HEALTH INSTITUTIONS

In the summer of 1866, through the influence of Mrs. White, the foundations were laid for the first health institution among Seventh-day Adventists. Indeed, the institution founded at that time was one of the first of the sort in the western part of the United States. Perhaps it may be said that it was the first of the kind in the United States, or in the world, as it possessed many unique features, and was not conducted as a money-making scheme. Between thirty and forty thousand dollars was raised for the enterprise by the friends of health and temperance reform. A proper site was selected, and the Health Institute opened in August, 1866.BHY 227.1

During the first years of the institution, water was almost the sole remedial agent employed, and a large number of persons were restored to health by a careful use of baths, and the healthful regulation of diet, rest, exercise, and general habits of life. After ten years of very successful work as a water-cure, the institution was reorganized under a new management and with a broader scope. The name was changed from “Health Institute” to “Medical and Surgical Sanitarium.” Since that time the managers have undertaken to supply to their patients all known rational remedies for disease. The facilities for treatment have been constantly enlarging, but at no time have they been more than sufficient to meet the rapidly growing patronage of the establishment. The four original wooden buildings have given place to two fine brick structures, capable of accommodating several hundred sick people.BHY 227.2

At the time of this writing, the family of the institution, comprising patients, nurses, and attendants, numbers more than six hundred persons. Nearly four hundred thousand dollars is invested in buildings and medical appliances, and competent persons, who visit this institution after having visited the principal medical establishments of the world, declare unhesitatingly that there is no establishment in the civilized world which equals this in the extent and completeness of its facilities for the care of the sick.BHY 227.3

Several years ago the managers, finding themselves unable to accommodate the increasing demand for skilled nurses and attendants, established a Training School for Nurses, which has grown to be the largest school of its kind in the United States. At present, nearly one hundred nurses are employed in the Sanitarium. The Training School numbers more than eighty pupils. The course of training in this school is so thorough that its graduates are in constant demand. Almost daily the managers receive calls for nurses from various parts of the United States, which they are unable to supply. Scores of young men and women have already received training for most useful and lucrative positions, and the reputation of the school is such that the managers are able to receive only a small proportion of those who apply.BHY 228.1

A Training School in Domestic Economy is also conducted in connection with the institution, in which young men and women are trained in the art and science of economic housekeeping. This department comprises one of the most excellent cooking schools in the United States, and is in session the year round. Scores of young men and women from various European countries, as well as from different parts of the United States, are in constant attendance at these schools.BHY 228.2

Still another line of educational work is the Sanitarium Kindergarten, in which children are taught and trained after the most healthful methods for developing both the mind and the body. The managers of this department have recently organized a course of instruction for young women who wish to devote themselves to this branch of educational work.BHY 228.3

A course of instruction is also carried on for the purpose of fitting persons to engage in health and temperance missionary work. This course comprises not only instruction in the principles of hygiene and temperance, but gives a training in the best methods of imparting instruction to others by means of talks, conversations, readings, and the distribution of health literature.BHY 228.4

The generosity of the stockholders in relinquishing their dividends to be used for charitable purposes, has enabled the managers to extend the advantages of the institution to hundreds of worthy persons who are poor. The work in this department, since the organization of the institution, amounts to more than one hundred thousand dollars, or nearly three times the whole original capital stock as a self-supporting work. The success of this enterprise is unrivaled, and its charities are constantly extending into new lines, as fast as the funds of the institution will allow.BHY 229.1

In the year 1877 a health institution, based upon essentially the same principles as the Sanitarium at Battle Creek, was established at St. Helena, Cal. This institution, known as the Rural Health Retreat, has developed into a large and flourishing establishment, capable of caring for one hundred invalids, and hundreds of sick people have been restored to health through its agency. Another institution has been recently opened at Mr. Vernon, Ohio; and several small establishments, mostly of a private character, have sprung up in various parts of the United States, being carried on by those who have been connected, more or less, with the original health institution at Battle Creek. Plans are now in operation for the establishment of a branch institution in some part of Colorado.BHY 229.2