The Lazaretto
Forgotten hospital is one of the world's
oldest quarantine stations.
By Scott Hatfield
|
A
hospital sits abandoned on the banks of the Delaware River near Philadelphia
that once sheltered sick immigrants arriving by ship to America. The
Federal style building is called the Lazaretto and is the oldest surviving quarantine
station and hospital in the Western Hemisphere in what is now Tinicum
Township in Delaware County, PA. When it was a quarantine station, the
Lazaretto physician, and healthcare personnel cared for passengers
and crew suffering with contagious diseases. "It's
both exciting and humbling to see this place and to think of the individuals
involved," said David Barnes, PhD, associate professor in the department
of history and sociology of science at the University of Pennsylvania in
Philadelphia. "They were struggling to heal sick people, to protect
vulnerable people and to confront every day with the threat of disease." The
Lazaretto-named for Saint Lazarus, patron saint of lepers-was built by the
Philadelphia Board of Health in 1799, sparked by a series of yellow fever
epidemics of the late 18th century that invaded the city, causing officials
to rethink their public health strategies. A
quarantine station existed at the time of the yellow fever outbreaks, but it
was in Philadelphia and city leaders worried incoming sick passengers and
healthy residents were too close, Dr. Barnes explained. As
a result, a second quarantine station was built beginning in 1799 in present
day Essington, Tinicum Township. The location was chosen since it seemed far
enough away to stop any imported disease from spreading to the city. So
in the warm weather months until 1895 when the building ceased operating as a
quarantine facility, ships arriving into The Port of Philadelphia were
required to anchor outside the city in the Delaware River, signaled by a
yellow quarantine flag that featured a black letter Q. "The
real action of quarantine happened out on the river," said Dr. Barnes,
who is researching the Lazaretto for a book. "That is where the drama of
quarantine really took place as vessels sailed up the Delaware River toward
Philadelphia." All
arriving vessels were signaled by the bargeman on watch who rang a bell to
alert the Lazaretto physician. The bargeman rowed the physician out to the
ship. The doctor then asked the crew and passengers a series of
health-related questions. "The
Lazaretto physician would visually inspect the crew, the passengers, the
cargo and the state of the vessel itself," Dr. Barnes reported. Healthy
passengers waited aboard until the quarantine was lifted. Sick travelers were
taken to the Lazaretto's hospital found on both sides of the building's
central pavilion. As part of the quarantine process, staff and patients had
to go outside and re-enter to move from one section of the building to the next,
Dr. Barnes explained. "The
Philadelphia Board of Health wanted to limit contact as much as possible
between sick and healthy people," he added. Although
no documents survived to shed light on detailed hospital practices or what
specific medicines or instruments were kept at the facility, Dr. Barnes
refered to 19th century treatments such as tonics, herbal potions and
bloodletting when discussing patient care. "Very
little is known about medical treatment at the Lazaretto," he explained.
"There are occasional inventories of supplies, but specific medical
instruments are generally not listed." Rebecca
Sell, historic preservation planner with the Philadelphia Historical
Commission, researched the 10-acre property and found published newspaper
accounts of nearby residents bringing sick people to the Lazaretto on carts
for treatment or quarantine. "It's
one of the oldest public medical buildings that still remain and it remains
intact," she said. "So I think a lot of information can be gained
from the building itself." She's
not alone in her thinking. The Lazaretto Preservation Association of Tinicum
Township, a group of individuals who hope to maintain the building and its
significance, is continuing efforts to restore the Lazaretto. The Lazaretto
was almost demolished, but plans are underway to keep it standing and perhaps
rehab it to the point where the doors can be open to the public. The million
dollar cost associated with restoring the building is an issue, however. Barbara
Selletti, a member of the Lazaretto preservation association, hopes more
people become interested in safeguarding the building and notes many medical
professionals may have ties to the Lazaretto. "A
lot of immigrants came through here so a lot of people really do have a
connection to this place," she said. "This is America's
history." Scott Hatfield (shatfield@advanceweb.com)
is multimedia editor of www.advanceweb.com.
Riverside
YC which is located right next door to the Lazaretta used to be the Doctors
& Nurses quarters for those working at the Lazaretta. |
||
