St. Luke's Hospital - El Paso, Texas

St. Luke's Hospital - El Paso, Texas

The image shows the St. Luke's Hospital in the 1900s. It was one of the first hospitals in town which treated tuberculosis patients. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, tuberculosis spread rapidly in the United States. Throughout most of the 19th century, pulmonary tuberculosis was thought to be a hereditary disease aggravated by humid air, damp soil, lack of exercise, inadequate diet, and overcrowded and poorly ventilated housing. However, in 1882, German physician Robert Koch described the rod-shaped organism called the tubercle bacillus that causes tuberculosis. The microscopic bacteria were impossible to destroy unless exposed to heat or light. Since most infections came from people with pulmonary TB, such people needed to be isolated to check the spread of the disease. The Southwest, including El Paso, was considered ideal for the treatment of TB because of its dry, warm climate. It attracted TB patients from all over the country. The completion of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1881 encouraged tuberculars to come west. Early care of TB patients consisted of sitting in parks to absorb the sun and convalescence in private homes. This method was ineffective and many people died. The migration of infected persons in search of a climatic cure created a major public health problem for sections of the Southwest from the late 1890s through the 1920s. During this period, many sanatoriums and hospitals opened to treat tuberculars and this deadly disease helped establish El Paso as a health center. Dr. J. Shelton Hoseley opened St. Luke's Hospital at 199 Missouri Street in El Paso, Texas in 1900. He sold it to Dr. Charles B. Hanson in 1903 and then founded another large hospital treating mainly TB patients.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: El Paso County Medical Society

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

View towards Ciudad Juárez

The image shows parts of the two cities El Paso and Ciudad ...

View towards Ciudad Juárez

In the front the image shows parts of downtown El Paso, for ...

Angelus Hotel and Crawford Theater

Angelus Hotel and Crawford Theater before 1944.

Arrival of the Railroad

While Gould's railroad company was still 130 miles form reaching ...

Horse Drawn Ambulance

The McBean & Carr Ambulance in front of Providence Hospital. Mr. ...

El Paso Street

South El Paso Street was the center of town in 1882. The sign on ...

San Jacinto Plaza

When the US government leased land from Smith's ranch, for the ...

Downtown El Paso

Horse and Buggies meander through the streets of downtown.

Pioneer Plaza - 1908

Photograph of Pioneer Plaza in the year 1908.

San Francisco Street

San Francisco St. taken from Pioneer Plaza located at the road's ...

El Paso Public Library

Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie funded the El Paso Public Library ...

Major W. J. Fewel

Started the first gas company in El Paso,Texas with Zach White. ...

Harry Wiley

Chief Deputy Sheriff Harry Wiley.

Samuel Schutz

The first Jews were drawn to the area as it became a center for ...

Dr. Walter N. Vilas

Dr. Walter N. Vilas was a major surgeon of the First Texas ...

Jonathan Rogers

Jonathan Rogers was a four-time El Paso mayor and founder, ...

Ronald D'Emory Coleman - El Paso, Texas

Ronald D. Coleman, a United States Representative from El Paso ...

Ramon Villalobos

Ramon Villlalobos was one of the first Hispanic reporters in El ...

Barbara Funkhouser, El Paso Times

El Paso Times Editor - first woman editor of The El Paso Times. ...

George Kinsinger - El Paso Times

Mr. Kinsinger was a member of the staff of the El Paso Times. He ...

Bill Latham--El Paso Times Editor and Dr. Thomas Barnes

Bill Latham, the El Paso Times editor is to the left. Dr. Thomas ...

Gertrude Goodman and Sarah Lea - El Paso, Texas

Gertrude Goodman (on the left) was commended by the Senate of ...

Mrs. Paca Alarcon

Mrs Paca Alarcon came to El Paso in 1853. Then she married a ...

home.search_collection