(Boston Floating Hospital

Summary

Summary of "Boston Floating Hospital" Episode – Stuff You Missed in History Class

Release Date: May 7, 2025 | Produced by iHeartPodcasts

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Introduction: Unearthing a Forgotten Legacy

In this episode, hosts Holly Fry and Tracy V. Wilson delve into the intriguing history of the Boston Floating Hospital, a pioneering children's hospital that operated on a boat in Boston Harbor during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tracy recounts her personal quest to locate historical markers in Boston, which led her to discover the story of this unique medical institution.

Tracy V. Wilson [02:27]: "I decided that in that time I would go look for the Boston Molasses Flood historical marker... but then I noticed a sign about the Boston Floating Hospital."

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Historical Context: Boston’s Struggles with Poverty and Public Health

Boston in the late 1800s was a city marked by stark contrasts. While the Brahmin class symbolized wealth and exclusivity, the rapid industrialization had also led to overcrowded living conditions and severe pollution. The influx of Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine compounded these issues, making poverty a pervasive problem.

Tracy V. Wilson [04:08]: "There just wasn't a lot of medical care available for poor people in Boston, including children."

Child mortality rates were alarmingly high, with approximately 10% of children dying before age five, especially during the summer months when diseases like cholera infantum thrived due to inadequate refrigeration and poor sanitation.

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The Genesis of the Floating Hospital: Visionaries Behind the Initiative

The concept of a floating hospital was inspired by New York City's Emma Abbott, which provided fresh air and medical care to children. In Boston, Reverend Rufus B. Toby, an associate pastor at Berkeley Temple Congregational Church, spearheaded the initiative to create a similar vessel dedicated to children's health.

Tracy V. Wilson [10:28]: "Toby started thinking about trying something similar in Boston to offer fresh air and free medical care to children in need."

Key collaborators included Louis Freeman, Toby's assistant, who managed the hospital's finances and operations, and Edward Everett Hale, an author and Unitarian minister who played a crucial role in fundraising.

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Operational Beginnings: The Clifford’s First Voyage

The Clifford, a recreational barge, was transformed into the first Boston Floating Hospital. Its inaugural voyage on July 25, 1894, served as a pilot project to assess the feasibility and impact of the floating medical facility.

Tracy V. Wilson [16:46]: "On July 25, 1894, a tugboat towed the Clifford into the harbor... This first voyage was really an experiment."

The hospital provided free medical care, fresh air therapy, and education to approximately 1,100 children and 650 caregivers during its initial year, demonstrating significant community support and need.

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Innovations and Expansions: Enhancing Medical Care

As the Floating Hospital gained popularity, operational challenges necessitated improvements. Humidity-related deaths during hot summer nights prompted the installation of one of the earliest air-conditioned systems in a hospital setting.

Tracy V. Wilson [25:43]: "This system was modified from ones that were being used in chocolate factories, and its use at the floating hospital created one of the earliest air-conditioned hospital wards in the United States."

In 1895, the hospital expanded its services to include a surgical ward and treated a broader range of illnesses beyond gastrointestinal diseases, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections.

By 1906, the Floating Hospital had evolved into a fully equipped medical facility with four decks, including an operating room, food lab, clinical lab, and pharmacy. It also established a postgraduate nursing program, training 113 nurses by 1906, which elevated the quality of care provided.

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Challenges and Resilience: Navigating Operational Hurdles

Despite its successes, the Floating Hospital faced significant challenges. The high humidity and lack of modern air conditioning initially led to deteriorating conditions for some patients. The installation of the atmospheric plant in 1899 stabilized indoor temperatures and humidity, ensuring a safer environment for the children.

Tracy V. Wilson [27:30]: "The atmospheric plant allowed the air in the wards to remain at about 74 degrees Fahrenheit and 50% relative humidity, regardless of the weather outside."

Additionally, the hospital meticulously prevented the spread of contagious diseases by implementing strict infection control protocols, such as thorough handwashing, steam sanitization of linens, and regular disinfection of wards.

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Transition to a Purpose-Built Ship: Expanding Capacity

By the early 1900s, the success of the Clifford made it clear that a more permanent solution was necessary. Fundraising efforts, including named days for major donors, enabled the purchase of a 171-foot barge tailored specifically for medical purposes. This new vessel, equipped with its own steam engine, began service on August 14, 1906.

Tracy V. Wilson [31:45]: "The new ship was staffed by a resident physician, several medical assistants, and between 40 and 50 graduate nurses."

The purpose-built ship featured enhanced facilities, including four decks, operating rooms, laboratories, and accommodations for both patients and staff, significantly increasing the hospital's capacity to serve 200 patients simultaneously.

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Legacy and Transformation: From Water to Land

The Floating Hospital continued to operate effectively until July 1, 1927, when a fire destroyed the vessel. With the floating model no longer viable, the insurance payout facilitated the establishment of a new land-based pediatric hospital on Ash Street, Boston, opening in 1931. This institution maintained the legacy of providing free medical care until 1938.

Over the decades, the hospital underwent several mergers and affiliations, eventually becoming part of the Tufts Medical Center in 2020. Despite its evolution, the spirit of the Floating Hospital endures in Boston's commitment to pediatric healthcare.

Tracy V. Wilson [42:33]: "It continued to be known as the floating hospital until 2020, when it was renamed Tufts Medical Center."

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Conclusion: A Maritime Beacon of Compassion

The Boston Floating Hospital was a trailblazer in pediatric care, combining innovative medical practices with a compassionate approach to underserved communities. Its history reflects the challenges and triumphs of providing healthcare in an era before modern medical advancements. The legacy of the Floating Hospital remains a testament to the power of community-driven healthcare solutions.

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Notable Quotes

• Tracy V. Wilson [07:23]: "...few exceptions, poor women who worked as wet nurses were not allowed to bring their own children with them to work."
• Tracy V. Wilson [19:03]: "One of the chief objects aimed at in the floating hospital service is to place the responsibility for the care of the sick baby upon the mother."
• Tracy V. Wilson [27:14]: "The atmospheric plant allowed the air in the wards to remain at about 74 degrees Fahrenheit and about 23 Celsius and about 50% relative humidity, regardless of the weather outside."

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Further Reflections

Listeners are invited to contemplate the innovative spirit of the Floating Hospital and its impact on modern healthcare. The episode not only sheds light on a lesser-known chapter in Boston's history but also underscores the enduring importance of accessible medical care for all communities.

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For more fascinating historical insights, subscribe to Stuff You Missed in History Class on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[John Lithgow]

Hello, I'm John Lithgow. We choose to go to the moon. I want to tell you about my new fiction podcast, that's One Small Step for Man about Buzz Aldrin, one of the true pioneers of space.

[Podcast Host]

You're a great pilot, Buzz.

[John Lithgow]

That's the story you think you know. This is the story you don't. Buzz, starring me, John Lithgow, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Holly Fry]

Explore the winding halls of historical true crime with Holly Fry and Maria Tremarchi, hosts of Criminalia, as they uncover curious cases from the past. The legend of the Highwayman suggests men dominated the field, but tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrers, known as the wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s. Her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Find more crime and cocktails on Criminalia. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

And I'm Holly Fry.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

A couple of summers ago, I had a little time to spend as I waited for a train out of Boston's North Station, and I decided that in that time I would go look for the Boston Molasses Flood historical marker. Because it's not far from there. It was something to do. I'd never seen that marker before. While I was walking around, a different sign caught my eye, and it was about the Boston Floating Hospital. That was a children's hospital that operated on a boat in Boston harbor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I was immediately intrigued by that whole idea, and I thought about lighting up the floating hospital for my next episode. But we've established by now that when times are particularly tough, sometimes I just want to talk about people trying to save some babies. So I saved the topic for later. And it is later now.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

So here we go. In the late 19th century, poverty was a serious problem in Boston, Massachusetts. The city had become known for its so called Brahmin class, which was wealthy, elite and exclusive. But like a lot of other cities, it had been dramatically affected by industrialization, which had led to both a larger population and more pollution. Enormous numbers of people had also moved to Boston from Ireland in the wake of the great famine that started in 1845. By 1850, Irish immigrants made up about a quarter of Boston's population. And many of the newest arrivals had been fleeing a catastrophe and had arrived without a lot of money or resources.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

There also just wasn't a lot of medical care available for poor people in Boston, including children. Wealthy people could go to private hospitals, they could see private doctors, but there were not many charity hospitals for people who couldn't afford to do that. Definitely not enough charitable work to provide care for everyone who needed it. In terms of care specifically for children, Boston Children's Hospital was founded in 1869, but it was pretty small at first. It only treated 30 patients. In its first year in operation, it only had 20 beds. The idea of medical care for children as its own specialty was also very new. The first children's hospital in the US had been established in Philadelphia in 1855, and the term pediatrics first appeared in writing two years after that.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Most of the vaccines that prevent deadly childhood diseases today had not been developed yet, and the first antibiotics were still decades away. So all this together meant that in the late 19th century, childhood mortality rates in Boston were very high. About 10% of the children in the city died before they turned 5, and those deaths disproportionately took place during the summertime. According to reports from the city's Board of Health, nearly three times as many children under the age of five died in the months of July and August than in the month of June.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

A lot of these summertime Deaths were attributed to cholera infantum, which was a catch all term for diarrheal illnesses in children. In adults, this was usually called cholera morbis. There were a couple of reasons why these illnesses were a lot more common and also deadlier in the summer. Today's home refrigeration techniques didn't exist yet, so at most people might have an icebox. But even that was often out of reach for the poorest families. So the bacteria that caused a lot of these illnesses could really thrive in unrefrigerated food in the warm weather. Modern air conditioning also didn't exist yet. So children who got one of these gastrointestinal illnesses were a lot more likely to become critically dehydrated during the summer when it was hot. This was all complicated by the fact that a lot of Boston's poorest people were living in overcrowded, badly ventilated tenements, often in parts of the city where the air quality was very bad due to industrial and railroad pollution.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Another factor was connected to what babies in these neighborhoods were typically eating, which was often some sort of substitute for human breast milk. People in poor families typically had to return to work soon after giving birth just to make ends meet. And there were virtually no social or workplace supports in place for breastfeeding. With few exceptions, poor women who worked as wet nurses were not allowed to bring their own children with them to work. So they were also fed some kind of substitute as well, while the employer's children were breastfed.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Today, formula is made to meet babies nutritional needs, and there are safeguards in place to try to ensure that formula is as safe as possible. Neither of those things were true in the late 19th century. There were more than 20 brands of commercially made infant food in existence by the 1880s. But they really weren't nutritionally complete. And even if they had been, they were not really being widely used yet.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Instead, for most low income families, food for infants started with cow's milk or goat's milk, sometimes mixed with water, sugar or other ingredients. Other alternatives included porridges and teas. These substitutes often were not nutritionally adequate for babies. They typically had far too much of some nutrients and not enough of others. And since the milk was not being pasteurized, it could also contain pathogens that made people sick. Most people also didn't have a way to adequately clean and sterilize their baby bottles.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The Reverend Rufus B. Toby was a minister who was aware of a lot of the issues that were affecting poor people in Boston. He was one of the associate pastors at Berkeley Temple Congregational Church, which was located near some of Boston's poorest neighborhoods. Berkeley Temple characterized itself as a congregation whose doors were always open and would always answer calls for spiritual or temporal help. The church had an array of groups and societies that carried out all kinds of charitable work, including lady workers who visited people in prisons and other institutions as well as in their homes. Berkeley Temple also had a lending library and hosted classes for the community in academic subjects and in practical skills like dressmaking and mechanical drawing.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

One night in the summer of 1893, Toby was returning home from work and crossed the South Boston Bridge, also known as the Dover Street Bridge. This bridge crossed Fort Point Channel, which extended farther inland than it does today, and it offered a view of the Boston skyline. It had become a popular place for couples to go for a stroll, but that night Toby noticed that it was full of mothers walking back and forth with their babies and small children. Toby asked around and learned that this happened every night, sometimes late into the night, as parents tried to find some fresh air and relief from the heat thanks to the breeze that was coming off the harbor.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Toby had also heard about a hospital boat in New York City called the Emma Abbott, which was named after an opera singer who was one of its major benefactors. The Emma Abbott had first launched in 1875, but charitable organizations had started funding trips around New York's harbors and rivers in 1860s to give poor children access to fresher, cooler air. This was especially in the warmer months.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Toby started thinking about trying something similar in Boston to offer fresh air and free medical care to children in need, regardless of nationality or creed, away from the pollution and noise of the city. In the words of a report issued by Boston's Floating Hospital in 1903, quote Physicians of the city who were consulted were in complete agreement as to the wonderful effects of sea air upon infants and young children, and especially when from any cause these babies were ailing or threatened by summer diseases. It was found to be a common practice with many physicians to send mothers with infants thus endangered upon daily jaunts in the Marine park or some similar open bordering upon saltwater, or to any available place where these benefits could be obtained.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We'll talk about how the floating hospital actually got started after a sponsor break.

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[Podcast Host]

I found out I was related to.

[Holly Fry]

The guy that I was dating.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I don't feel emotions correctly.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

I am talking to a felon right.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Now and I cannot decide if I like him or not.

[Podcast Host]

Those were some callers from my call in Podcast Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a phone fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I live with my boyfriend and I found his piss jar in our apartment. I collect my roommate toenails and fingernails. I have very overbearing parents. Even at the age of 29, they won't let me move out of their house.

[Podcast Host]

So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for therapy gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it.

[John Lithgow]

Hello, I'm John Lithgow. We choose to go to the moon. I want to tell you about my new fiction podcast, that's One Small Step for Man. It's about Buzz Aldrin, one of the true pioneers of space.

[Podcast Host]

You're a great pilot, Buzz. As far as I'm concerned, the best I've seen.

[John Lithgow]

That's the story you think you know. This is the story you don't Predisposition.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

To depression, alcohol abuse and suicide.

[John Lithgow]

We'll see Buzz try to overcome demons.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

What do you say, Buzz another beer.

[John Lithgow]

And triumph over addiction.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Here's to you, Buzz Aldrin.

[John Lithgow]

Good luck to you and become a true hero.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Buzz and I will proceed into the.

[John Lithgow]

Lunar module not because he conquers space, but because he conquers himself.

[Podcast Host]

Buzz, we intercepted a Soviet radio transmission.

[John Lithgow]

Starring me, John Lithgow.

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[John Lithgow]

Can you Translate on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Columbia Several people worked with the Reverend Rufus B. Tobey on establishing a hospital ship for children in Boston. One was his assistant, Louis Freeman. Freeman's father had been part of a diplomatic delegation from Central America, and his mother was a black musical performer living in Washington, D.C. prior to the Civil War. We don't have a ton of detail about his life, but Freeman had visited Boston as a child and had really fallen in love with it. And when he moved back to Boston as an adult, he got a job at Berkeley Temple. Freeman played a critical role in managing the finances and operations of the floating hospital for its entire shipboard existence. He might have been the person who wrote the hospital's annual reports.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Another was Edward Everett Hale, who was an author, a historian, and a Unitarian minister. Toby and Hale had both worked with the Seashore Homes association, which was a charitable organization providing short seaside vacations to impoverished families in the summer. Hale was a key part of the fundraising effort for the hospital ship. Some of this was direct fundraising on his part, and some was through organizations that he had inspired. His 1870 novel 10 times 1 is 10. The possible reformation was about the power of collective action, and it made frequent use of the phrase lend a hand. Various social and charitable organizations had formed after its publication, calling themselves the Ten Times One Society or the Lend a Hand Club Club. Another prominent charity called the Monday Evening Club had also offered its support, and there were lots of individual donors, large and small.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Eventually they raised enough money to charter a barge called the Clifford, which took its first voyage as a floating hospital. On July 25, 1894, a tugboat towed the Clifford out into the harbor at nine in the morning, and it remained at anchor until the afternoon when the tugboat brought it back to the dock. This first voyage was really an experiment and an attempt to demonstrate that there was a need for such a service in Boston.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

The Clifford was a recreational barge, so it had to be turned into a temporary hospital and then back again when it returned to the dock. In the words of a historical sketch of the floating hospital published in 1903, quote before it could be made available for hospital uses. Every belonging of an excursion boat must be removed and the barge prepared for the reception of hospital furniture. Thus, in the morning, hammocks were swung, cots were placed in position and clothing for the children and apparatus for cooking food and sterilizing milk were taken aboard, all of which appliances had to be removed on the evening of the same day.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

On that first trip, the floating hospital had two doctors, two nurses, and an assistant who all volunteered their time. Big focus was on the healthful benefits of sea air, so not a ton of medical staff. At that point, tickets had been distributed through charities, dispensaries, hospitals and doctors. They had to be signed by a doctor indicating that a baby was sick and would benefit from the sea air, but did not have a contagious illness. Although some fathers did bring their children aboard, Overwhelmingly, babies and small children were brought by their mothers, older sisters, or other female relatives. Parents were also allowed to bring one healthy child under the age of six if they could not be left with someone else.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

All food on board was provided and paid for by charitable contributions. That included bottles for babies who were not being breastfed and meals for older children and caregivers. Because contaminated food and milk were such common sources of summertime illness, no other food was allowed and people's bags were searched and any food discarded before they could board. This rule about food was one of three rules printed on the back of the ticket, the other two being about bringing one healthy child if necessary and that the trip would be postponed in the event of stormy weather. The staff used these bag searches as an opportunity to teach about food safety, trying as much as possible to avoid making mothers feel embarrassed or ashamed if they had food that had to be thrown away.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

There was a key difference between the approach to care at the floating hospital and most other medical services for children in Boston at the time. We already said those services were limited, but beyond that, parents were often intentionally excluded. There was just a running belief that poor mothers were part of the problem and were to blame for their children's illnesses. But the floating hospital welcomed parents aboard. In the word of a report written ahead of the 1895 season quote, one of the chief objects aimed at in the floating hospital service is to place the responsibility for the care of the sick baby upon the mother. While on board the floating hospital, a doctor and a nurse look out for its welfare. She is taught what to do for the child between trips and reports each time she returns with it. The experience thus acquired is invaluable. So this included things like teaching mothers to prepare formula that Was as safe and nutritious as possible, or to prepare some version of milk in the in the earlier years that was as safe and nutritious as possible. How to clean and sterilize the baby bottles, and eventually offering affordable bottles and sterilizers for sale.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

In the first 1894 season, the Clifford took five hospital voyages. Roughly 1100 babies and children received care on the barge, accompanied by about 650 mothers and other caregivers. In 1895, Toby and Freeman left berkeley temple to focus solely on the floating hospital, Establishing the Boston floating hospital corporation. Money was raised for more voyages and a surgical ward was created. Though surgery was not the main focus of the hospital, the majority of children treated at the floating hospital had some kind of gastrointestinal illness, but children with other diseases were treated as well, including those with bronchitis, pneumonia, Ear infections, and various other diseases and conditions. In 1895, the Clifford took 13 trips into the harbor as a hospital, following the same basic pattern as the year before.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Exactly where they went over the years Usually depended on the weather. Lewis freeman described it this way in a diary. We'd go out whenever there was a breeze. We'd leave the north end pier at nine in the morning, Go out into the upper harbor, Then into the lower harbor, and down to long island, opposite deer island. If the breeze got too heavy, we'd turn around and come back into dorchester bay and anchor down off of Thompson's island. On Sunday, we'd go through gull hut and anchor off of pemberton. Sometimes, if the air was just right, we'd travel up to marblehead or go down to anchor off of scituate light. But our favorite spot to anchor and have lunch Was just off boston light. The lighthouse keeper would sound the foghorn in our honor, and the children would wave back.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

In 1896, the floating hospital operated daily over the summer months, except for Sundays. It was reorganized to have a board of managers and some paid staff. The scope of services that were offered aboard the floating hospital really grew. A kindergarten was established for the healthy children on board. A modified milk department was also created to prepare and bottle food for the babies. Over the years that followed, this grew into a food lab that was devoted to studying the nutritional content of milk substitutes and the nutritional needs of babies. That year, more than 3,500 people, including parents, Benefited from some kind of care aboard the ship, and there were only three deaths.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

All of that growth made it obvious that chartering a barge was no longer practical, and the floating hospital should just purchase the clifford the floating hospital was already a popular charity in part because of feel good coverage in Boston area newspapers. And fundraising to buy the barge led to the establishment of named days, with larger donors having a day of sailing named after them. Later on, the hospital would do something similar with named beds. The hospital purchased the barge in 1897 and re outfitted it to be permanently a hospital ship and to accommodate about 200 patients at a time.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Owning the barge created some new opportunities for the hospital. Previously, children who needed additional care at the hospital could be issued a ticket for a subsequent sailing before disembarking. But especially in the first couple of years, that next sailing might not be on the following day. Owning the barge meant that the hospital could establish an inpatient department for 24 hour care of very sick children. The inpatient ward was described this way. Quote for here are between 50 and 60 of the sickest babies in Boston and vicinity. Some of them have been selected from the sickest ones brought to the upper deck and the parents persuaded to give them their only chance of life, which lies in careful, persistent watching and nursing. By far the larger part, however, are sent by the physicians of the city who have come to realize that here is a last resort well worth trying.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

But this created a new need. Temperatures typically dropped overnight, but in the process it also became a lot more humid around the harbor. The ship was very well ventilated. It was intentionally set up to get fresh air into the wards. But that hot stickiness could make conditions on board really miserable, and patients often got worse overnight because of it. In some cases, critically ill children died and their cause of death was ultimately traced back to the heat or the humidity. This was particularly true during an exceptionally hot summer in 1898.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

So they got air conditioning. In the Words of A 1903 Historical Sketch of the hospital next to the purchase of the barge, the most important event in the history of the floating hospital was the installation of what is now known as the atmospheric plant, which, to quote one of our physicians, brings October weather into dog days. Since the adoption of the permanent patient department, the good results accruing to this class of patients in the daytime on the open water were largely neutralized by the humidity of the August nights.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This system was modified from ones that were being used in chocolate factories, and its use at the floating hospital created one of the earliest air conditioned hospital wards in the United States, if not the earliest. Here is how the atmospheric plant worked, drawn from that same 1903 write up. Quote the air furnished the wards is drawn by the suction of a fan down a duct from above the upper deck into a receiver in the hold. In this receiver is placed two series of coils, one series being connected with the brine tank and through which circulates a brine at a temperature of about 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and the other series being joined to an exhaust steam pipe, enabling steam to be used for heating when necessary. The air, when entering the receiver, passes over the brine coils and a large percent of its moisture is condensed on the coils. This action is analogous to that observed in the winter of the moisture of the air of a warm steam room condensing on a window pane cooled by the outside air. Then the air passes over the steam coils, is heated to any desirable temperature and thus forced by the fan through the ducts into the wards. The quantity of air circulated is about 2,000 cubic feet per minute, which gives an average of more than 50 cubic feet per person per minute, an amount satisfactory to the most critical and which is obtained by very few ventilating systems.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

That 10 degree brine was made with ammonia and this system allowed the air in the wards to remain at about 74 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 23 Celsius and about 50% relative humidity, regardless of the weather outside.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The atmospheric plant was installed in 1899 and that same year a postgraduate nursing program was established at the Floating hospital. It incorporated 11 or 12 lectures over the course of the season and hands on work with the children who were being cared for on the ship. This transitioned a lot of the nursing care on board from volunteers to trained nurses who were continuing their education. By 1906, 113 nurses had earned postgraduate certificates from this program.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

In 1901, the floating hospital added a pathology lab and it also started raising funds to build a new purpose built ship. It wasn't just that the hospital's scope had grown so far beyond the benefits of fresh air and basic medical care for sick children. Demand had grown as well, and by 1902, staff were having to turn sick children away because there were just no more available beds. In 1905, 25 children had to be turned away on a single day.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The new ship set sail the following year and we will talk about it after a sponsor.

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[Dutch Advertiser]

Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24. 7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch. You'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I found out that was related to.

[Holly Fry]

The guy that I was dating.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I don't feel emotions correctly.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

I am talking to a felon right.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Now and I cannot decide if I like him or not.

[Podcast Host]

Those were some callers from my call in Podcast Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I live with my boyfriend and I found his piss jar in our apartment. I collect my roommate's toenails and fingernails. I have very overbearing parents. Even at the age of 29, they don't let me move out of their house.

[Podcast Host]

So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for therapy gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it.

[John Lithgow]

Hello, I'm John Lithgow. We choose to go to the moon. I want to tell you about my new fiction podcast, that's One Small Step for Man. It's about Buzz Aldrin, one of the true pioneers of space.

[Podcast Host]

You're a great pilot, Buzz. As far as I'm concerned, the best I've seen.

[John Lithgow]

That's the story you think you know. This is the story you don't predisposition.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

To depression, alcohol abuse and suicide.

[John Lithgow]

We'll see. Buzz try to overcome demons.

[Dutch Advertiser]

What do you say? Buzz?

[John Lithgow]

Another beer and triumph over addiction.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Here's to you, Buzz Aldrin.

[John Lithgow]

Good luck to you and become a true hero.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Buzz and I will proceed into the.

[John Lithgow]

Lunar Module not because he conquers space, but because he conquers himself.

[Podcast Host]

Buzz we intercepted a Soviet radio transmission.

[John Lithgow]

Starring me, John Lithgow.

[T-Mobile Advertiser]

Can you put it to a Translate.

[John Lithgow]

On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Columbia The Boston Floating Hospital's new ship was 171ft, or about 52 meters long. It had a steel hull and a wooden superstructure and it was built to be able to have its own steam engine, unlike the Clifford that had to be towed by a barge. The ship's new engine was installed before its second season in service, so that first season still being towed around the atmospheric plant from the Clifford was also modified and installed on the new boat.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

The Boston Floating hospital started its 1906 season aboard the Clifford because the purpose built ship wasn't ready yet. A steel strike had caused some delays in its construction. The hospital moved to its new ship on August 14, 1906.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The new ship was staffed by a resident physician, several medical assistants, and between 40 and 50 graduate nurses. And then there were also visiting physicians who were part of the patient's care. It had four decks, all of them with hot and cold running water. There was an operating room, a food lab, a clinical lab, a pharmacy, a kitchen and a cafeteria to serve meals to the parents and healthy children. The ship had staterooms for staff who were there overnight, and it still had the kindergarten that had been set up for the healthy children on the Clifford. The hold contained a laundry and equipment for sterilizing linens, as well as a mortuary and an autopsy room.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

A 1906 write up about the new ship described it this way. Quote There are about 60 cribs grouped in four wards. Ward D has windows on two sides which allow of nearly complete opening of the walls to fresh air. Ward C has no walls, only curtains, and is used chiefly for tuberculosis cases. Wards A and B are more completely protected and are supplied with an abundance of air at just the right temperature and humidity by our atmospheric plant. No contagious cases are taken in case one develops while the boat is away from the wharf or is smuggled in. It is as completely isolated as possible.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Side note I am a little unclear on exactly how people were thinking of contagious while the Floating Hospital was operating. On the one hand, going back to its inception, the tickets had always clearly stated that children with Contagious disease were not admitted. But like what Holly just read referenced tuberculosis cases. Tuberculosis had been defined as a contagious illness by like the 16th century. Robert Koch had presented findings isolating the tuberculosis bacillus in 1882. So people knew that tuberculosis was contagious. A lot of the diseases that were grouped together as cholera infantum were also spread through contaminated food or water or from person to person through inadequate hygiene. So that is also contagious. The focus on keeping contagious illnesses out of the floating hospital might have just been more focused on the diseases that were known to cause sudden, serious outbreaks among children. So things like diphtheria and measles at the same time.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Preventing disease spread on board the ship had always been a priority, going back to its very first voyages aboard the Clifford. The staff treated all cases of diarrheal illness as though they were contagious. Medical and nursing staff practiced thorough hand washing and infection control procedures. Linens were steam sanitized and the wards were regularly disinfected. The purpose built ship was constructed so that wards could be open to the fresh air while also being isolated from one another, so that one could be disinfected or fumigated without affecting care that was going on in the others. Milk was also tested for bacterial contamination in the food lab. And the opening of the pathology lab allowed doctors to confirm diagnoses of various infectious diseases, as well as to look for the specific causes of cholera infantum.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Another priority was fire safety. There were daily fire drills on board, including practicing lowering the lifeboats. And nurses practiced passing bundles of cloth back and forth in the place of the babies they would need to be evacuating if a fire happens.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

By this point, the floating hospital wasn't exactly framing itself as a research hospital. Its primary focus had always been the care of children and the education of their parents and caregivers on how to treat and prevent the illnesses they were susceptible to in the summer. But it was unique in that it was devoted solely to children's care in the summer, which meant the doctors and nurses who work there and other researchers who visited could learn more about these diseases over time. This included Dr. Simon Flexner of the University of Pennsylvania, who visited for bacterial research in 1903. Flexner had identified the bacterium known as Shigella flexneri, which was one of the causes of diarrheal illness in 1900.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

One of the ongoing issues that the hospital had been feeding the patients. As we said earlier, the hospital was a popular charity and that included grocery stores and other businesses donating food for the adults and the older children. Cow's milk was also donated by HP Hood Dairy, which was following very strict cleanliness and hygiene standards. The hospital's milk, so much so that the hospital tested it for bacterial contamination but didn't pasteurize it. Children were also being sent home from the hospital with enough milk for 24 hours. When they were discharged, the food lab had an apparatus for processing, modifying and bottling human milk that went back to before the purpose built ship that made cow's milk more suitable for human babies. But having enough milk and being confident about its nutritional value for the babies was still a problem.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Frances Parkman Denny, who ran the milk lab, was also an advocate of babies being fed human breast milk. Specifically, he thought there were ferments in the milk that activated ferments in the baby's blood and that these ferments had a bactericidal effect and improved the baby's digestion. One of the ways he tried to improve access to breast milk at the floating hospital was by working with the Boston Wet Nurse Directory, which was established by Fritz Bradley Talbot in 1910. Talbot and Denny were both visiting physicians at the Massachusetts Infant Asylum, joined by mia, which was a home for orphaned and abandoned children.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Talbot saw this directory as a way to help the babies at the asylum and to help the wet nurses. The wet nurses were often very young and unmarried and really didn't have another way to support themselves and their children. Unlike most other wet nurse jobs, nurses who were hired through Talbot's directory were allowed to keep their own children with them. And they fed those children themselves along with the children they were being paid to feed. Nurses from the directory were paid $8 a week plus their room and board.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

There was also a breast milk collection program at the floating hospital, which Denny started in 1909. The hospital paid 60 cents per quart of collected breast milk. Participants in this program were given physical exams and screened for tuberculosis and syphilis. The hospital provided them with breast pumps and trained them on how to use and sanitize them and to store the pumped milk on ice. Participants in this program were often a little more affluent than the wet nurses. They didn't need lodging in addition to their pay. Sometimes these were women whose children had died or who just wanted to give something back to the hospital after their children had received medical treatment there.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

By the 19 teens, researchers at the floating hospital's food lab were also really making advances in developing shelf stable powders that would mimic human breast milk as closely as possible. The hospital already had equipment that could dehydrate milk products to be reconstituted later. But this also involved research into the chemical composition of milk from both cows and humans. This research was overseen by Dr. Alfred Bosworth, who was director of research at the hospital. Louise Giblin, who was one of the few women chemists in the United States at this point, was a critical part of the day to day work on this. Eventually, their work led to the development of the infant formula Similac. Although that was after Bosworth had moved on from the Floating hospital. He went to work for Kellogg's for a while before he started his own company.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

By the 1920s, rates of childhood death from summer illnesses in Boston had dropped significantly. Massachusetts started requiring milk to be pasteurized in 1921, which dramatically reduced the spread of milk borne illnesses. The city had also improved its sewage system which removed another source of spread for diarrheal illnesses. The floating hospital and other health care systems in the city had improved public health and medical care for children. The death rate from summertime diarrheal illnesses had been 30 to 40% in Boston at the end of the 19th century, and in 1926 it had dropped to a little more than 12%.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

On July 1, 1927, the Boston Floating Hospital caught fire and it burned down to the hull. The cause of the fire is not known, but it may have spread to the ship from the dock. The hospital season hadn't started yet, so there were no patients or hospital staff on board and the crew members who were there safely evacuated.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Initially, there were plans to rebuild the ship, but the hospital had really outgrown it. Instead, the ship was rebuilt as a tanker and operated as the Marshall B. Hall until it left service and was scrapped in 1952. The insurance payout from the fire was used to help build a new pediatric hospital. This time though on land. The original facility, still called the Floating Hospital, was on Ash Street. It opened in 1931. Care at that hospital continued to be free until 1938.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The Boston Floating Hospital went through a series of relocations and changes and mergers over the years that followed. It joined the New England Medical center consortium in 1930. It partnered with Tufts School of Medicine and the Boston Dispensary, and it later merged with those institutions. It continued to be known as the floating hospital until 2020, when it was renamed Tufts Medical Center. In January of 2022, Tufts announced that it was closing the 41 bed inpatient pediatric unit at the hospital and converting that to ICU space for adults. I cannot speak to the legitimacy of Tufts financial and personnel decisions. But people in Boston were furious.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Although New York's floating hospital, which had served as an inspiration for the Boston Floating Hospital, no longer operates on the water, today, it does still exist as a non profit organization focused on medically underserved communities there.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

And that's your episode about saving some babies. Saving a lot of babies.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

Do you have listener mail?

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yeah. So this is from Jesse Ann, and Jesse Ann wrote and said, hi Holly and Tracy. I just finished listening to the episodes this week about the Vietnam draft board raids. Hearing the names Philip and Daniel Berrigan took me back to college real quick. My bachelor's is in religious studies, a history of religion degree and not a theology degree. And one semester I took a class called Global Justice. Part of this class involved learning about religious movements geared towards social justice and the approaches to justice. Various thinkers took Being one of those nerdy kids. I still have my notebooks from college and most of the papers I wrote. One of the papers I wrote in that class was on Philip Berrigan's autobiography, Fighting the Lamb's War. The part about the brothers that has always stuck out to me wasn't what he did with the draft cards during the Vietnam War, but that after the war he and others broke into a warhead storage area and hammered on the warheads. This was some of what Philip wrote about in the book. Their plowshares actions, which began with the first break into a warhead storage facility in 1980, got their name from Isaiah, chapter 2, verse 4. They shall beat swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore. Aside from the book, another place you and others can see more of their impact is by going to Jonah House.org which was a community Philip and his wife were a part of. I forget who made the comment during the episode that the brothers are interesting, but I agree so much with that. Growing up Catholic, I wish I had been taught about the social activism they and other Catholics had throughout history. I've attached pictures of the cats my brother and I had growing up. The black cat was my brother's and his name was Leather. He was a hunter and enjoyed leaving presents at the back door for us. The tuxedo cat was mine and her name was Hearts. In the picture of my brother holding her, you can see the black patch in her paw shaped like a heart. She liked to bring lizards and crickets inside to terrorize us until we caught them into them away from her. Thanks so much for bringing up some people in history I hadn't thought about in years. Jessyanne Jessyan, thank you for these kitty cat pictures. Kitties. Our kitty cats are exclusively indoor kitty cats, but on the occasion that a rodent or insect or et cetera gets into the house, they immediately go after it. We have adorable pictures of cats lounging in the most lounging ways. So thank you so much Jessyan for your email. If you would like to send us a note about this or any other podcast Root history [e-mail] you can subscribe to our show on the iheartradio app and with anywhere else you like to get your podcasts.

[Dutch Advertiser]

Foreign.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[Dutch Advertiser]

Time is precious and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 247 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care.

[John Lithgow]

Hello, I'm John Lithgow. We choose to go to the moon. I want to tell you about my new fiction podcast, Small Step for Man about Buzz Aldrin, one of the true pioneers of space.

[Podcast Host]

You're a great pilot, Buzz.

[John Lithgow]

That's the story you think you know. This is the story you don't. Buzz, starring me, John Lithgow, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Holly Fry]

Explore the winding halls of historical true crime with Holly Fry and Maria Trimarchi, hosts of Criminalia, as they uncover curious cases from the past. The legend of the Highwayman suggests men dominated the field, but tell that to Lady Catherine Ferrars, known as the Wicked lady who terrorized England in the mid-1600s, her legend persists nearly 400 years after her death. Highwaymen are in the hot seat this season. Find more crime and cocktails on Criminalia. Listen to criminalia on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

A crime makes headlines. People talk about it for a few days. Then it disappears. But for the people left behind, their story is just beginning. But at night, we hear the garage.

[Dutch Advertiser]

Opening and my son hears it.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We freak out.

[Dutch Advertiser]

Honestly, I didn't tell my son this.

[Stuff You Missed in History Class Host]

But I thought that was it.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

From the exactly right network. This is the Knife. Real stories of crime's ripple effects told by those who lived them. New episodes every Thursday. Listen to the knife on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Host]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.