Old And Crowded Hygiene Building

With the rains come colds, and the cautious student can receive a thorough examination at the Hygiene Building on Holyoke Street. Above is Henry Elkins '56, who is seated under the portrait of Roger I. Lee '02, the founder of the School of Public Health. The physician conducting the check-up is Dr. Elmer E. Hinton.

Unfortunately, the efficient examinations are not enough to overcome the physical disadvantages of the Hygiene Building. The University acquired the structure in 1931 from the old Spee Club which had partially burned. But new paint could not enlarge the rooms or straighten the twisting stairs.

The present Director of the Hygiene Building is Dr. Dana L. Farnsworth, who has about twenty technicians working under him. He is particularly dissatisfied with the building's shortcomings. One of the annoying inconveniences for patients is to arrive on a busy afternoon when only standing room is available. The crowded conditions in turn block the passage of nurses carrying supplies. Other means of communication include an antiquated dump-waiter that carries messages form floor to floor.

The laboratory is a combination of specimen bottles and microscopes. Hidden in an upper story corner of the building, the lab contains a minimum of new equipment. The technicians are hindered by lack of adequate lighting, especially in the far corners of the room.

There is too little space, with offices and consulting rooms pushed into small niches that resemble roomy closets. The location of the rooms also causes difficulty. Long flights of stairs separate the registration desk, offices, and the surgical ward.