there were 53 cases of influenza out of 69 students and 3 priests resident in the building 3 students died Albert Starr a deacon John Dorgan professed Gilbert Clunk novice altogether 75 cases were treated in St. Mary's hall the junior students being brought over from the preparatory school for better convenience in nursing and attention a diet kitchen was established in St. Mary's hall there were 18 beds in the community room classrooms were filled and cots set up in the reception halls and four cots in the vestibule the sisters who served here were two from St. Joseph Chesnut Hill and two from St. Mary's hall there were 18 beds in the community room classrooms were filled two from St. Joseph Chesnut Hill two from our mother of consolation Chesnut Hill two from St. Charles church Philadelphia two from our mother of sorrows Philadelphia sisters of mercy Misericordia hospital was of course the chief care and burden of the sisters of mercy during the epidemic as in all the other hospitals it was necessary to call influenza were admitted to Misericordia hospital during the epidemic from September 16 to November 10 of these 22 developed pneumonia and of the 141 cases there were 30 deaths all the sisters who could be spared from parish schools and the two academies were needed at the hospital 19 of the sisters of the immaculate heart from St. Gabriel's and the Catholic home bureau assisted at the hospital during the early days of the epidemic until new conditions demanded their aid and caring for the children at the home bureau and elsewhere the sisters of mercy have charge of six parish schools in the diocese in all these parishes the sisters nurse the sick and cared for the afflicted in private homes end of part 5